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Lot 56*

ELIZABETH I - PRIVY COUNCIL & WALSINGHAM
Document signed by eight members of Queen Elizabeth's Privy Council, Richmond, 9 November 1578

15 September 2021, 13:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £2,295 inc. premium

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ELIZABETH I - PRIVY COUNCIL & WALSINGHAM

Document signed by eight members of Queen Elizabeth's Privy Council, Sir Nicholas Bacon (Lord Chancellor), Sir Francis Walsingham (First Secretary of State), Edward Clinton, Earl of Lincoln (Lord High Admiral), Thomas Radcliffe, Earl of Sussex (Lord President of the North), Sir Francis Knollys (Treasurer of the Royal Household), Sir James Croft (Controller of the Royal household), Sir Christopher Hatton (Vice Chamberlain of the Royal Household), Dr Thomas Wylson (Second Secretary of State), to the Treasurer and Chamberlain of the Exchequer, authorising payment to Robert Constable, Marshall of Berwick, the sum of one hundred marks "...for sending of divers packettes of letters both from Barwicke to her Majesty's Agentes for the time being in Scotlande, and also for them hither unto us...", one page, dust staining, foxing and other marks, old repair to verso reusing paper from another document, remains of guard, folio (310 x 210mm.), Richmond, 9 November 1578

Footnotes

'THE SENDING OF DIVERS PACKETTES OF LETTERS': WALSINGHAM APPROVES PAYMENT FOR HIS AGENTS IN SCOTLAND.

The strategic position of the town of Berwick was critical to the success of the English presence in the Border regions. Here the Privy Council orders payment for carrying "divers packettes of letters" to and from the Queen's agents in Scotland, Walsingham's 'intelligencers' and part of a spy network that stretched across Europe.

Walsingham's friend Robert Constable replaced Sir William Drury (see lot 55) as Marshall of Berwick in 1575, and at once experienced problems with receiving payments from London both for himself and the garrison. A year later he requested to be relieved of his office but stayed after the Queen resolved to send a new treasurer to the town. Suffering from ill health and injuries sustained in a riding accident, he again sought to resign his post because of the expense involved and was finally released in 1578. Indeed, Lord Burghley commented that Constable had been 'beggared' as a result of his time spent at Berwick (historyofparliament website).

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