ELIZABETH I – COUNTY OF ESSEX

Second Great Seal of Elizabeth I on a licence of alienation from Thomas Herris [Harris] and his wife Cordelia to William and George Pearse of New Marsh in the Isle of Foulness in the county of Essex, Westminster, 1 April 1600

Footnotes

The licence of alienation refers to lands around the Essex island of Foulness and mentions the parishes of Sutton Temple and Stambridge and in particular land at New Marsh. This area of Essex once formed part of the Rochford Estate, formerly in the hands of the Boleyn family and latterly the earls of Warwick who relinquished them in 1673. Sir Thomas Harris (1562-1621) served as a Justice of the Peace and was returned as a Member of Parliament for Maldon in 1587. His wife Cordelia (1572-1632), mentioned here, was the daughter of John Gill of Huntingford. The land at Foulness came to him by descent from his father Vincent (d.1574) and his grandfather William Harris (1502-1556), who first leased and then purchased it from Sir Richard Rich who in turn had acquired it from Henry VIII: '...in the 29th year of Henry VIII that prince sold to Sir Richard Rich, marsh land in Foulness, called New Marsh, that was formerly part of the possessions of the Priory of Leighes, near Felstead. This New Marsh and other lands were leased from Thomas Ellys, the Prior of Leighs... to W. Harris of Maldon, and in 1548, in the 2nd year of Edward VI, Sir Richard Rich sold New Marsh and other lands in Foulness to the said William Harris...' (Benton, P., History of the Rochford Hundred, 1867). On his death William was one of the richest men in the county, and his vast estate included ten manors and four marshes at Rochford and on Foulness Island.

The celebrated Second Great Seal of Elizabeth was commissioned from the miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard in 1584 and executed by the engraver Derrick Anthony, coming into use in 1586. It was larger than her first and is loaded with the symbolism and iconography. Surrounded by symbols of England, Ireland and France, she holds the orb and sceptre of royal power: 'Heavenly rays above her head are a sign of her divine status. On the reverse side, Elizabeth is shown on horseback riding across a field of flowering plants. This symbolises hope and prosperity, as well as the queen's femininity' (nationalarchives.gov.uk).