THE FORTRESS

CHAPTER 10

FROM THE STANLEY FAMILY TO THE TUDOR DYNASTY

The Stanley family who have played a sometimes pivotal role in Chester’s history are thought to have originated from the Audley’s of Staffordshire, who had been landowners from the time of the conquest. During the reign of King John, a member of this extensive family was said to have adopted the name “de Standleigh”, which was thought to reflect the name of their family estate in that county. As was common around that time, this family surname was later contracted to “Stanley” and its members were reported to be the predecessors of the Stanley family of Hooton, Latham, Knowsley and Alderley, who would later play a significant part in the development of northwest England. These early generations of the family were said to have amassed much of their family fortune and influence through strategic marriages or by their service to the various monarchs that they served.

A William Stanley was reported to have married Jane, the daughter and heiress of Sir Philip Barnville of Storeton in Cheshire, which was thought to have marked the initial migration of the family into the northwestern county. A later union of this same family line was said to have brought them lands and titles at Hooton on the Wirral, Knowsley in Lancashire and helped to establish the Baron Stanley’s of Alderley.

Sir John Stanley was thought to be a direct descendant of William Stanley who had married into the Barnville family from Storeton on the Wirral. Sir John was said to have been a faithful servant to the English monarchy, particularly to Richard II and as a result was reported to have greatly enhanced the family’s influence, holdings and wealth throughout his lifetime. He was known to have married Isabel, the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas de Latham and as a result of this union acquired lands at both Knowsley and Latham. He was also said to have been appointed as Lord Deputy of Ireland by the erratic and often unpopular Richard II.

Following Richard’s deposition by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Sir John continued to retain his close links with the monarchy and was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by the new king Henry IV. The aftermath of the rebellion led by Henry “Hotspur” Percy and the resulting Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, saw Stanley acquire the Isle of Man, which had been previously held by the defeated Percy family. The title to these lands granted Stanley almost sovereign-like powers within the island and in order to fully exploit these new concessions he was said to have built a new and impressive property in Liverpool, which fronted onto the River Mersey and allowed him easy seaborne access to the island.

This grandiose town house was said to have survived largely intact through to the early 19th Century, having served as the Stanley’s town house, the city Assembly Rooms and finally as a city Jail. As for Sir John Stanley himself, he was reported to have died in around 1414.

His eldest son, a second John Stanley was said to have succeeded to the family estates at the time of his father’s death and was reported to have spent much of his early life consolidating the fortune and titles amassed by his predecessor. He in turn was then succeeded by his own son, Thomas Stanley, who was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and around 1456 was said to have been called to sit in Parliament as the first Lord Stanley. Unfortunately for Thomas, he was thought to have only survived for a short period following his appointment and was reported to have died in 1459.

His successor, Sir Thomas Stanley was thought to have been born around 1435 and succeeded his father to the family estates as the 2nd Lord Stanley and was made the 1st Earl of Derby by Henry VII, in recognition of his service to the crown. Sir Thomas has been credited with building the family’s fortunes to undreamt of levels, often by cleverly manipulating people or events that were happening about him.

He was said to have married Eleanor, the daughter and heiress of Richard Neville, the Earl of Salisbury, and who was a sister to the Earl of Warwick, often regarded as the “king maker” such was his power and influence. In 1459 a conflict erupted between Warwick and the Earl of Exeter, with both men trying to exert personal control over the luckless monarch, Henry VI. Ultimately, these political maneuverings ended in military conflict between the two sides, which culminated in the Battle of Blore Heath. Stanley was said to have found his loyalties deeply divided, as the battle saw his father-in-law, Salisbury, in direct conflict with Lord Audley, the same family from which the Stanley’s themselves were thought to have originally descended.

As a highly astute politician, Stanley opted to remain neutral in any dispute between the two opposing forces and simply contented himself to offering moral support to both sides. When he was questioned by the king as to his regular absences from court, Stanley simply excused himself by stating that he had been away or suffering from an illness. Perhaps surprisingly the king seems to have accepted his excuses and in 1460, ordered Stanley to bring the sons of the Earl of Salisbury before him. Sir John and Sir Thomas Neville had both been held at Chester’s medieval castle following their defeat at the Battle of Blore Heath. Stanley’s two brothers-in-law were accompanied on their journey by two of their comrades, Thomas and James Harrington who were also ordered to be brought before the monarch.

Thomas Harrington was the owner of Hornby Castle in Lancashire and James was his heir. Following their rebellion against the king their estates were later seized and subsequently ended up in the hands of the Stanley family.

Following Henry VI’s deposition by the Yorkist claimant Edward IV, Stanley managed to retain his position as a friend of the monarch and was afterwards appointed as Justice of Chester. Some eight years later, the Earl of Warwick, the man who had effectively put Edward on the throne, changed his allegiance once again and now sought to restore Henry VI as the king of England. In support of this cause, the Earl of Warwick’s forces, under Lord Wille’s were comprehensively beaten by the king’s forces at the Battle of Stamford in 1470. Having seen his army defeated Warwick then approached Stanley, his brother-in-law, for help in his quest to remove Edward from the throne. Typically though, Lord Stanley was said to have refused Warwick’s request for help and instead waited to see how events would develop before committing himself to any sort of preemptive action.

In spite of his refusal to Warwick, within a few months the monarch Edward had been ousted from the throne and his Lancastrian opponent, Henry VI had been restored to the Crown. The “king maker” Warwick was said to have been accompanied on his journey to London by his hesitant brother-in-law Stanley, who was now keen to actively support the cause of the reinstated monarch.

Some 18 months later, the whole situation had been reversed yet again; Edward had returned and had defeated Henry’s Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Barnet in April 1471. The most noted casualty was the Earl of Warwick, Stanley’s brother-in-law who had been at the root of all the political plotting and maneuvering which had beset the country for a decade. The next month witnessed the Battle of Tewkesbury, which finally and definitively settled the dispute between the two royal claimants and saw the Lancastrian cause finally consigned to history. When the former Henry VI died in mysterious circumstances, while being held at the Tower of London, Edward IV was finally secured as the one and only king of England.

With the country relatively peaceful, Stanley was able to re-establish and secure his place at court, finally becoming Steward of the Royal Household to Edward. He accompanied Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, in his military campaigns against the Scots in 1482 and was reported to have led the force that liberated the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which has remained in English hands ever since.

During these turbulent years, Stanley’s first wife was reported to have died and around 1481 he was said to have remarried, this time to Margaret Beaufort, who was a distant relative of the Lancastrian Duke, John of Gaunt, and the father of Henry IV. With a much disputed claim to the English crown, at 14 years old, Margaret had been married to Edmund, the Earl of Richmond, a half brother to Henry VI, who had recently died in the tower. Edmund had died in around 1456, shortly after the birth of his one and only son, Henry, the Earl of Richmond, who would later become Henry VII. Margaret had then married Sir Henry Stafford, the son of Humphrey, the Duke of Buckingham, who subsequently died in around 1481.

Her later marriage to Sir Thomas Stanley meant that he had inadvertently become the step-father to a potential Lancastrian heir to the English throne. It was a fact not lost on a reigning monarch that had earlier been beset by counter claims made by members of the same family. However, Stanley and his new wife had both developed keen political instincts that helped them to minimize any potential threat to the sovereign. Their devotion to one another and their service to the crown, no doubt attributed to the rise of the Tudor dynasty and their subsequent accession to the English throne.

During the reign of Edward IV, there was only one candidate for the throne, the king’s young son Edward. However, following the monarch’s death in 1483 the matter became much more complicated, with much of the country being divided into 3 separate camps, all of which supported their own particular candidate for the crown.

Initially, the line of succession had remained intact and the young Edward V had ascended the throne, following his father’s death in 1483. Although family ties might well have led Stanley to support his stepson Henry, the Earl of Richmond, for the crown, he was thought to have initially accepted Edward’s right to rule England. However, events beyond his control conspired to see the young prince murdered and his uncle Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, seize the throne for himself. Stanley and his wife, now needed all their political skills and wits to avoid becoming embroiled in a contest for the crown, which might well see their very own survival threatened.

As in earlier disputes, Stanley seems to have adopted a highly pragmatic view towards the whole situation and adapted easily to the new administration that ruled the country. Once again he was appointed as Steward of the Royal Household, the post he had previously held under Edward IV and was also chosen as Constable of England, which became a lifetime’s posting.

Unfortunately for the Lord Stanley, his new wife was not as discreet or forgiving towards the new monarch, Richard III. A conspiracy to oust Richard in favor of Margaret’s son Henry was discovered by the authorities, which implicated both the Duke of Buckingham and Stanley’s wife. Following the execution of Buckingham, the king ordered an inquiry into the behavior and involvement of Margaret, the Countess of Richmond with the plotters. Although she was subsequently found guilty of some connection with the scheme, it was only her own property and lands that were seized by the crown and not those of her husband, Stanley. Because she was married to a great favorite of Richard III, Margaret escaped any serious punishment regarding her involvement with the affair, while her fellow conspirators did not.

In August 1485, Margaret’s son Henry, the exiled Duke of Richmond returned to England, to settle his dispute with the usurper Richard III. On the 22nd of the month, the two forces met at the Battle of Bosworth, a confrontation which was ultimately decided by a member of the Stanley family.

The younger brother of Lord Thomas Stanley, William Stanley was reported to have used his forces against Richard as the battle raged and in doing so had swayed the course of events. His older brother, Sir Thomas, was said to have remained fairly inactive in the initial phase of the battle and was said to have only became involved as the tide began to go against the usurper Richard. With the battle finally won and Richard dead, legend has it that one of the Stanley’s picked up the battered crown from the field and placed it on Henry Tudor’s head. It was an act of recognition that the new monarch, Henry VII would not forget. Sir Thomas, the Lord Stanley was subsequently made the 1st Earl of Derby by the new king in recognition of his service to the crown. The accession of Henry VII to the throne marked the beginning of the Tudor dynasty, which would last for over 100 years and lead to England being ruled by some of this country’s most notable monarchs, including Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

Although William was rewarded for his actions at the Battle of Bosworth, he did not fare as well as his older sibling. Having been accused of involvement in a plot against the new king Henry VII, he was said to have been executed in February 1485. Despite this, Sir Thomas Stanley, the 1st Earl of Derby remained faithful to Henry Tudor and continued to consolidate and build on the family’s notable achievements and good fortunes. When he died in 1504, he had survived the turbulent reigns of 4 different English monarchs including; Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III and Henry VII. During his lifetime he had somehow managed to avoid the political pitfalls, seizures and executions that had befell many of his contemporaries. He was survived by two of his six sons, all by his first wife Eleanor. His eldest son George, Lord Strange, had died in 1497 and it was his son, Sir Thomas’ grandson that succeeded to the title of Lord Derby in 1504.

Sir William Stanley was said to have been instrumental in securing Henry Tudor’s victory at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485 and as a reward for his actions was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer and granted lands and titles by the new king. At the height of his power and influence he was reported to be the richest man in the country, until fate conspired to rob him of his lands, his influence and eventually his life.

Whether by accident or by design, William was reported to have become involved with a plot which centered around one Perkin Warbeck, a supposed pretender to the throne, who it was feared might threaten Henry Tudor’s right to rule. The case against William seems to have rested on a single remark made about the pretender, which suggested Stanley’s belief that Perkin Warbeck was indeed a genuine heir. When he was challenged about his remark, Sir William was said to have refused to confirm or deny his beliefs in respect of the matter and in doing so inadvertently condemned himself. Sentenced to death by a council appointed by the king, Sir William Stanley was executed on 14th February 1485, with his lands and titles being sequestered by the crown.

Around the same period that the fortunes and the fates of the Stanley family was being subjected to the peaks and troughs of nationally important figures and events, the city of Chester and its citizens remained as a focus for simmering Welsh resentment, no doubt caused in part by the fortress’ 500 year history as an English military stronghold and a place of Welsh suppression.   

Robert Byrne was said to have been the Mayor of Chester around 1462 who was seized by a local Welsh landowner, while visiting a local fair which was being held at Mold. The landowner, Reginald ap Gruffydd, had had a number of disputes with the city and its authorities and was not that well disposed towards them. Following a violent commotion between these Chester visitors and a group of local men, Gruffydd was reported to have seized Byrne and taken him back to his home where he strung the unfortunate man up from a metal fastener. On hearing that their Mayor had been captured, a large number of Chester men hurriedly made their way to Mold and then on to Gruffydd’s house, where they believed that their kinsman was being held.

Having anticipated their actions Gruffydd was said to have hidden himself in some nearby woods and watched as the band of angry Englishmen broke into his property, searching for their missing Mayor. With the heated band inside his house, the Welshman was reported to have rushed out from his hiding place and secured them inside the place, by locking the doors on them. He then set fire to the building and watched as the flames consumed a good number of those that were inside.

The remaining Englishmen, along with a small number that had somehow managed to escape the inferno, then found themselves being violently attacked by Gruffydd and his supporters. Outnumbered by the landowner and his men, the remaining Cestrians were forced to retreat in some disorder, with many of their number reported to have been drowned as they fell back across the River Dee.  

In July 1494 King Henry VII along with his mother and his Queen were said to have come to Chester with a large retinue and the royal party was later reported to have visited the nearby castle at Hawarden. It was thought to be during a later visit in 1506 that the king granted Chester its Great Charter, creating it a County town. The city’s new corporation was reported to have included a Mayor, 24 Aldermen, 40 Councilors, 2 Sheriffs and 2 Murengers, who were held to be responsible for maintaining Chester’s historic city walls.

Two years after Chester had been granted its Great Charter by the monarch a new hospital was reported to have been founded within the city. St Ursula’s was said to have been established in the Commonhall Street area of Chester in the town house of a former city sheriff Roger Smith. In the same year, Richard Goodman was elected Mayor of Chester and immediately issued a local ordinance demanding that lamps or lanterns should be hung in the doorways of all Chester men that had been either Sheriff or Mayor of the city. Local Innkeepers were also said to have been required to keep a lantern above the door to their premises.

In later years Chester was required by the monarch Henry VIII to provide men for the protection of the Scottish borders in 1522 and 14 years later his first campaign of religious suppression was felt within the city. The three existing friaries, those of the Dominicans, Franciscans and Carmelites were dissolved in 1536 by order of the king, with their properties seized and in some cases sold or destroyed. The Benedictine Convent at Chester somehow managed to escape these earlier purges, but was itself dissolved in the later round of closures initiated by Henry in 1540

Although best known historically for his many wives and the often fatal nature of the part they played in his unfaltering desire for a healthy male heir, Henry’s marital problems were generally thought to be matters of national interest, rather than regional. However, on at least one particular occasion the issue was known to have had dire consequences for one of Cheshire’s leading family’s.

Sir William Brereton was said to have been a member of the historic Cheshire family, whose name was thought to derive from the Manor of Bretune which was first mentioned in the Domesday Book. Sir William was reported to have held the post of Chamberlain of Chester and according to a county legend was unfortunate enough to fall foul of Henry VIII’s infamous jealousy and political intrigues.

Along with Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston, Lord Rochford, who was Anne Boleyn’s brother and a young man called Mark Smeaton, Brereton was accused of adultery with the unfortunate Queen, no doubt as part of the monarch’s attempt to rid himself of his seemingly unproductive spouse. Found guilty by a jury chosen by the King, all were subsequently found guilty and executed for their “treason”. Even the entirely innocent Anne Boleyn did not escape the king’s political machinations and was later beheaded at the Tower of London on 19^th May 1536. 

Following Henry VIII’s official dissolution of the monasteries, the Abbey of St Werburgh was said to have disposed of many of its possessions within 18 months of the proclamation and the church was later re-founded and rededicated as a cathedral to Christ and the Blessed Virgin. It was known to be only one of only six former monastic houses that were granted Cathedral status in all of England and became the centre of the newly formed Chester Diocese. In 1543 Chester finally acquired parliamentary representation and was authorized to elect two new members for the national legislature based in Westminster.

At the city’s new cathedral, John Bird was appointed as the first Bishop of Chester and held office from 1541 through to 1554 and was described by one source as a “one eyed rogue”. Bird had begun his religious career in Coventry as a member of the Carmelite community that existed in the city. During the reign of Henry VIII, he was a member of the group that was involved in the arrangements for the king’s marriage to Anne of Cleves. Later, he was a staunch apologist for the monarch’s marital disputes, a support which later gained Bird the Bishopric of Chester. Following Henry’s death, Bird was later dismissed from his post by the Catholic Queen Mary for being a married man. Despite his pleas that he had been tricked into the marriage and that he had now disowned his wife, his petitions were ignored by the Queen.

An historic character in the city during Queen Mary’s reign was Elizabeth Mottershead, the landlady of the “Blue Posts” Inn at Chester, which was located in the Bridge Street area of the city. During the reign of the staunchly Roman Catholic Queen, the Protestant faithful in Ireland were mercilessly suppressed by the English monarch. In a bid to further reduce and undermine the influence of the Protestant church, the Queen ordered Dr Henry Cole, the Dean of St Paul’s, to carry her new Royal commission to her ruling council in Dublin, detailing the fresh sanctions which were to be implemented against the Protestant faithful. Unfortunately for the Queen, Cole stayed at the “Blue Post” as he passed through Chester and loudly elaborated on his important mission to the city’s mayor, a conversation which was said to have been overheard by Elizabeth Mottershead, who had a Protestant brother living in Dublin. As Cole bid the Mayor farewell, she was said to have stolen into his room and replaced the written commission with a deck of cards. Completely unaware of her actions, the Dean then continued his journey to Dublin and called upon the Lord Lieutenant and his council to deliver the Queens new instructions. Needless to say, Cole was shocked and outraged to discover that his Royal commission had been “magically” replaced by a pack of cards and was at a complete loss to explain the exchange.

The bemused Lord Lieutenant was said to have ordered the Dean to return to England for a new commission and in the meantime, he and his Council would amuse themselves with a game of cards. Before Cole could reach England however, the Catholic Mary was dead and been succeeded by the Protestant queen Elizabeth and the threat removed. On hearing of the Chester landlady’s actions, the new Queen was reported to have ordered that she be awarded a £40 a year pension for life for her zeal and ingenuity.

George Cotes was recorded as the successor to John Bird who had been dismissed by Mary and who held the office of Bishop of Chester from 1554 to 1555. Cotes was said to be the man who finally and reluctantly condemned George Marsh to burn at the stake in Chester for his “heretical” beliefs.

Marsh was reported to have been a Preacher from Lancashire who publicly criticized the Bishop of Chester for Blasphemous Idolatry, Holy Water Casting, Procession Gadding, Matins Mumbling, Mass Hearing and such Heathenism’s forbidden by God. The English Privy Council on hearing of his preaching, instructed the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire to take action against Marsh, but rather than seeing the issue as a secular one, he declared that Marsh’s remarks were the concern of the church and passed the case to George Cotes, the newly appointed Bishop of Chester. Arrested and transported to Chester, Marsh was said to have been held for several months at the Bishop’s Palace in the city, while the Bishop, Arch Deacon and other learned men tried to reconcile with him. His constant refusal to recant his beliefs however, almost inevitably forced the church to bring Marsh to trial on the charges being laid against him.

Brought to trial in the Cathedral’s Lady Chapel, Marsh appeared before a panel which included the Bishop, the Mayor of Chester and the Chancellor, all of whom still hoped to persuade him of his errors. Unfortunately, the obstinate preacher could not be persuaded to recant his beliefs and left his judges with little option but to condemn him. Even as the Bishop read out the judgment against him, the Mayor and Chancellor both tried to find a resolution that would help to release him, but Marsh was not to be moved from his view. Having finished reading the decision of the court, the Bishop in frustration remarked “Now I will no more pray for thee, than I would for a dog”.  Having been tried and found guilty of “Heresy” by the religious court in 1555, Marsh was burnt at the stake in 1556. Although he was offered a conditional pardon by the vice chancellor, a Mr. Vawdrey, Marsh was said to have refused it, simply remarking “Not under these circumstances”.  On the day of his execution, John Cowper was reported to have been the city Sheriff that tried to rescue Marsh from the stake but was prevented from doing so by the other city Sheriff. As a result of his unsuccessful attempt to free the convicted man, Cowper himself was said to have been forced to flee the city and had his family’s assets seized by the authorities.

Cuthbert Scott was reported to be the successor to George Cotes as the Bishop of Chester and said to have held the office from 1556 to 1559. He was recorded as having been committed to the Tower of London for some or other offence, but was later released on bail. He was obviously not that certain about his future however and while on bail took flight to France and was later reported to have died at Louvain in 1564.

George Lloyd was the Bishop of Chester between 1604 and 1615 and had previously been Bishop of the Sodor of Man in 1599. Reported to have been the owner of Bishop Lloyds Palace which is located in modern day Watergate Street, this particular building is thought to post-date his death so his ownership is highly unlikely. His brother David was said to have been Mayor of Chester from 1593-4 and his eldest daughter was married to Thomas Yale, a descendant of the American University’s founder.

In spite of the major difficulties caused by the silting of the river, Chester continued to thrive as a centre for international trade and commerce throughout much of the 16^th Century. Its leather manufacturing industries had become one of the city’s largest income generators and despite its ongoing decline the harbor remained the largest port in the whole of northwest England. Chester was a major national distribution centre for a number of basic products including, wool, leather, cereal crops and livestock. Thomas Lyniall was said to have been a local merchant who was granted the lease on the Roodee in Chester during the reign of Elizabeth I and was said to have built an embankment on the site and extracted tolls from every ship and boat that berthed there to bring goods into the city.

The city was also said to have remained as a mustering and embarkation point for troops that were being shipped to Ireland, which continued to be turbulent throughout much of the period. It was recorded that Fulk Aldersey, a member of the wealthy local family was Mayor of Chester three times and whose last term of office was disrupted by the large number of soldiers that mustered in Chester, prior to their departure for Ireland. Reacting to their unruly behavior, he arranged for a Gibbet to be erected at the city’s High Cross and imprisoned a number of soldiers, prior to them being punished as an example to their comrades. Fortunately for the miscreants, the intervention of their officers saved them from serious harm and they were quickly shipped out of the city.

Although she was said to have been far more tolerant to other faiths than her Catholic predecessor, Elizabeth was prepared to defend the Protestant faith at all costs and was merciless in her fight with the Catholic rebels in Ireland. Walter Devereaux, the Earl of Essex, was reported to have been in Chester on his way to Ireland during her reign, when he was commissioned by the Queen to suppress the Catholic unrest by whatever means necessary.

Lord Leicester was the Chamberlain of Chester during the reign of Elizabeth who was a keen advocate of the Protestant cause and campaigned tirelessly against the Church of Rome. By around 1578 most of the Crosses in the city were said to have been removed from the city, a task undertaken by a city Sheriff called Mutton. These overtly religious symbols were known to have stood at the Bars, the city’s North Gate and at the Spital in Boughton.

At around the same time a royal decree was said to have been issued by the Queen, calling on Chester’s civil authorities to fully investigate the comings and goings of Roman Catholics in the city. The local port was thought to have been used regularly by Catholic priests and converts to come in and out of England.

Towards the end of the century, around 1570, the city’s governing body began to introduce a series of new measures which were designed to reduce the numbers of beggars, loafers and sickly people that were being attracted to Chester by the city’s obvious wealth. A surgeon was appointed to ensure that any carriers of sickness and disease were held at the city limits and quarantined from the local community. A work-house was built outside of the city’s northern gate, where the unemployed and indigent could be put to work in return for accommodation and food. A leading citizen of Chester, Henry Gee is regarded by many as a reforming Mayor who held the office in both 1533 and 1539, who was responsible for introducing the city’s Assembly Book, creating a list of previous office holders within the city and recording details of the city limits, list of custom duties and official fees. Gee was also reported to have enacted a raft of city ordinances, including legislation preventing unlawful gambling, excessive drinking and celebrations and introduced local standards regarding women’s dress and behaviour. He was also said to have brought in local ordinances, which required the unemployed and able bodied people to present themselves for work.

During his second term of Office in 1539, Gee was said to have issued additional local ordinances which forbade the owning or running of an Ale House, by a woman aged between 14 and 40 years of age, under pain of a £40 fine. He also introduced local statutes requiring all children over 6 years of age to attend school and forbidding single women from wearing white or colored hats. All townswomen were forbidden from wearing hats, unless they were riding or “abroad in the country”.

William Beswick was recorded as another Mayor of Chester who in 1542 issued a number of ordinances that were designed to improve the morality and the behavior of the citizens and included the suppression of the many brothels which existed within the city limits. Henry Hardware who was the Mayor of Chester between 1599 and 1600, was reported to have been fairly unpopular with the citizens of Chester, because of his suppression of the city’s traditional bull and bear baiting contests and the annual fairs. He was also said to have ordered that the Midsummer Giants, a feature of the city’s fairs should be broken up.

John Radcliffe was the Mayor of Chester in 1602 and 1611 and a member of the Puritan congregation who attended services at St Peter’s church which were led by Nicholas Byfield. Radcliffe was said to have been elected as MP for Chester in 1661. During his first term as Mayor, he ordered the restoration of the city’s Midsummer Giants, a feature of Chester’s fairs which had been ordered to be destroyed by his predecessor, Henry Hardware.

A notable religious figure of the mid 16^th Century was the Protestant Preacher, Christopher Goodman. Although he was born in Chester around 1520, Goodman was reported to have received much of his formal education in Oxford. A staunch Protestant, in order to escape the religious purges of the Catholic Queen, Mary, Goodman was reported to have traveled to Germany and later accompanied John Knox to Switzerland. He was later appointed as Pastor to the thriving English community in Geneva and both he and Knox chose to remain there, out of harms way, until Mary’s death in 1558.

Goodman has been credited with helping Knox to compose the “Book of Common Order”, a directory for Protestant worship. He was also said to have maintained a correspondence with an old friend in England, called Bartlett Green. Having received news that Mary had died, Goodman asked his old friend to confirm the news for him. Green had replied “the Queen is not yet dead”, but unfortunately for him the letter was intercepted by agents of the Queen and Bartlett Green was later burnt at the stake for his beliefs.

Following Elizabeth’s accession to the English throne, Goodman returned to Scotland with his friend John Knox and preached there until around 1561, when he was appointed as the Minister of St Andrew’s. Three years later he received an appointment as a Minister in Edinburgh, but declined the post, as he was keen to return home to England. Goodman then became Personal Chaplain to Sir Henry Sydney in his military campaigns against the Catholic rebels in Ireland around 1568. 15 years or so later Goodman was reported to be living in or around Chester, but it seems he was no longer a figure of national interest within the Protestant religion. He is said to have died in 1602, aged 83 years of age and was thought to have been buried in St Werburgh’s church.

Francis Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, was a member of the Talbot family who were reported to be the “Sergeants” of Chester’s ancient Bridge gate and therefore held responsible for its protection and for collecting the taxes and tolls which were attached to that particular post. The family home in Chester was the “Bear and Billet” in Lower Bridge Street. One of his ancestors, John Talbot was said to have been created a peer by King Henry VI in 1442, thus becoming the first Earl of Shrewsbury.

Francis, who was the 5^th Earl survived the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I and had succeeded to the title following the death of his father in 1538 and before his own death in 1560 had risen to become one of the most powerful and wealthy men in England.

Richard Dutton was a member of another of Cheshire’s leading families and was recorded as holding the office of Mayor in 1627. One of his many properties in the city was said to have included the former church of St Thomas a Beckett which stood at the junction of the modern day Liverpool Road and Parkgate Road. Formerly known as “Jolley’s Hall, the house was later said to have been owned by John Fletcher who published one of the city’s leading newspapers. The building is now used as a public house, called the “George and Dragon”

The wealth and importance of Chester continued to grow throughout the period and that was reflected in the scale and fashion of the new buildings that were erected for a number of its leading citizens. Stanley Palace, which has also been known as Derby House, was constructed in about 1591 for one of the city’s leading families. It was built as the town house for the Stanley’s of Alderley, who were the sergeants of the Watergate and were responsible for exacting tolls and levies on all goods brought into the city from the harbor area and from elsewhere.

Edward Stanley, the Lord Monteagle, was the son of Sir Thomas Stanley, the 1^st Earl of Derby, who married the daughter of Sir John Harrington and through this union, became the owner of Hornby Castle in Lancashire. He was reported to have escorted Princess Margaret, the daughter of Henry VII to Scotland, when she was married to King James IV of Scotland, a move designed to cement relations between the two countries. Unfortunately, the union between the two nations was ultimately unsuccessful and Stanley was thought to have been involved in the later Battle of Flodden. He was reported to have played a pivotal role, by coming to the rescue of the English commander, the Earl of Surrey. By way of thanks for his actions, he was awarded a peerage and given the title of Lord Monteagle, a title held by the family for many years to come. Edward was reported to have been appointed as Chamberlain of Chester in 1563.

James Stanley was the youngest son of Sir Thomas Stanley, the 1^st Earl of Derby, who was destined for a career in the church and which he later achieved with the support of his step-mother, Margaret of Richmond and her son Henry VII. He eventually rose to the dizzy heights of the Bishopric of Ely and lived to see his illegitimate son, Sir James Stanley of Harford attend the Battle of Flodden, where he distinguished himself, along with his uncle Edward Stanley, the previously mentioned Lord Monteagle.

Ferdinando, the Lord Strange, was said to have been elected as a city Alderman at Chester in 1586. Later, as the Earl of Derby he was thought to have been approached by an agent called Hesketh in 1593, who was acting on behalf of Philip of Spain who was opposed to the English monarch Elizabeth I. They were thought to have offered Ferdinando, the crown of England in return for his support in helping to depose Elizabeth but instead, he arrested Hesketh and transported him to London, where he was tried, convicted and executed for his treachery. 

On the eastern side of Chester in 1608, the ancient Wolf Gate was rebuilt just inside the south east corner of the former Roman fortress. Thought to have stood since Saxon times and been part of the extended city defenses undertaken by Aethelflaeda, the gate itself had become part of the city’s legendary past. It was said to be at the Wolf Gate in 1573 that a local alderman’s daughter eloped with her young suitor by horse.

Ralph Aldersey was a member of the influential Aldersey family who had held the office of Sheriff in Chester around 1541. While serving as a city Alderman in 1573 his daughter, Ellen, was alleged to have eloped with a Draper called Ralph Jaman, without the permission of her family. The young couple was thought to have escaped the city by way of the medieval Newgate and in response her father persuaded the council to have the gate closed at night times, in order that such an event could not reoccur. Two local men, Hugh Rogerson an Alderman and Richard Wright, a draper in the city, were both charged with being accomplices to the event. For his part Rogerson was reported to have been fined 10 shillings and Wright had his business premises in the city closed. However, father and daughter were later reconciled with one another and the gate was said to have been reopened in 1574.

The Wolf Gate has also been commonly known as the Pepper Gate, which might suggest a link to local spice traders who were thought to have been situated in the nearby streets. Just outside the Wolf Gate, which now adjoins the much more modern New Gate, the remains of the south east angle tower of the original Roman walls foundations are still visible to this day.

These closing years of Chester’s late medieval period, saw the city, its citizens and its future prosperity in a generally optimistic mood. In a little more than five hundred years, from the time of the conquest to the end of the Elizabethan period, Chester had continued to develop and consolidate its position within the northwest region of Britain. It had grown to become one of the most important logistical and commercial centers in the whole of England and despite occasional antipathy to individual holders of the Crown the city was generally loyal to the English monarchy.

Some twenty five years later however, this civic loyalty to a King of England would result in the city being besieged and bombarded by its fellow countrymen and lead to the loss of some of its most important citizens and buildings. The start of the 17^th Century would also mark the beginning of the end for the city’s prosperity which had been almost entirely built on its busy medieval port and the international trade that it had previously generated.

A notable individual of the age was William Prynne who was reported to have been infamous for publishing pamphlets that were critical of the king Charles I and of his queen. Around 1633 he was reported to have been fined and imprisoned for his scurrilous accusations, as well as having part of his ears removed.

Some 3 years later he was thought to have repeated the offence and was once again imprisoned at Chester’s historic Castle, supposedly for life and with the remainder of his ears being taken off. He was also said to have been physically branded as a Seditious Libeler and his supporters in the city were heavily fined by the authorities and forced to recant their support for him. Portraits of Prynne were also reported to have been burnt at Chester’s High Cross by Royalist supporters in the city who were outraged by his claims and pronouncements against the Royal family.

Following the rise of the Parliamentary cause, Prynne was said to have been released from prison and paid reparations for the misfortunes that he had suffered at the hands of the monarchists. By 1648, he had been elected as a Member of Parliament, but perhaps surprisingly rejected the call for Charles I to be executed and was subsequently excluded from the House of Commons during Pride’s Purge.

He was also thought to have been a vocal opponent of Cromwell’s Commonwealth and was imprisoned for his views between 1650 and 1653. Later he was a supporter of moves to restore Charles II and as a reward for his stance was appointed as the Record Keeper at the Tower of London in 1660.

Another notable figure of the age was thought to be Edward Whitby, who was Member of Parliament for Chester and a former Recorder of city during the 1640’s and the final owner of the original Bache Hall which was demolished during the siege of Chester. Whitby had owned the hall from 1606 and the building which currently stands on the site today is much later and thought to date from around 1829. As Recorder of Chester in 1617, Whitby gave a speech before the king when he visited the city and at the same event, the city’s Mayor, Charles Fitton, was said to have presented the monarch with a Silver Guilt cup filled with 100 Jacobin’s of Gold. William Stanley, the Earl of Derby, was also reported to have been in attendance, in his role as Chamberlain of the County.

This particular William Stanley was thought to have been the 6^th Earl of Derby and the man who was the predecessor the later Sir James Stanley, who was executed at Bolton in the 1650’s. Sir William was reported to have built a house and gardens on waste land which lay close to the River Dee, near to where the modern day Groves and Grosvenor Park exist today. Sadly, following the death of his wife in 1627, Sir William was reported to have retired to the property and lived there until his death in 1642.

(Next Chapter)
 

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