The Darrell-Wyatts

Elizabeth Darrell, born around 1513, was the youngest daughter of Edward Darrell, Chamberlain to Queen Catherine of Aragon, and his third wife Alice Flyte. By 1530 Elizabeth was serving Queen Catherine of Aragon as a Maid of Honour until her death in January 1536. She did not take the Oath of Supremacy, perhaps out of loyalty to Queen Catherine rather than for her religious beliefs. Elizabeth served as a mourner at Queen Catherine's funeral. Queen Catherine left Elizabeth £200 in her will which was to be used for her dowry, however this was not given to her until 1554 when Catherine's daughter Mary was on the throne. Elizabeth then went on to serve Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter, who had been a close friend of  Queen Catherine, after applying to join Queen Jane Seymour's household and being turned down.

By 1538 Elizabeth had begun an affair with the married Thomas Wyatt (1503-42), possibly as early as 1537 as testimony given in October 1538 states that the couple had been together since the previous June when Wyatt returned from Spain. They had three sons together; Henry - who died young, Francis (b.1540) and Edward (1541-54). Francis took the last name Darrell. Some historians list Thomas Wyatt's legitimate son Thomas the younger as the father of Edward, as due to the men's ages either could be, but for this post I am placing him as the son of the elder Thomas Wyatt as I feel Elizabeth Darrell would not have children with both the father and son within such a short space of time. Thomas Wyatt was married during this time to Elizabeth Brooke, but the couple had been separated since 1526, only six years after marrying.

Allington Castle, Kent

By 1541 Elizabeth was openly living with Thomas Wyatt as his mistress at Allington Castle in Kent. When Wyatt was arrested on the 20th January 1541 for suspected Lutheran tendencies, Elizabeth was pregnant with their third son Edward. Due to her pregnancy she was allowed to continue living in one of Wyatt's houses that were confiscated by the crown upon his arrest. After his release from the Tower later that year, he returned to Elizabeth at Allington Castle despite the fact that his release was conditional upon his returning to his wife. Thomas Wyatt's legitimate son Thomas (1521-54) and his wife Jane were also living at Allington Castle during this time.

Thomas Wyatt died on the 12th October 1542. Wyatt left Elizabeth his properties in Dorset and Somerset in his Will dated 1541, with the instruction that after her death they would pass to their son Francis, and by 1543 Elizabeth was indeed in possession of those properties. That Thomas only mentioned one son in his will, we can guess that their son Henry had already died and that the youngest son Edward was not yet born at the time the will was written.

Upon his death on the 11th April 1554 Thomas Wyatt's legitimate son, Thomas the younger, also left Elizabeth Darrell properties in his Will, including the estate at Tarrant in Dorset on the 25th February 1544 which was to pass to her son Francis after her death. Due to his arrest and execution for treason, the properties which Elizabeth held for her lifetime and were supposed to pass to the younger Thomas after her death, were then confiscated by the Crown. The manor of Tintinhull in Somerset was left by Thomas the younger to Elizabeth, and failing her heirs, would revert to his son Thomas. However due to his attainder the crown declared that after Elizabeth's death it would go to Sir William Petre. The parsonage at Stoke in Somerset was leased to Elizabeth in 1548 and remained in her possession until her death, at which time it passed to her husband.

Tintinhull Manor, Somerset

Elizabeth and Thomas' son Edward was executed for treason in 1554 for his part in the rebellion against Queen Mary. The rebellion was led by his half-brother Thomas Wyatt, his father's legitimate son. On the 21st January 1554, the thirteen year old Edward was present at a meeting at Allington Castle led by Thomas Wyatt, which discussed the date for the rebellion. And three days later on the 24th he was listed alongside the main conspirators and local gentry who were sleeping on the floor of the hall of Allington Castle. The next day, the 25th, Edward marched into London with his brother, however the rebellion failed and the men surrendered. Edward was imprisoned in the Tower and tortured. Bishop Gardiner told Sir William Petre, Governor of the Tower, to find out any information about Thomas Wyatt's relationship with Princess Elizabeth "whether ye press him to say the truth by sharp punishment or promise of life". On February 19th, Edward was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

In 1554 Elizabeth married Robert Strode shortly after receiving her long overdue £200 legacy from Queen Catherine. However. Elizabeth died before the end of 1556. Her husband Robert was still living in 1560.

Thomas Cromwell's Catholic daughter

Thomas Cromwell

Jane Cromwell was the illegitimate daughter of King Henry VIII's right hand man Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540). Jane was born 1520/5 and died 3rd November 1580. She married William Hough (1525-85) of Leighton in Cheshire between 1535 and 1540.
Jane and William had only one child together;
+ Alice Hough m. William Whitmore (d.1620)

William Hough was the son of Richard Hough (1505-74) and his wife Christian Calverley, daughter of Sir George Calverley.
Richard Hough was a servant in the house of Thomas Cromwell during the years 1534-40.
In 1536 Richard appeared as one of the Lord Privy Seal's men, and was described as a 'sage and sober person'. In January 1538 Richard reminded Cromwell of a promise he had made to make Richard a Rider of Delamere Forest in Cheshire. In 1540 Richard carried messages and letters from Cromwell to the council in Ireland.
In the spring of 1544 Richard Hough was accused of murder by a man named John Massey. Hough and Massey were both at this time petty captains of companies raised for the Scottish War. Massey alleged that whilst leaving Chester one afternoon, he and his servants had been attacked by Hough and others. Randolph Davenport who was one of Massey's servants was killed and Massey and his other servants were injured and left for dead. At the inquest on the matter, the coroner worked to 'obtain lightly the pardon of the said Hough and to save his lands, which be yearly 20 marks in lands and above', which he managed to do with the aid of the Sheriff and 'by the maintenance of divers gentlemen, being near kinsmen to the said Hough, who caused their own tenants and servants to be put upon the said inquest'.
In 1558 Richard Hough was a senior Knight of the Shire for Cheshire and this post suggests that the Massey scandal had been forgiven and forgotten.
Richard died in 1574 and at that time his lands were worth £50 a year, which included a number of monastic properties.

The Hough family were known Catholics. Richard Hough however supported the Religious Settlement which Queen Elizabeth I created upon her accession to the throne. The Bishop of Chester credited him for this move in 1564 and Richard was appointed to the Cheshire Bench.
Richard's son William responded differently than his father to the Religious Settlement. William refused to compromise his beliefs and maintained his Catholic faith, making him a recusant. This difference caused a rift between father and son, and in his Will Richard included a clause which read that if William did not follow his father's wishes relating to religion then he would lose his inheritance.

In direct opposition to her father, Jane Cromwell was much like her husband William in her religious beliefs and both were listed as recusants from 1576 onwards. In 1576 she was first listed as an 'ostinate recusant' on the Diocesan list, and later in 1578 was listed as an absentee and non-communicant at the Metropolitan Visitation at which time she was excommunicated for non-appearance, but later this was rescinded.
In 1581 William was imprisoned by the High Commission, and later indicted at the October Quarter Sessions for absence. He was given a fine of £120 and was returned to Chester Castle Prison. In December he was transferred to New Fleet in Salford, where he joined a group of recusants and remained there until his death in February 1585. The news of his death did not reach the government for a long time. In autumn 1585 he was assessed as a recusant and in June 1586 he owed £600 in recusancy fines.

Jane and William's daughter Alice and her husband William and their children were also known recusants. From 1581 onwards Alice was frequently listed as a non-communicant and recusant. She was fined £960 in April 1593, a further £240 in September 1600. Her husband William Whitmore, however, was listed as a non-communicant, not a recusant, and was loyal to crown. Alice and William had at least four children; William, Christina, Eleanor and Jane. The three daughters were listed as absentees for the 1598 Diocesan Visitation and were fined £240 each in 1600 for their absences. Christina and Eleanor were listed again in 1601 and 1605.

Antigone Plantagenet

Antigone Plantagenet was born about 1425 as the illegitimate daughter of Humphrey Plantagent, Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447), the younger brother of King Henry IV of England. The mother of Antigone is a mystery; she is sometimes listed as Eleanor Cobham (1400-52) who was his mistress at the time and later his wife, however her mother is also known simply as 'an unidentified Frenchwoman'. If her mother had been Eleanor Cobham, it would have been likely that after her parent's marriage she would have been legitimized.

Humphrey and Eleanor of Gloucester

Antigone was married to Henry Grey, Earl of Tankerville and Powys (1419-50) with whom she had three children; Richard (1436-66), Humphrey and Elizabeth (1440-1501).
After her husband died in 1450, leaving Antigone a widow at only 25 years old, she soon married again. However, her second husband was not a nobleman or landed gentry which would be expected of her as a member of the royal family. With both her husband and father dead, Antigone left England for France where she married Jean D'Amancy in 1451; he was the Esquire of the Horse for Charles VII of France. "An alliance utterly alien to her dead father's policy"(Beaucourt). The marriage occurred before June of that year as the King of France issued papers legitimising Antigone and declaring her already married for a second time. On the 9th November 1452 the King of France granted the castle of Rumilly-sous-Cornillon to Jean and his descendants, who held it until 1518. Jean D'Amancy died in 1459. It is unknown when Antigone died.

Chateau Rumilly-sous-Cornillon

Cardinal Swynford's illegitimate daughter

Henry Beaufort (d.1447) was a son of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, and was therefore a half-brother to King Henry IV. On the 14th July 1398 Henry was consecrated as Bishop of Lincoln, in November 1404 he became Bishop of Winchester and then in 1426 he was made a Cardinal by Pope Martin V. 

Henry Beaufort

In 1402 Henry fathered a daughter named Jane Beaufort. Many people gave her mother as Alice FitzAlan (1378-1415) however this is highly unlikely due to Jane's date of birth. It is possible that Jane was in fact named Joan, however due to non-standardized spelling it is unclear which it is. She may have been named Joan after Henry's sister. It does not appear that Jane was kept a secret or hidden away, as the Beaufort family themselves were an illegitimate line it appears they treated their children the same whether they were legitimate or not. 

Jane married Sir Edward Stradling (1389-1453, Acre) in about 1423. Edward was the eldest son of Sir William Stradling and Lady Isabel St Barbe. The ancient Stradling family was seated at St Donat's Castle in Glamorgan in Wales. Like his father and grandfather before him, Edward made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to receive his knighthood in 1408.
The couple had four children;
+ Henry Stradling (1423-77, Cyprus) m. Elizabeth Herbert
                                                           + Thomas Stradling (1454-80) m. Janet Matthew
                                                           + Charles Stradling (b.1457)
                                                           + Jane Stradling (b.1459) m. Myles ap Harry
                                                           + Elizabeth Stradling (b.1461) m Richard Fleming
In 1449 Henry, his family and a servant were captured by the Breton pirate Colyn Dolphyn on their journey sailing from Wales to Somerset. The pirate held the family at St Malo while demanding a ransom of 2,200 marks. Sir Edward had to sell off  four of his manors to pay it; Sutton, Bassalleg, Rogerston and Tregwillim. Dolphyn finally released the family in 1451. A year later, Colyn Dolphyn returned to St Donat's and so the Stradlings lured the pirate to Nash Point, a sandbank, using false lights on the cliffs so as to capture him. Dolphyn was given a trial - although the legality of this is in question - and he was condemned to death. Colyn Dolphyn was buried up to his neck in the sand in Tresillian Cave. As his father did, Henry Stradling went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1476. Henry was knighted at the Holy Sepulchre the following year. He died on his way back to England in 1477. He was buried in Famagusta in Cyprus.
+ Katherine Stradling m. Maurice Denys (1410-1503)
                                   + Walter Denys
                                   + John Denys
                                   + William Denys
                                  m2. Hugh Winston
+ John Stradling (b.1425). Had a daughter named Ann Danvers (b.1459)
It has been suggested by some that John joined the church and became Archdeacon of Llandaff in 1448, but later leaving Wales and obtaining the rectory of North Tawton in the diocese of Exeter in 1454.
+ David Stradling
The only mention of David was that he was the youngest child of the family and that he lived in Somerset, as he was very close to his mother.

It seems likely that Edward's appointment as Chamberlain of South Wales in December 1423 may have been a result of his new connection to the Bishop. He remained in this position until March 1437. Edward held a number of positions throughout the years; his rise furthered due to his connection to the royal family he had married into. 

November 8th 1424, Westminster
Grant, during pleasure, by advice of the council, to Edward Stradlyng, king's knight of the office of steward and receiver of the lordships of Cantreselly, Alsandreston and Penkethly, which are held of the earl of Hereford, the said office of steward and receiver of the kings lordships having been previously held as one office, with the fees of 40s. [a year].

July 31st 1432, Dogmersfield
Commission to Edward Stradelyng, knight, and William ap Thomas, knight, to enquire as to the malefactors who took at sea a ship called le George of Sluys laden with wines and honey of certain merchants of Flanders and Picardy, and brought her to the town of Dynby and sold the ship there with part of the wines and honey, giving the remainder to divers persons. The circumstances are to be ascertained and persons refusing to make restitution are to find. surety to appear in Chancery in the quinzaine of Michaelmas next.

April 28th 1434, Westminster
Commission to James Audeley, knight, Edward Stradlyng, knight, William ap Thomas, knight, Robert Grendour, knight, Thomas Arundell, knight, John Herle, knight, John Polryden and John Hunte, sarjeant at arms, to make inquisition touching a petition by Peter Preere, Richard Goulle, Francis Sarratt, William Lorget and their fellows, burgesses and merchants of the king's cities of Paris and Rouen, shewing that, whereas they recently laded two vessels of Rouen at Leseluse with goods worth 2,000 marks for the victualling of the said cities, these vessels were taken off Brumalet in Caux by certain of the king's lieges in two balingers of Wynchelse and Sandewyche and carried as if belonging to enemies to the parts of Cornwall and Wales, where they were disposed of. All goods whereof the petitioners can prove their ownership by the merchants' marks or otherwise are to be restored, or their value paid if they have been consumed, and any persons proving contumacious are to be brought before the king in chancery.

July 27th 1438, Dogmersfield
Appointment, during pleasure, of Edward Stradelyng knight, to be sheriff of Kermerdyn in South Wales, accounting at the exchequer of Kermerdyn.

When Cardinal Beaufort died in 1447, he mentioned both his daughter and son-in-law in his Will. 
In the original Will of Henry Beaufort, dated 20 January 1446;
"Item, I bequeath to Johanna, wife of Edward Stradling, Knight, two dozen dishes, four chargers, XII salt-cellars, etc and c li in gold". This bequest was the first one listed after the gift of a cup of gold to the king, Henry.
In the second codicil (2 September 1447) to Henry's Will is states;
"Item, I bequeath to Edward Stradling, Knight, a certain portion of silver vessels, according to the discretion of my executors"

Jane died in 1453, the same year as her husband. 

Charles Brandon's illegitimate children

Charles Brandon (1483-1545), Duke of Suffolk, closest friend and brother-in-law of King Henry VIII. Charles Brandon had four marriages and eight legitimate children.
Charles also fathered three illegitimate children; Charles (1521-51), Frances (d.1600) and Mary. Coincidentally, these children share the same names as their legitimate half-siblings. The identity of the mothers of these illegitimate children are unknown. Judging by their dates of marriage, it seems likely that Charles and Frances were born during the Duke's marriage to Princess Mary Tudor, Queen of France, and Mary was born during his marriage to Catherine Willoughby.

Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk

Charles Brandon seems to have had a close relationship with his father Charles, the Duke, in particular during his adulthood. In November 1542 Charles commanded a garrison of 200 on the Scottish border where his father was Warden of the Marshes. Charles, then went to war in France with his father the Duke in 1544, where he knighted him in September in Boulogne. The Duke had also used his influence to grant him the stewardship of Sheriff Hutton in January 1544. In 1547 Charles became MP for Westmoreland.
Charles was of the Protestant faith; this can be seen in his support for the Dissolution and his poor treatment of the priests of the monastic lands he desired. Also, in his Will, his phrasing reveals a Protestant view to sin and death, rather than a Catholic one.
Between 1541 and 1545 Charles married Elizabeth Strangeways (1498-1559), nee Pigot, a widow of Sir James Strangeways (1503-41). Elizabeth was an heiress in her own right, of her uncle Sir Ralph Pigot (d.1503). After Charles' death she married for a third time to Francis Neville (1519-82). There were no children from any of Elizabeth's marriages. It was through his wife's inheritance that Charles gained Sigston Castle in Yorkshire which became his principal residence. In March 1546 Elizabeth's father Thomas died and she inherited a third of his estate. Charles and Elizabeth gained former monastic lands in Yorkshire; the manors of Appleton Wiske and Unerby, on the condition that Elizabeth give up her manor of Greenshaw.
Charles died on the 12th of August 1551 in Alnwick, after an illness of at least a month; he made his Will in July. In Charles' Will, he left his 'sister Sandon', Frances, some gold bracelets; indicating that the half-siblings shared a close relationship. It is possible that as Frances Sandon was the only sibling he named, the two were in fact full siblings, sharing the same mother as well as the same father.
After his wife Elizabeth, the main beneficiary of Charles' Will was his 'cousin' Humphrey Seckford and who he left Sigston to; an executor of his Will was Francis Seckford, Humphrey's brother, and another brother Anthong Seckford was left £10. The Brandon and Seckford families were related but very distantly, therefore this close relationship between the Seckfords and Charles could be interpreted as a close familial one; in that Charles' mother was a Seckford.

Frances Brandon married firstly William Sandon (1522-59). Frances and William had Katherine (b.1545), Anne, Frances and Ambrose (1557-1628).
Katherine Sandon married Edward Asfordby (d.1590) and had William (d.1623), John, Edward, George, Peregrine, Jane, Susan and Elizabeth. The use of the name Peregrine is interesting to note as Katherine Willoughby named her son Peregrine; perhaps reflecting the relationship between the family members.
William Sandon was Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1544. In his Will of 9th October 1558, William mentions 'my wife's mother and my wife's brother'; as all of Duke Charles Brandon's sons were deceased by this time, we can assume that this is referring to Frances' mother and her son from another relationship. This also means that Frances shared a close relationship with her mother throughout her life. In his Will, William also leaves a bequest to 'my cousin Elizabeth Gildon, daughter of my uncle-in-law Thomas Gildon'; it seems unusual that he would refer to a husband of an aunt in his way, so it was perhaps that Thomas Gildon was an uncle of William's wife Frances. This would make Frances' mother a member of the Gildon family.
Frances' son Ambrose Sandon married a woman named Barbara (d.1627) and they had a son named Thomas (b.1599). However after this the Sandon line vanishes.
By 1562 Frances had remarried to Andrew Billesby.
Both of Frances' husbands were Lincolnshire gentlemen whose families were closely associated with each other due to geography and marriage. Both Sandon and Billesby knew and were supporters of Mary Willoughby, the mother of Duke Charles Brandon's fourth wife Katherine.

Mary Brandon married Robert Ball (b.1542). Robert was the son of John Ball (1518-56) and Mary Marsham. John Ball was a servant to the Willoughby family. Robert Ball attended Cambridge University in 1560. Very little is known about Mary Brandon.

Samuel Pepys' illegitimate niece

Samuel Pepys' younger brother Thomas Pepys (1634-64) was a tailor like their father, he also had a speech impediment which made him awkward socially. This may have contributed to the fact that Thomas remained unmarried at the time of his early death. However, Thomas did have an illegitimate daughter.

Samuel Pepys

Thomas Pepys had gotten his maid Margaret, "an ugly jade" as Samuel Pepys describes in his diary, pregnant. Margaret in fact gave birth in the parish of St Sepulchre to twin girls named Elizabeth and Anne, however Anne died shortly after being born. The twins were given the surname of Taylor and their father was recorded as a John Taylor - probably using Thomas' trade as an alias for himself.
Elizabeth Taylor was placed in the household of a Mr Cave to be cared for.

Thomas Pepys died on the 15th March 1664 and his brother Samuel Pepys was informed of the existence of his niece on the 6th April 1664 by an old servant of his fathers called John Noble.

The child, Elizabeth Taylor, must have been born around August 1663 as it was told that Thomas had gotten Margaret pregnant on 'November 5th', and therefore the business of her care seems to have been an ongoing issue for some time. Thomas Pepys had firstly trusted a man called Mr Crawly with helping him with the matter, and who would take money from Thomas for the child. However, Thomas discovered that Mr Crawly had been taking the money for himself rather than for the child, and was requesting more and more money from him. Thomas found himself backed into a corner, as he was not well off financially, and therefore turned to John Noble for help.
With John Noble's help, Thomas' first idea was to go to "the other side of the water" and pay a poor woman who would be willing to take the child in. They did go but did not go through with this plan as John Noble pointed out that if the child's mother Margaret did in the future want to see her child, if they could not produce the child to show her, Thomas could be accused of murder.
A poor pensioner from the parish of St Bride's named Mr Cave was found to be willing to take the child into his care, for the price of 5l and he was to keep the child without future demand for money. However, as the parish was already a poor one and Mr Cave had brought another child into it, that wasn't his own, he was sent "to the Counter", meaning prison, for adding more financial burden upon the parish. Mr Cave then wrote to Thomas Pepys from prison, begging him to help him get released. It seems that Thomas did indeed help Cave as he was released from prison soon after. Once released, he asked Thomas for 5l more for the keeping of his daughter Elizabeth, which he gave to him. Thomas entered into a bond with Cave of 100l to secure 'John Taylor' from 'all trouble, or charge of meat, drink, clothes, and breeding of Elizabeth Taylor'. It was Noble who gave Thomas the money to pay the bond, and will also pay him a futher 20s.

After the death of Thomas, Mr Cave then tried to get money for the child from Thomas' parents, with Samuel himself then becoming involved. Samuel did not want his parents to have to pay for the child, and used the ambiguity of their parentage to his advantage. There was only a very small number of people who could prove that Thomas had been the father.
It appears that John Noble later chose to support Mr Cave's claim rather than that of Samuel Pepys concerning payments towards the child, and that if the matter was brought to court, he would bear witness for Mr Cave. As there were witnesses who could attest to the fact that Thomas Pepys had admitted to them that the twins were his; a Mr Randall, who was a carpenter, and his wife, as well as the midwife who attended Margaret had all heard from Thomas himself that the children were his and he had told them the circumstances of the conception.

Samuel Pepys was angry about the whole situation and refused to pay any of his own money for the child. Samuel used the fact that the child had been christened with the surname 'Taylor' to argue that there was no real proof that the child was his brother's and therefore the Pepys family were under no financial obligation to the child. Samuel and his father were both 'vexed to think what a rogue my brother was in all respects'. Samuel had no concern for the child that was his niece and saw the situation as just another problem caused by his brother. Thomas Pepys had also left at his death a number of debts, which Samuel had to deal with.

There is no further mention of Elizabeth Taylor or what happened to her after the 25th August 1664. It can be surmised that neither Samuel nor his parents paid any money towards the child's upbringing.

Henry Carey's Venetian son

Emilia Bassano (1569-1645), the illegitimate daughter of Venetian court musician Baptiste Bassano (d.1576) and Margaret Johnson (d.1587), became the mistress to Henry Carey, Baron Hunsdon (1526-96), in 1587 when she was just eighteen years old.

Emilia Bassano

Emilia was noted as having black hair and black eyes. She had inherited her father's musical talent and she played the virginals. After the death of her father Baptiste in 1576, Emilia went to live in the household of Susan Bertie, Countess of Kent. It was in the Bertie household that Emilia received a Humanist education, as Bertie believed in educating girls to the same level as boys. Later, she lived in the household of Margaret Clifford and her daughter Anne Clifford.
Whilst living as his mistress, Carey gave Emilia a pension of £40 a year, as well as frequent gifts of jewels.

In 1592 Emilia found she was pregnant with Carey's child. Emilia was quickly married off to her first cousin Alphonso Lanier (1567-1613), another court musician, on October 18th 1592. Carey gifted Emilia with a sum of money on this occasion. Her marriage to Lanier appears to have been the end of her relationship with Henry Carey. The following year in 1593, Emilia gave birth to a son, named Henry Lanier, after his biological father.
Emilia's marriage was not a happy one, and the couple only had one child together; a daughter, Odillya (1598-9).

It appears that Henry Lanier inherited the musical talent of his mother's musical Bassano family; trained by his uncle Andrea Lanier (1582-1660), he played the flute and became one of the king's flautists in September 1629.
Henry Lanier married in 1623 to Joyce Mansfield, and they had two children together;
+ Mary (b.1627) m. Henry Young in 1652
+ Henry (b.1629)

In 1611 Emilia published a book of poems entitled "Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum", at which time she was the first woman in England to have done so. In 1613 her husband Alphonse died, and Emilia set up a school to provide for herself and her family. However due to the school gaining a bad reputation due to arrests over rent prices in 1617 and 1619, the school lasted less than ten years.

Due to her connection with Henry Carey, the patron of the Lord Chamberlain's Men theatre company, it has been suggested by historians that Emilia was in fact Shakespeare's 'Dark Lady'. It has also been suggested that Emilia's mother Margaret Johnson was a relative of Robert Johnson, a lutenist who joined Shakespeare's company.

Henry Lanier died in 1633. Due to his death, his mother Emilia was providing financially for her two grandchildren in 1635. Emilia died in 1645.

Agnes ap Rhys, the rebel's daughter

Agnes Rice (ap Rhys) (1522-74) was the daughter of Catherine Howard (1508-54) and Rhys ap Gruffydd (1508-31), a Welsh landowner who was executed for treason as it was believed he was plotting with the Scottish king against King Henry VIII. Due to her father's death, and the confiscation of his estates by the crown, Agnes was sent to live in the household of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. As Agnes' mother, Catherine, had been the daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk.

In the 1540's Agnes became the mistress of William Stourton, Baron Stourton.

William Stourton, Baron Stourton (1505-48) and his wife Elizabeth Dudley (1488-1560), had nine children together;
+ Charles Stourton (1521-57) m. Anne Stanley
+ Ursula Stourton (1518-51) m. Edward Clinton
+ Arthur Stourton (1524-58) m. Anne McWilliams
+ William Stourton (1526-81) m1. Thomasine FitzJames m2. Mary Wogan
+ Andrew Stourton
+ Dorothy Stourton m. Richard Brent
+ John Stourton (1531-81)
+ George Stourton (b.1527)
+ Giles Stourton (b.1529) m. Joan Gifford

William Stourton left his wife and children, and moved Agnes in with him where she lived as his wife. Agnes later claimed in 1553 that they had indeed been married in 1547 in the chapel at Stourton House, however William's wife Elizabeth was still living at this time.

Agnes and William had a daughter together; Mary Stourton (1547-1620), who married Richard Gore (1543-83) on the 13th July 1565. At the time of her marriage Mary was given the manor of Aldrington and half of the manor of Yetton Keynel. They sold their share of Yetton Keynel Manor in 1577.
Mary and Richard had six children together;
+ Edward (1565-1622) m. Elizabeth Jennings (d.1627)
+ Mary (b.1570)
+ Susannah (b.1582) m. Robert Edwards
+ Agnes
+ Elizabeth
+ Walter

Upon William's death in 1548, his Will left nearly everything he owned to Agnes, and with the exception of his heir, his eldest son Charles, his wife and children were left nothing. Agnes took all jewels and money and moved back to Stourton House, refusing to be evicted by Charles; she had the servants take up arms in defense of the estate and locked all gates. Charles was not able to evict her from the property until 1550, and even then he was not able to regain the jewels and money she had taken. Charles attempted to act against the wishes of his father's Will, and Agnes sued him through the courts. The settlement of the estate of William Stourton was not settled until 1557, after the death of Charles.

After William Stourton's death, Agnes married, or remarried if her claims of being married to Stourton are to be believed, to Edward Bayntun (1517-93). The couple had thirteen children together, including;
+ William (d.1564)
+ Henry (1571-1616)
+ Anne (d.1587)
+ Margaret
+ Elizabeth
+ Catherine (d.1582)

The couple lived at The Ivy, a large house at the Manor of Rowden in Chippenham which Edward had inherited from his father. Agnes and Edward continued to live there until 1564 when Edward's elder brother died and he inherited the entirety of the Manor of Rowden, and so moved their family into Bromham House. Edward was highly involved with local government, being MP for several areas - Wiltshire County, Devizes, Caine and Chippenham Borough - as well as High Sheriff of Wiltshire (1570) and Justice of the Peace. Edward was knighted in 1574.

The Ivy

In 1564 the eldest son of Agnes and Edward, William, died as an infant. The sudden nature of his death led to the accusation that witchcraft had been behind his demise. Dorothy Mantell, the wife of Edward's younger brother Henry Bayntun was accused of employing Agnes Mills to bewitch the child, hoping to kill him. Dorothy's motives were that if William died, then her husband Henry would become Edward's heir and inherit the family estate. A witness to the crime was one Jane Marshe, who gave evidence against Dorothy. However she then changed her testimony and said that Edward and Agnes had bribed her into incriminating Dorothy. Agnes Mills was hanged for witchcraft, but Dorothy went unpunished for her part.

Agnes Bayntun died on the 19th August 1574, and was buried in St Nicholas Church in Bromham, where she was later joined by her husband Edward. At the time of her death, only five of her children by Edward were still alive, as well as her elder daughter Mary Stourton. Edward married for a second time to Anne Packington, with whom he had one son, before himself dying in 1593.

Brass on Bayntun tomb, St Nicholas; Edward, son Henry, Agnes, daughter Anne, missing brass of daughter Elizabeth, and second wife Anne.