Earl of Worcester

“ His Majesty united so many inconsistencies of character that he completely deluded not the Earl alone but the entire Roman Catholic party throughout the land. He had succeeded in draining the Marquis of Worcester of his enormous wealth, and had not blushed to degrade his son, the Earl, by a public accusation (which his private conduct repudiated) to give colour to his own sophisms. ”

“ By the end of 1601 the Earl of Worcester was holding the Mastership of the Horse and other important offices at Court, and may have thought it consonant with his dignity to have London players under his patronage. On 3 January 1602 his company was at Court. On 31 March the Privy Council, after attempting for some years to limit the number of London companies to two, made an order that Oxford’s and Worcester’s men, ‘beinge ioyned by agrement togeather in on companie’, should be allowed to play at the Boar’s Head and nowhere else. ”

“ The Earl of Northumberland, recovering from his illness, was far advanced in his march with a considerable body of men to join the main army, when he was met by the intelligence of the defeat and death of his son, and his brother, the Earl of Worcester. ”

“ All men seemed to like the enterprise but the Earl of Worcester, who, on particular views for securing the country behind, as he called it, proposed the taking in the town of Gloucester and Hereford first. He made a long speech of the danger of leaving Massey, an active bold fellow, with a strong party in the heart of all the king's quarters, ready on all occasions to sally out and surprise the neighbouring garrisons, as he had done Sudley Castle and others; and of the ease and freedom to all those western parts to have them fully cleared of the enemy. ”

“ They openly accuse him of cowardice, Commines asserting that he always fought on horseback to secure a safe retreat. If he was not a butcher like Tiptoft, earl of Worcester, he rarely spared his enemies when they fell into his hands. Of Worcester's love of learning there is no trace in Warwick, and beyond joining his brother George Neville, then bishop of Exeter, in founding in 1460 St. William's College, opposite the east end of York Minster, we do not hear of his devoting any part of his great wealth to public purposes. ”

“ SOMERSET, CHARLES, Earl of Worcester (1460?–1526) , born about 1460, was an illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, third duke of Somerset. In his childhood he was doubtless an exile in Flanders, for he was knighted by the Archduke Philip, then himself a child, before the battle of Bosworth. ”

“ It was then, or perhaps somewhat earlier, previous to his elevation, that the Earl of Worcester garrisoned Raglan Castle, strengthening his position by the raising of extensive earthworks on its most approachable [Pg 44] side, and maintained there 800 men entirely at his own expense.
In September, 1642, Lord Herbert was in personal communication with his Majesty at Nottingham. He was then, although 41 years of age, a man singularly inexperienced in the ways either of commerce or of courts. ”

“ Hath in a special manner recommended himself to our favour: as he is rendered illustrious by a long train of noble ancestors, and by the high [Pg 163] nobility transmitted by paternal succession from John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster, and his son John Plantagenet Duke of Somerset, from the place of his nativity surnamed Beaufort—and by other connections of blood with the Royal Houses of Lancaster and York, to Charles the first Earl of Worcester; All which dignity of birth and accumulated honours he hath himself greatly surpassed by his own personal virtues and inviolable fidelity to Us. ”

“ We, Henrietta Maria of Bourbon, Queen of Great Britain, have, by the order of the King our very honoured Lord and Husband, caused to be delivered into the hands of our dear and well beloved cousin, Edward Somerset, Count and Earl of Worcester, a necklace of Rubies, containing ten large Rubies and one hundred and sixty pearls set and strung together in gold ”

“ That the Earl of Worcester be one other of that number.” Likewise were added the names of Winter, Culpepper, Byron, the Duke of Buckingham; and finally, “all that have been plotting, designing, or assisting, in the Irish rebellion,” shall be proscribed, as enemies and traitors to the Commonwealth; and shall “die without mercy, wherever they shall be found within the limits of this nation; and their estates employed for the use of the Commonwealth.” ”

“ After a lapse of five years, he writes another letter to Boyle, [14] on the same subject, furnishing us, incidentally, with the following curious and important details:—“The Earl of Worcester is buying Fauxhall from Mr. Trenchard, to bestow the use of that house upon Gaspar Calehof [Kaltoff] and son [son-in-law] , as long as they shall live, for he intends to make it a College of Artisans. Yesterday (he adds) I was invited by the famous Thomas Bushel to Lambeth Marsh, to see part of that foundation.” ”

“ And it is noticed that, “As for noble persons who lost great estates, and endured much hardship for his Majesty, the late Duchess of Buckingham, the late Marquis of Worcester, [O] and the late Earl of Shrewsbury were Penitents of the Society, as other prime nobility yet in being.” ”

“ But Wulstan bishop of Worcester, with a large military force, prevented the earl of Hereford from crossing the Severn and joining earl Ralph with his army at the appointed place, and the bishop was joined by Aegelwin abbot of Evesham, with his men, and summoned to his aid Urse, the sheriff of Worcester, and Walter de Lacy, with their forces, and a large company of the people. ”

“ During the general rebellion of the Norman lords against William Rufus in 1088 he joined with Roger of Lacy, and Ralph of Mortemer, with the men of Earl Roger of Shrewsbury, and the confederate lords at the head of the forces of Herefordshire and Shropshire, and with a large number of Welsh allies harried Worcestershire and threatened to burn the city of Worcester, to plunder the minster and take the king's castle. ”

“ CHAPTER XI. THE MARQUIS OF WORCESTER AN EXILE; RESIDES IN FRANCE.
The Earl of Glamorgan, succeeding to his father’s title and honours in December, 1646, while he was yet in Ireland, very soon after, as we have seen, went to France, a voluntary exile. His countrymen had heaped on him (in common with the entire Roman Catholic adherents to the royal cause) all the acrimonious abuse which political and religious intolerance is always too ready to disseminate, with a zealous ardour which defies discrimination. ”

“ The Bishop of Hereford likewise kept a champion in his suite, who received regular wages; and when Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, laid claim to the chase on the western slopes of the Malvern range, the Bishop's representative was prepared to do battle in the lists if need were; but a jury, composed of men drawn from the counties [Pg 148] of Worcester and Hereford, decided in favour of the church, and a trench of separation between the two possessions was made by the disappointed Earl along the ridge of the hill, where it remains a memorial of the contest to the present day. ”

“ After the disaster at Worcester, the Earl had accompanied the King in his flight, until he was safe in the care of the Pendrells, when, with Lord Lauderdale, Lord Talbot, and about 40 troopers, he started northwards, in the hope of overtaking the remnant of the Scotch army, but when near Nantwich the fugitives fell into the hands of Oliver Edge, [8] a captain in the Manchester regiment, also returning from Worcester. ”

“ On 16 Jan. 1399 Worcester was named admiral of the fleet for Ireland, whither he accompanied the king in May. In the meantime there had been a quarrel between Richard and the Earl of Northumberland and his son Henry (Hotspur) . Worcester had gone to his brother and nephew, and perhaps advised their withdrawal to Scotland (Froissart, xiv. 167–8, ed. Buchon) . On 4 July Henry of Lancaster landed at Ravenspur, and in August Richard, accompanied by Worcester, crossed over from Ireland to Milford Haven. ”

“ In the reign of Henry VIII. it had belonged to the see of Carlisle; it was afterwards inhabited by the Earls of Bedford, being then known as Bedford and Russell House, from whom it came to the Earls of Worcester, when it assumed their name. It also figured as the temporary residence of the great Earl of Clarendon, [37] who is represented to have paid for it a rental of £500 [2] per annum, probably taking it furnished. ”

“ Besides it is to be considered, that the King’s inclination and pleasure concurs with this design; for though his Majesty has appointed the Earl by his lesser seal only, yet that is sufficient for the Irish, since they have just reason to consider that appointment as legal and valid. Add to this, that as the Confederates of Ireland have it in their view to transport the Holy Faith into England by their arms, no person appears to be more fit for the execution of such a purpose, than the Earl, in whom two characters are united, that of a faithful servant to the King, and a perfect Catholic ”

“ Moreouer partlie moued by his owne deuotion and partlie by the persuasion of his wife, he builded or beneficiallie augmented and repared manie abbeies and churches as the saide abbie or priorie at Couentrie—the abbeies of Wenlocke, Worcester, Stone, Evesham, and Leot, besides Hereford."
The church of Worcester, which the good Earl had thus "beneficiallie augmented," the Saxon King Offa had endowed with princely munificence before him. ”

“ To the King’s Most Excellent Majesty.—The most humble Petition of Edward, Marquis of Worcester:—
“Sheweth,
“That your Petitioner overwhelmed with the very, very much he hath to say, and fearful too long to detain your sacred Majesty therewith from more serious affairs, humbly prayeth that you will be pleased to refer him to be heard by the Lord High Chancellor of England, the Lord Privy Seal, the Duke of Albemarle, the Earl of Lotherdale, the [Pg 283] Lord Arlington, the Lord Ashley and Mr. ”

“ Keeper of the Privy Seal, 7; his death, 8; his autograph, 12; his horsemanship and athletic acquirements, 13; named, 299.
Worcester, Edward Somerset, 6th Earl and 2nd Marquis of, (Lord Herbert, from 1601 to 1642) , notice of, 2; one of 13 children, 6; at Oxford, 6; family associations, 9; probable date of his birth, 10; at eight years of age, 10; his preceptor, Mr. Adams, 10; his education, and on the continent, 11; at Charles the First’s court, 11; at 24 years of age, 11; Raglan Castle, a luxurious residence, 12; a young nobleman’s education, 12; personal appearance, 13; defect in speech, 13 ”

“ Norm.) , having (as 'count of Meulan') entrusted his lordship of Worcester to his brother, the earl of Leicester, and to the sheriff (App. 5th Report Hist. MSS. p. 301) . On his return, he adhered to the empress, and held Worcester against Stephen in 1150. The king took the town, but not the castle (Hen. Hunt. 282) , which he again attacked in 1152. ”

“ John Fox "the Tinker," as he is here and before called, and "that rogue Fox" as the Royalists sometimes term him, appears to have been a very active officer, and no small annoyance to his adversaries. Amongst the papers of the [Pg 329] republican Earl of Denbigh, who was commander in chief of the forces in the counties of Warwick, Worcester, Stafford, and Salop, is a memorandum, made about March, 1643-4, of a commission granted to John Fox to be colonel of a regiment to consist of six troops of horse and two companies of dragoons, and a commission to Reynold Fox to be his major. ”

“ His lordship was created Earl of Glamorgan a few days prior to his departure for Ireland, and Carte, who in every point in which Charles was concerned, invariably concealed whatever tended to cast a stain on the king's character, and whose gross partiality in this particular instance we shall hereafter more fully notice, has even questioned the propriety of the Marquis's assuming the title of Earl of Glamorgan. ”

“ See Gloucester Woodville, Elizabeth, wife of Edward IV., iii. 124, 167, 168, 171, 176 Woodville, Sir Richard, iii. 124. See Rivers Woodward, John, vi. 167 Wool, grants of, by Parliament to the king, ii. 230; taxation of, 107, 164, 298; trade in, under Edward I., 107; under Edward III., 226; monopolized by him, 229; in the eighteenth century, viii. 53 Woolsack, the Lord Chancellor's, ii. 226 Worcester, rising at, under Harthacnut, i. 148; threatened by Owen Glyndwr, iii. 18 Worcester, Thomas Percy, earl of, iii. 13, 14 Worcester, John Tiptoft, earl of, iii. 162 Worcester, William of, ii. 179 ”

“ There are no remains of the old castle of Worcester; it adjoined the monastery so closely that King John gave its yard to the monks, and after that time it ceased to be a stronghold. The Commandery, founded by St Wulfstan in 1085, was a hospital, and its name appears to lack authority. It was rebuilt in Tudor times, and there remains a beautiful hall, with music gallery, canopied dais, and a fine bay window, together with other parts. The wood-carving is exquisite. There are many old half-timbered houses. ”

“ ABLE TO ENDURE Back to Worcester rode the Bishop.
Gallop! Gallop! along the grassy rides, beside the hard highway.
Hasten good Shulamite, black and comely still, though flecked with foam.
Important work lies ahead. Every moment is precious.
If Mother Sub-Prioress should send to the Palace, mischief will be done, which it will not be easy to repair. ”

“ Branches of the Great Western diverge to Malvern and Hereford, and to Leominster. Worcester lies mainly upon the left (E.) bank of the Severn, which is here a broad and placid river, the main part of the city lying on a ridge parallel with its banks. The city is governed by a mayor, 12 aldermen and 36 councillors. Area 3242 acres.
The cathedral church of Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary is beautifully placed close to the river. ”