particularly as concerned the County of Staffordshire. He was
a friend of Dr. Robert Plot, who wrote _The Natural History
of Staffordshire_ in 1686, and assisted him in many ways. His
collections of drawings and manuscripts were nearly all lost in
a fire at Ingestre in 1882.
[Illustration]
CHITTING, HENRY
_Arms._--Quarterly; arg. and az., on a bend gu., 3 quatrefoils of the
first. _Chitting._
_Crest._--A talbot's head erased arg.
_Helmet._--That of an Esquire.
_Motto._--FIDELITATE ET SAGACITATE.
_Initials._--H. C. (Henry Chitting).
[_Collection of rolls of the reigns of many kings._ Stowe, 601.]
Henry Chitting (born 1580 (?), died 1638) was a herald and
genealogist. In 1618 he became Chester Herald, and conducted
several of the heraldic visitations of English counties.
Chitting wrote a valuable work on the _Extinct Baronage of
England_, and others of less general importance.
[Illustration]
CHOLMONDELEY, GEORGE, THIRD EARL CHOLMONDELEY
_Arms._--Gu., in chief 2 helmets in profile arg., and in base a garb
or. _Cholmondeley._
_Coronet._--That of an Earl.
[FAERNI. _Fabulae._ London, 1743.]
George Cholmondeley (born 2nd January 1702, died 10th June
1770) was the son of George, second Earl Cholmondeley, and
succeeded his father in the Earldom in 1733. He was Member
of Parliament for East Looe, and afterwards for Windsor, and
Governor of Chester Castle. In 1725 Viscount Malpas, the
courtesy title used by George Cholmondeley, was made a Knight
of the Order of the Bath, and he subsequently held the offices
of Master of the Robes, Master of the Horse, and was Lord
Lieutenant of North Wales and of Montgomery. In 1736 he became
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and in 1743 Lord Privy
Seal. He held the rank of Lieutenant-General in the army.
[Illustration]
CHURCHILL, GEORGE SPENCER, FIFTH DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH
_Arms._--Impaled.
Dexter: Quarterly.
1st and 4th sa., a lion rampant arg., on a canton of the last a
cross gu. _Churchill._
2nd and 3rd quarterly, arg. and gu., in the second and third
quarters a fret or; over all on a bend sa., 3 escallops of
the first. _Spencer._
Sinister: Or, a bend sa.; over all a lion rampant gu.
_Abernethy_ (?).
_Coronet._--That of a Duke.
_Motto._--FIEL PERO DESDICHADO.
The whole arms are borne upon an Imperial eagle, the heraldic
indication of the rank of a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, a dignity
given to John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. The eagle is ensigned
with a closed crown, the circlet of which bears the strawberry leaves
and pearls of an English Marquis.
[FERRAROTTO. _Della preeminenza dell' officio di Stradicò
della nobile città di Messina._ Venetiis, 1593.]
[Illustration]
_Variety._--Used as Marquis of Blandford before 1817. _Spencer._
_Arms._--Quarterly.
1st and 4th quarterly, arg. and gu., on the second and third
quarters a fret or; over all on a bend sa., 3 escallops of
the first. _Spencer._
2nd and 3rd sa., a lion rampant arg., on a canton of the last a
cross gu. _Churchill._
_Coronet._--That of a Marquis.
_Motto._--DIEU DEFEND LE DROIT.
The whole arms are borne upon an Imperial eagle as before, but in this
case the whole is ensigned with a Royal orb between the two horns of a
crescent arg., issuing from a Marquis's coronet.
[COLONNA. _Discours du Songe de Poliphile._ Paris, 1654.]
George Spencer, afterwards Spencer-Churchill (born 6th March
1766, died 5th March 1840), was the son of George, fourth Duke
of Marlborough. He was educated at Eton and Oxford, and served
as Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire and for Tregony, and
was a Lord of the Treasury. He married Susan, daughter of the
Earl of Galloway.
In 1817, on the death of his father, he succeeded to the
Dukedom of Marlborough, and in the same year he assumed by
Royal Licence the surname and arms of Churchill in addition
to his patronymic of Spencer. This was done in memory of the
first Duke of Marlborough, who left no male heir, but whose
second daughter Anne had married Charles Spencer, third
Earl of Sunderland, and their son Charles, fifth Earl of
Sunderland, succeeded his aunt Henrietta, _suo jure_ Duchess of
Marlborough, in the Dukedom in 1733. While Marquis of Blandford
the Duke collected a magnificent library at his house, White
Knights, near Reading, but extravagance in living compelled him
to part with it by auction in 1819.
[Illustration]
COCHRANE, JOHN, FOURTH EARL OF DUNDONALD
_Arms._--Impaled.
Dexter: Arg., a chevron gu., between 3 boars' heads erased arg.
_Cochrane._
Sinister: Az., 3 mullets arg., within a double tressure flory
counterflory or. _Murray._
_Coronet._--That of an Earl.
[SETTLE. _Virtute Sacellum._ London, 1720.]
John Cochrane (born 1660 (?), died 5th June 1720) was the
second son of John, second Earl of Dundonald, and succeeded
his brother William in the Earldom in 1705. In 1706 he married
Anne, daughter of Charles Murray, Earl of Dunmore. Lord
Dundonald was a Representative Peer of Scotland and Colonel of
the 4th Regiment of Horse Guards.
[Illustration]
COCKS, JOHN, BARON SOMERS
_Crest._--On a mount vert, a stag lodged reguardant arg., attired sa.,
and gorged with a chaplet of laurel leaves vert. _Cocks._
_Coronet._--That of a Baron.
[_Common Prayer._ London, 1669.]
John Somers Cocks (born 6th May 1760, died circ. 1841) was
the son of Charles Cocks, Baron Somers, and was educated at
Oxford. He was successively Member of Parliament for West Looe,
for Grampound, and for Reigate. In 1806 he succeeded to his
father's barony, and in 1821 was created Earl Somers. Lord
Somers married as his second wife, Jane, daughter of his Uncle
James, and widow of the Rev. George Waddington.
[Illustration]
COKE, THOMAS, FIRST EARL OF LEICESTER
_Arms._--Impaled.
Dexter: Per pale, gu. and az., 3 eagles displayed or. _Coke._
Sinister: Sa., an eagle displayed erm. _Tufton._
_Crest._--On a chapeau az., turned up erm., an ostrich arg., holding in
its mouth a horseshoe or.
_Helmet._--That of an Esquire.
_Motto._--PRUDENS QUI PATIENS.
[MORGUES. _Diverses Pièces pour la Defense de la Royne
Mère du Roy Louys XIII._ Paris, 1637.]
Thomas Coke (born circ. 1699, died 20th April 1759) was the
eldest son of Edward Coke of Holkham in Norfolk. In 1725
Mr. Coke was made a Knight of the Order of the Bath, and
in 1728 he was created Baron Lovel. In 1733 Lord Lovel was
Postmaster-General, and in 1744 he was given a step in the
Peerage and created Viscount Coke and Earl of Leicester. In
1718 Lord Leicester married Lady Mary Tufton, daughter of
Thomas, Earl of Thanet. He left no heir, but the Earldom of
Leicester was revived in 1837 in the person of one of his
collateral descendants.
[Illustration]
THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND
_Arms._--On two separate shields side by side.
Dexter shield: Arg., a cross gu., being the arms of St. George
of England.
Sinister shield: Az., a harp or, stringed arg., being the Harp
of Ireland.
_Motto._--GOD WITH VS.
_Legend._--THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND.
[_Proclamations of the Lord Protector_, G. 5194.]
The Commonwealth was established in England in 1649, and Oliver
Cromwell made Protector. In 1649 Charles, Prince of Wales, was
crowned King at Scone, and in the next year at Carlisle. In
1658, on the death of Cromwell, the people of England felt that
the Commonwealth had lasted long enough, and in 1660 Charles
II. returned among general rejoicings. From a bookbinding
point of view the period of the Commonwealth was one of little
interest, but on the Restoration, Samuel Mearne raised the
standard of English bookbinding to a very high level.
[Illustration]
COOTE, CHARLES
_Arms._--Arg., a chevron between 3 coots sa. _Coote._
_Crest._--A coot ppr.
_Motto._--VINCIT VERITAS.
[BOULAINVILLIERS. _Parliaments of France._
London, 1739.]
Charles Coote (born circ. 1761, died 19th November 1835) was
the son of a London bookseller, John Coote, and was educated at
St. Paul's School and at Oxford, where he distinguished himself
by his diligence and literary tastes. He took his D.C.L.
degree in 1789. Dr. Coote wrote several historical works of
much importance, and in 1789 he was admitted to the College of
Advocates, but he never appears to have taken much to law. His
son H. C. Coote was an author of much note and a high authority
on the subject of the Romans in Britain.
[Illustration]
COTTON, SIR ROBERT, BART.
_Arms._--Quartered.
1. Az., an eagle displayed arg. _Cotton._
2. Sa., a fess dancetté between 3 mullets arg. _Wesenham._
3. Or, a saltire gu., a chief of the first. _Bruce._
4. Three piles gu., meeting in point. _Wishart_; over all on
an escutcheon or, a lion rampant sa., within a double
tressure flory counterflory of the second. _Buchanan._
5. Or, a lion rampant sa., a chief gu. _Beauchamp_ (?).
6. Az., a cross flory between 4 martlets or. _King Edward the
Confessor._
[_Breviary of the Diocese of Salisbury._ Parisiis, 1499.]
[Illustration]
_Variety_, with four quarterings only.
[PAPEBURG. _Comment._ Basileae, 1551.]
[Sir W. Worsley, Hovingham Hall, York.]
Robert Bruce Cotton (born 22nd January 1570, died 6th May 1631)
was the eldest son of Thomas Cotton of Connington, Huntingdon.
At an early age he began to collect manuscripts, especially
English ones, and the dissolution of the monasteries in the
earlier half of the sixteenth century afforded him excellent
opportunity of acquiring invaluable examples. So valuable was
Cotton's collections, much of it containing official documents,
that twice it was sequestrated by the Government; some of it,
however, was restored to him. He was made a Baronet in 1611,
having previously received the honour of Knighthood. The part
of the collection of manuscripts which had been retained by the
Government of the day was eventually restored to his son Sir
Thomas Cotton.
A grandson of Sir Robert, Sir John Cotton, desired to present
the collection to the Nation, together with Cotton House, with
various conditions as to name and safe custody, and after
tedious negotiations the collection became National property
and was deposited in Essex House, Strand; in 1730 it was moved
to Ashburnham House, in Little Dean's Yard, Westminster, then
the property of the Government, where also the old Royal
manuscripts were kept. In 1731 a fire occurred at Ashburnham
House, and a large number of manuscripts were burnt and many
others badly injured. The remainder were then stored in a
dormitory at Westminster School, and here they remained until
they were transferred to the British Museum in 1757.
The Cottonian collection of manuscripts is now kept in the
Manuscript Department at the British Museum; but there are
numbers of printed books as well that are widely distributed.
A member of the Cotton Family is always a Family Trustee of
the British Museum. Sir Robert Cotton wrote a large number of
tracts, mainly political. The Cottonian MSS. are curiously
arranged under the names of the Roman Emperors.
[Illustration]
COVENTRY, WILLIAM, FIFTH EARL OF COVENTRY
_Arms._--Sa., a fess erm., between 3 crescents sa.
_Crest._--A garb or, lying fesswise, thereon a cock gu., comb, wattles,
and legs of the first.
_Coronet._--That of an Earl.
_Helmet._--That of a Peer.
[SETTLE. _Honori Sacellum._ London, 1712.]
William Coventry (born c. 1688, died 18th March 1750) was the
son of Walter Coventry of London, the lineal representative
of Walter Coventry, brother of the first Earl of Coventry, in
which line, by special limitation, the Earldom was allowed
to rest. Mr. Coventry was Member of Parliament for Bridport,
and succeeded to the Earldom of Coventry in 1719. He was Lord
Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of the county of Worcester, a
Member of the Privy Council, and Clerk Comptroller of the Green
Cloth.
[Illustration]
COVERT, WILLIAM
_Arms._--Quartered.
1. Gu., a fess ermine between 3 martlets or. _Covert._
2. Erm., 2 bars and a canton gu. _Boyes._
3. Gu., a fess between 3 lions' heads couped or. _St. Clair._
4. Arg., a chevron between 3 garbs gu. _Sheffield._
5. Or, 2 crescents, 1 and 1, gu., a canton erm. _Symonds._
6. Lozengy, arg. and gu., a fess sa. _Rockly._
7. Arg., a cross sa., with 2 crosses crosslet fitchée of the
last in the upper cantons. _Balderstone._
8. Arg., on a chief gu., 3 lions rampant arg. _Yonge._
9. Or, a cross gu. _Bourke._
10. Arg., 5 fusils in bend, gu. _Bradeston._
11. Arg., on a chief gu., 3 crosses pattée fitchée of the
first. _Dyall._
12. Arg., 3 garbs gu. _Comyn._
13. Lozengy, arg. and sa., each lozenge sa., charged with a
martlet or. _Croft_ (?).
[BABINGTON'S _Works_. London, 1615.]
William Covert of Kent belonged to an old family, members
of which were settled in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex since the
sixteenth century.
John Covert, a member of the same family, had a command at the
Siege of Boulogne in 1558.
[Illustration]
COWPER, WILLIAM, FIRST EARL COWPER
_Arms._--Arg., 3 martlets gu., 2 and 1, on a chief engrailed of the
last, as many annulets or. _Cowper._
_Note._--The annulets are wrongly shown on this stamp.
[SETTLE. _Fears and Dangers._ London, 1706.]
William Cowper (born c. 1655, died 10th October 1723) was
the son of Sir William Cowper, Bart., M.P. for Hertford, and
succeeded to his father's Baronetcy in 1706. He was educated at
St. Albans, and entered the Middle Temple in 1681, and became a
great lawyer and politician. In 1706 he was made Lord Keeper of
the Great Seal and created Baron Cowper of Wingham. In 1707 he
was Lord High Chancellor, and in 1718 was created Earl Cowper.
Lord Cowper was a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Governor of
the Charterhouse, and Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire.
[Illustration]
CRACHERODE, CLAYTON MORDAUNT
_Arms._--Or, a saltire erm., between 4 lions' heads erased sa.
_Cracherode._
_Crest._--A demi boar saliant reguardant or, wounded in the shoulder
with an arrow ppr., which he holds in his mouth.
_Note._--Probably designed and the stamp cut by Roger Payne.
[SUETONIUS. _Opera._ Leovardiae, 1715.]
Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode (born 23rd June 1730, died 5th
April 1799) was a son of an officer of Marines, Colonel
Mordaunt Cracherode.
Clayton Cracherode was educated at Westminster and
Christchurch, Oxford, and was a Fellow of the Royal Society,
and of the Society of Antiquaries, and a Trustee of the British
Museum. He was ordained shortly after leaving Oxford. On the
death of his father, Mr. Cracherode became a rich man, and
spent his fortune freely in collecting choice books, bindings,
drawings, prints, coins, and gems, always getting the finest
examples procurable.
Mr. Cracherode was an eccentric and shy recluse; he hardly
ever left London, and his life is said to have been embittered
by the fact that he was liable to act as King's Cup-bearer
at a coronation, his manor at Great Wymondley being held on
that Tenure. The collections made by Mr. Cracherode were all
bequeathed to the British Museum except two books, a Bible left
to the Bishop of Durham, and a Homer to Cyril Jackson, Dean of
Christchurch, but both of these eventually were given to the
Museum Library. Several of Mr. Cracherode's books were bound
for him by Roger Payne, one of the greatest English bookbinders.
[Illustration]
DERING, SIR EDWARD, BARONET
_Arms._--Or, a saltire sa. _Dering._
_Crest._--Out of an heraldic coronet a plume of 9 ostrich feathers, 4
and 5, arg.
_Legend._--EDOARDVS DERING MILES ET BARONETTVS.
[_The Catholike Moderator._ London, 1623.]
Edward Dering (born 28th January 1598, died 22nd June 1644) was
the son of Sir Anthony Dering of Surrenden. He was educated at
Cambridge, and soon became a collector and lover of antiquities.
In 1619 Dering received the honour of Knighthood, and in
1627 became a Baronet. He represented Kent in the House of
Commons, and interested himself much in religious matters. He
eventually got into trouble with Parliament about some of his
writings, and was imprisoned for a time in the Tower. He raised
a regiment for the King at the commencement of the Civil War,
and in consequence he suffered sequestration of his estates.
He does not appear to have succeeded well as a soldier. Dering
never recovered from the troubles incident upon his advocacy
of the Royalist cause, and he died in comparative poverty. He
has left several works and pamphlets, chiefly political or
theological.
[Illustration]
D'EWES, SIR SYMONDS, BARONET
_Arms._--Or, 3 quatrefoils pierced gu. _D'Ewes._
_Crest._--A wolf's head erased or, about the neck a collar vairé.
[D'EWES. _Journals of Parliaments temp. Eliz._
Harl. MS. 73.]
Symonds D'Ewes (born 18th December 1602, died 8th April 1650)
was the son of Paul D'Ewes of Milden in Suffolk. He went to
Cambridge, and was called to the Bar in 1623. His tastes were
always of a literary and antiquarian character, and he was a
friend of Sir Robert Cotton. In 1626 he received the honour
of Knighthood, and on his father's death in 1631 he inherited
considerable property.
D'Ewes was High Sheriff of Suffolk and Member of Parliament
for Sudbury, and in 1641 he became a Baronet. He wrote many
valuable historical and antiquarian works; his "Diaries"
are now in the British Museum, as are several others of his
manuscripts, forming part of the Harleian Collection.
[Illustration]
DIGBY, SIR KENELM, KNIGHT
_Arms._--Quarterly.
1. Az., a fleur-de-lys arg. _Digby._
2. Arg., a chevron between 3 crosses crosslet fitchée.
_Davenport._
3. Erm., on a bend sa., 3 goats' heads erased arg., armed or.
_Mulsho._
4. Gu., semé of crosses crosslet arg., 3 leopards' heads
jessant-de-lys, arg. _Neville._
On an escutcheon of pretence, the arms of Venetia Stanley.
Quarterly.
1st and 4th grand quarters arg., on a bend az., 3 bucks' heads
cabossed or, a crescent for difference. _Stanley._
2nd grand quarter, quarterly.
1st and 4th or, a lion rampant az. _The Duke of Brabant._
2nd and 3rd gu., 3 lucies hauriant arg. _Lucy._
3rd grand quarter az., 5 fusils conjoined in fess or. _Percy._
_Crest._--An ostrich arg., with a horseshoe in his mouth ppr.
_Helmet._--That of an Esquire.
[ARISTOTLE. _Opera._ Lut. Parisiorum, 1619.]
[Illustration]
_Variety._--Impaled.
Dexter: Quarterly.
1st and 4th, _Digby._ }
} _Sir Kenelm Digby._
2nd and 3rd, _Mulsho._ }
Sinister: Quarterly.
1st and 4th, _Stanley._ }
2nd and 3rd, _The Duke_ } _Venetia Stanley._
_of Brabant._ }
[BOCCALINI. _Delli Avvisi di Parnaso._ Venetia, 1619.]
[Illustration]
_Variety._--Within a vesica.
Quarterly.
1. _Digby._ 3. _Mulsho._ }
} _Sir Kenelm Digby._
2. _Davenport._ 4. _Neville._ }
On an escutcheon of pretence.
Quarterly.
1. _Stanley._ 3. _Lucy._ }
2. _The Duke of_ 4. _Percy._ } _Venetia Stanley._
_Brabant._ }
_Legend._--INSIGNIA KENELMI DIGBY EQVITIS AVRATI.
[PLATO. _Opera._ Paris, 1578.]
[Illustration]
Initials "K.D." for Kenelm Digby, and "V." for Venetia, his wife.
[ARISTOTLE. _Opera._
Lut. Parisiorum, 1619.]
Kenelm Digby (born 11th July 1603, died 11th June 1665) was
the elder son of Sir Everard Digby, Knight, and Mary Mulsho,
his wife. He inherited large estates from his father in spite
of the fact that much of Sir Everard's property had been
confiscated. Kenelm Digby was educated at Oxford, at Gloucester
Hall, near Worcester College. He travelled much on the
Continent, particularly in France and in Spain. In 1623 he was
Knighted by James I. Quite early in life he had fallen in love
with Venetia, daughter of Sir Edward Stanley, and in 1625 he
married her.
In 1627 Digby fitted out and commanded a curious privateering
expedition, and captured several French, Dutch, Spanish,
Flemish, and Venetian ships, but his conduct was disavowed
by the English government. Digby was suspected of popish
sympathies and suffered various terms of imprisonment in
consequence, but in 1643 he was allowed to leave England for
France, and for a time he made his home in Paris, a town to
which he had always been very partial, and he appears to have
been well received by Louis XIV.
Sir Kenelm Digby wrote a large number of books, religious,
philosophical, and scientific; he was a man of much
imagination, and took delight in inventing quack medicines. He
possessed a large library; many of his books were presented to
the Bodleian Library at Oxford, others are said to have been
given to Louis XIV., and others again were scattered. On some
of the volumes the coat-of-arms of Digby alone occurs, but
in the majority of cases the coat-of-arms is quartered with
various other family coats, and has also the coat-of-arms of
Venetia Stanley either impaled or borne as an escutcheon of
pretence. Many of Sir Kenelm's books were bound in Paris.
[Illustration]
DORMER, ROBERT, EARL OF CARNARVON
_Arms._--Impaled.
Dexter: Az., 10 billets or, 4, 3, 2, and 1, on a chief of the
second a demi lion rampant issuant sa. _Dormer._
Sinister: Per pale, az. and gu., 3 lions rampant arg. _Herbert._
_Coronet._--That of an Earl.
[_Common Prayer._ Dublin, 1621.]
Robert Dormer (born circ. 1610 (?), died 20th September 1643)
was the only son of Sir William Dormer, son of Robert, Baron
Dormer of Wyng. In 1616 Robert Dormer succeeded to the Barony
of Dormer on the death of his grandfather, his father having
predeceased him. In 1628 he was created Earl of Carnarvon, and
in 1641 he was Lord Lieutenant of Bucks. Lord Carnarvon was
killed at the Battle of Newbury, where he fought as a Royalist.
He married in 1625 Anna Sophia Herbert, daughter of Philip,
Earl of Pembroke.
[Illustration]
DOUGLAS, WILLIAM, DUKE OF QUEENSBERRY
_Arms._--Quarterly.
1st and 4th; arg., a human heart gu., imperially crowned ppr.,
on a chief az., 3 mullets of the field. _Douglas._
2nd and 3rd; az., a bend between 6 crosses crosslet fitchée or.
_Marr._
All within a bordure or, charged with the double tressure (flory
counterflory) of Scotland, added by Charles II. to the coat of William
Douglas, Earl of Queensberry, when he conferred upon him the Marquisate
of Queensberry in 1681.
_Coronet._--That of a Duke.
_Supporters._--On each side a Pegasus arg., winged, maned, and hoofed
or.
_Motto._--FORDWARD.
[BOETHIUS. _Scotorum Historiae a prima gentis origine._
Paris, 1526.]
[Illustration]
_Crest._--A man's heart gu., ensigned with an imperial crown ppr., and
winged or. _Douglas._
_Coronet._--That of a Duke.
_Initials._--W. D. (William Douglas).
[PLINY. _C. Plinii Secundi Historiae Naturalis_, Lib. xxxvii.
Lugd. Batavorum, 1635.]
William Douglas (born circ. 1637, died 28th March 1695),
Viscount Drumlanrig, was the son of James Douglas, second
Earl of Queensberry. In 1671 Lord Drumlanrig succeeded to
his father's honours, and in 1681 he received a step in the
Peerage, being created first Marquis of Queensberry. In 1684 he
was created Duke of Queensberry. His Grace was Justice-General
of Scotland in 1680 and a Lord of Session, and from 1682 to
1686 he was High Governor of Edinburgh Castle.
[Illustration]
DUDLEY, ROBERT, EARL OF LEICESTER
_Crest._--A bear arg., muzzled and chained or, grimpant on a staff
raguly arg. A crescent for difference. _Dudley._
_Initials._--R. D. (Robert Dudley).
[TRISSINO. _La Italia Liberata._ Venezia, 1547.]
Robert Dudley (born 24th June 1532, died 4th September 1588)
was a son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. In 1549 he
married Amy Robsart, who was killed at Cumnor Place in Berks
in 1560. It was supposed this was done in order to allow of a
marriage between Dudley and Queen Elizabeth.
Lord Robert Dudley was a great favourite both of Edward VI.,
to whom he had been a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and
Master of the Buckhounds, and of Queen Elizabeth. He was for
a time Member of Parliament for Norfolk. With his father,
the Duke of Northumberland, Lord Robert conspired to place
Lady Jane Grey on the throne of England, and for this he was
sentenced to death in 1553, but shortly afterwards he was
pardoned and restored in blood. Under Elizabeth Dudley received
many honours. He was made Master of the Horse, Lord Steward
of the Household, and Knight of the Garter in 1559, and in
1564 Earl of Leicester. In 1564 he was elected Chancellor of
Oxford University, and in 1575 he entertained the Queen at his
beautiful home at Kenilworth. Leicester was Lord Lieutenant of
Warwickshire and of other counties, and his possessions were
very great. He married a second time in 1573, but left no heir.