Shakespeare's Family Part 21

There was also a Thomas Arden of Long Itchington mentioned in the Subsidy Lists, whose will is preserved at Lichfield.

The other Thomas Arden was settled at Wilmecote, in the parish of Aston Cantlow, on lands formerly owned by the Beauchamps. There is no record how he acquired them. Aston Cantlow[402] had been settled, with the castle and Honour of Bergavenny, upon Sir William de Beauchamp, second son to Thomas, Earl of Warwick. He died 12 Henry IV., and Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, his son and heir, inherited all his lands.

Richard's daughter and heir, Elizabeth, married Sir Edward Neville, a younger son to Ralph, Earl of Westmorland, who was forthwith summoned to Parliament as Lord Bergavenny. Dugdale gives us the arms depicted on the roof of the chancel of Aston Cantlow Church, three varieties: "Gules, a fesse betwixt six cross-crosslets or" (Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick); "Argent 6 cross-crosslets fichee Sable, upon a chief Azure two mullets or" (Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon); "Argent, 3 cross-crosslets fichee Sable upon a chief Azure a mullet and a Rose Or." But Dugdale does not know the family this represents. Could it be a variety of the Ardens?

The Thomas Arden who resided here paid subsidy of 26s. 8d. on 10 land, being one of the largest landholders in the parish. He bought certain lands at Snitterfield on May 16, 16 Henry VII., a.s.sociated with certain gentlemen whose names are suggestive, as I have shown on page 28. John Mayowe transferred his property to Robert Throgmorton, Armiger,[403]

afterwards knight, Thomas Trussell[404] of Billesley, Roger Reynolds of Henley in Arden, William Wood of Woodhouse, Thomas Arden of Wilmecote, and Robert Arden, the son of this Thomas Arden. We know that Robert Throgmorton was an intimate friend of the Ardens of Park Hall, and his a.s.sociation with Thomas of Wilmecote strengthens the supposition that the latter was the son of Walter. We know that this Thomas was the father of Robert Arden, who was the father of Mary, Shakespeare's mother, and her six sisters. It does not seem unlikely he bore arms, and was the Esquire witness of Walter Arden's will, _who has never been located elsewhere_. If he bore arms, it is more than likely that, as a younger son, they were derived from _the Beauchamps_, and might even have been those found by Dugdale in the Aston Cantlow Church, where he was buried. It is probable that Robert bore the cross-crosslets with a difference, as did his contemporary, William Arden of Hawnes. We have at least Glover's[405] testimony that among the arms of Warwickshire and Bedfordshire are "Arden or Arderne gu, three cross-crosslets fitchee or; on a chief of the second a martlet of the first. Crest, a plume of feathers charged with a martlet or." When, therefore, John Shakespeare made application to impale the arms of his wife in his new coat, it might seem natural that the fesse chequy, arms of the head of the house, should be struck out, and those subst.i.tuted more customary for a younger son, and probably borne by Thomas, his wife's grandfather, or by Robert Arden, his wife's father.

Thomas Arden, the son of Sir John, succeeded to Park Hall and the other family estates in 1526. He married Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Andrew of Charnelton, by whom he had a large family: William, the eldest; Simon, the second; George, the third, slain at Boulogne; Thomas, a student of law; and Edward. His daughter Jocosa, or Joyce, married Richard Cade, of London (see visitation of Hertfordshire, 1634); Elizabeth married--Beaupre, Cicely married Henry Shirley, Mary married Francis Waferer.

William, the eldest son, died before his father. Simon, the second son of Thomas of Park Hall, was a wonderful man, of whom there will be more to say elsewhere. He was elected Sheriff of the County in 1569, and bore, while in Warwickshire at least, the arms three cross-crosslets[406] and a chief or, without a difference. Shortly after that time he purchased the property of Longcroft, in the Manor of Yoxall, Staffordshire, and his descendants bear the fesse chequy, and are noted in another county history.

The will of William Arden does not seem to have been noted by the family genealogists, probably because it was drawn up in London. The Calendar at Somerset House enters it as "William Arden,[407] of St. Brigyde, London, and Saltley,[408] Warwickshire," 7 July, 36 Henry VIII. Its details shed much light on the fortunes of the family, especially in relation to the other family wills. He had married Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward Conway, of Arrow, and left two sons and eight daughters. He desired to be buried in the "Parish Church of Saint Brigyde in Fleet Street, within the suburbs of London," and left "to my youngest sonne, Francis Arden, all my purchased land, which I purchased of my grandfather's youngest son, John Arden, and another part lying within the Lordship of Saltley.[409] Item, I bequeath to him the lease I have taken of my Lord Ferris for 31 years, which also lyeth within the Lordship of Budbrooke, so that he come to his full age, and during his nonage, the profits thereof to be taken up by mine overseers to the use of my daughters. If it happen the said Francis to dye without lawful issue, then I will my eldest sonne and heire, Edward Arden, when he cometh to his full age, to enjoy the said purchased land and lease to his heires. Item, I bequeath to the said Francis 6 13s. 4d., to be payd yearely during the term of his naturall life, by the hands of my eldest sonne, Edward Arden, when he cometh to his lands. Item, I give unto my eight daughters, Anne,[410] Ursuley, Brigid, Barbara, Joyce, Jane, Urseley, and Fraunces Arden the whole rent that my ferme beareth me,"

etc. "I bequeath to my brother, Edward Arden, my black Satin cote." "I bequeathe my long gowne eggyd with velvet to my father, Thomas Arden, in recompense of the money which he lent me, whom I make the Overseer of this my will, with my father-in-law, Edward Conway." Edward Arden, his son and heir, was to be sole executor. The witnesses were: Christopher Drey, Francis Waferer (his brother-in-law), and John Tayloure, Vicar of St. Brigyde, and it was proved April 14, 1546, by John, afterwards Sir John Conway, uncle of the heir.

William's father, Thomas, died in 5 Elizabeth, 1563. I have not traced his will. Edward, son of William, succeeded him. This Edward had been ward to Sir George Throckmorton, of Coughton (though his grandfather was alive), and he married Mary, third daughter of Sir Robert Throckmorton.

Brodesley,[411] Dudston, and Hybarnes were delivered to him 7 Elizabeth, and in 15 Elizabeth he was called upon to prove his t.i.tle to Curdworth and to Berewood[412] Hall, which had been given by Hugh Arden to the Canons of Leicester (Henry II.), and after the Dissolution purchased by his grandfather, Thomas, and uncle, Simon, for 272 10s., with a yearly rent of 30s. 4d., and settled on William, 37 Henry VIII. Various purchases of land are recorded in c.o.ke's "Entries."[413] He impaled the park of Minworth on the other side of the Tame, to add to that of his own Park Hall.[414]

Edward seems to have been highly respected in his time, and was Sheriff of the County in 1575.[415] But he had offended Leicester[416] by refusing to wear his livery (as many of the gentlemen of the county were proud to do) and by disapproving openly of his relations with the Countess of Ess.e.x before her husband's death. Leicester waited his time.

Edward Arden's sons were Robert (who married Elizabeth, daughter of Reginald Corbet, Justice of the Royal Pleas, about 1577), Thomas, Francis. Of his daughters, Catherine married Sir Edward Devereux, of Castle Bromwich; Margaret, John Somerville, of Edreston; Muriel, William Charnells, of Snareston, Leicestershire; and Elizabeth, Simon Shugborough, of Napton, co. Warwick.

Edward Arden bore the family arms: Ermine, a fesse chequy or and azure.

Crest: On a chapeau azure, turned up erm., a boar pa.s.sant or. Motto: _Quo me cunque vocat patriam._

He appointed Edmund Lingard to Curdworth Church, 1573.

Edward Arden was a temperate follower of the old faith; but his son-in-law, John Somerville, an excitable youth, seemed to chafe under the increasing oppression of the Catholic Church and its adherents.[417]

The evil reports concerning the Queen and Leicester increased the friction. Shut out from travel or active exercise, as all Catholics then were by law, he studied and pondered, and his mind seemed to have given way in his sleepless attempts to reconcile faith and practice. He started off suddenly one morning before anyone was awake, attended only by one boy, who soon left him, terrified; and when he reached a little inn on the lonely road by Aynho on the Hill, he spoke frantically to all who chose to hear that he was going to London to kill the Queen.[418]

Then followed arrest, examination before Justice D'Oyley, a march to London with twelve guards,[419] examination in the Gatehouse, imprisonment in the Tower. Thereafter went forth the mandate to arrest Edward Arden, his wife, Francis Arden, of Pedmore, his brother, Somerville's wife and sister, and the priest, Hugh Hall. Sir John Conway, his wife's grand-uncle, was also commanded up to London, and seems to have been confined for a time. Examinations, probably under torture, followed fast on each other. John Somerville, Edward Arden, his wife and brother, and the priest, Hugh Hall, were tried, found guilty, and condemned to the traitor's death. Hugh Hall is said to have turned Queen's evidence, but I have found no proof of it. Somerville and Arden were carried forth from the Tower on December 19, 1583, to Newgate, in preparation for their execution on the morrow; Somerville was found two hours afterwards strangled in his cell; Edward Arden suffered the full penalty of the law December 20, 1583.[420] Robert of Leicester had his revenge. Mrs. Arden and Francis[421] seem to have suffered a term of imprisonment, and then to have been released.

This first n.o.ble victim of the tyrannical Royal Commission was praised by all the writers of his time, and pitied by all Europe. Burleigh lived to be ashamed of his part in his death; and in his "Life" one can still read in the index "On the Case of Arden" an explanation which has been excised from the text.

It is more than probable that the active part that Sir Thomas Lucy took in his arrest told more on the fortunes and feelings of young Shakespeare than the fabulous deer-stealing story. The touching tragedy, to which Froude has given but little attention or study, is given in full detail in the State Papers. The _traitor's_ lands, of course, fell to the Queen, and were granted to Edward Darcy.[422] But Robert Arden,[423] "who was a prudent person" (doubtless fortified by his brother-in-law's interest, and his own knowledge of the law), by virtue of an entail executed on his marriage got back by degrees most of his father's lands. He found, however, every tree in his parks had been cut down by Darcy, who seems to have been a difficult person to deal with, as may be gathered from Simon Arden's pet.i.tion (p. 185); this Robert lived to a great age, dying on February 27, 1635. His son and heir, Sir Henry, who had been born April, 1580, had predeceased him in 1616.[424]

He had married Dorothy, daughter of Basil Fielding, of Newnham, and had one son, Robert, and four daughters. Robert seems to have been a brilliant youth, but he died single at Oxford. In the Bodleian[425] are some verses deploring his loss. His four sisters were his coheirs: Elizabeth, wife of Sir William Pooley, of Boxsted, in Suffolk; G.o.ditha,[426] wife of Herbert Price; Dorothy, wife of Hervey Bagot; Anne, wife of Sir Charles Adderley, of Lea.

In Worcestershire, near Stourbridge, there is a parish of Pedmore, and a hall of the name that seems at one time to have belonged to the Ardens, as well as the Pedmore Manor, near West Bromwich, Warwickshire. By the kindness of Mr. W. Wickham King, now resident there, I am told that "Mistress Joyce Arden" was buried there in 1557; Jane Ardern and Hugh Hall were married in 1560; Alice Ardeney and Thomas Carter married 1578; while John Arden, son of Mr. Robert and Mistress Elizabeth, was christened there in 1578. Frances Arden and Edward Wale married 1658; Arthur buried 1668, and Judith Arden, widow, 1682. The arms in the church are those of the Park Hall Ardens, and "Mr. Robert" was the heir of Edward (p. 41 and notes).

The Pakingtons of Worcester quarter Ermine on a fesse compone or, and az. an annulet for Arden.

FOOTNOTES:

[368] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," 372; Drummond's "n.o.ble British Families"; "Guy of Warwick," ed. Zupitza, Early English Text Society, etc.; Harl. MS., 1167, f. 57; "Dictionary of National Biography."

[369]

"Guy of Warwick, I understand, Slew a dragon in Northumberland."

Romance of Sir Bevis of Hampton.

"In Warwick the truth ye shall see In arras wrought full craftily."

Romance of Sir Guy.

"Gy de Warwic ad a noun Qui occis le Dragoun."

Legend round the Mazer Bowl, at Harbledon Hospital, Canterbury.

[370] "Warwickshire," p. 374; Drummond's "n.o.ble British Families"; Leland's "Itin.," iv. 63; Heylin's "History of St. George," p. 63.

[371] Nichols's "Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica," iv. 29.

[372] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," 372-374; Drummond's "n.o.ble British Families"; c.o.x and Jones' "Popular Romances of the Middle Ages," pp. 63, 64, 297-319; Ward's "Catalogue of Romances in British Museum," i. 470.

[373] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," p. 373.

[374] Drummond's "n.o.ble British Families," ii.

[375] Harleian MS., 853, ff. 113, 114.

[376] "Guthmund, Ailwin's second son, held Pakington under Turchil; his son was Sir Harald de Arden, Lord of Upton" (French, "Shakespeareana Genealogica," p. 432).

[377] According to Dugdale and Drummond; Harleian MS., 853, differs.

[378] Ralph and William are witnesses to a charter from Henry de Clinton to Kenilworth Priory, Henry I. ("Monasticon," vi. 3).

[379] Hugh de Arden and Adela; William de Arden and Agnes were witness to Henry's gifts ("Monasticon," v. 210-212).

[380] Philip, Osbert's second son, who took the name of Compton (Drummond; Dugdale's, 'Warwickshire,' 549).

[381] Novoborgo: or and az., er. Thomas Arden de Rotley: or and az., gu.

A fesse betwixt 6 cross-crosslets or--Beauchamp. The Warwickshire Visitation gives the coat of Sir Herald de Arden as three cross-crosslets fitchee and a chief or. See Drummond, p. 5.

[382] Whalley's "Northampton," p. 464; Baker's "Northampton"; "Parliamentary Roll of Arms," 862. "Sire ... Ilm de Arderne ... de ermyne a une fesse chekere dor e de aszure" (_Genealogist_, New Series, xiii.). I do not know which William this refers to.

[383] He married Isabella, daughter of Sir Roger Mortimer of Chirk. She afterwards married John Fitzalan (Berry's "Ess.e.x Genealogies").

[384] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," p. 927.

[385] "This lady seems to have married for a third time. Robert de Wyckham sued Thomas Wake and Nicholaa, his wife, and Giles de Arderne for the next presentation to the church of Swalclyve. Robert, father of plaintiff, had given the advowson to John de Arderne, and John had enfeoffed Robert de Wyckham and Elizabeth his wife. Nicholaa had been married to Robert de Arderne" (_Genealogist_, New Series, ix.).

[386] See Visitation, 1619.

[387] Dugdale's "Warwickshire," p. 928; Harleian MS., 1992, f. 121, "The Ancient Family of Arderne." Ralph died 8 Henry V.

[388] 17 Blamyr.

[389] Walter Arden's son-in-law.

[390] The decision of the residence of this Thomas would solve a knotty question.