Robert Pakington (c. 1489 – 13 November 1536) was a London merchant and Member of Parliament. He was murdered with a

handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also brac ...

in London in 1536, likely the first such killing in the city. His murder was later interpreted as martyrdom, and recounted in

John Foxe John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587), an English historian and martyrologist, was the author of '' Actes and Monuments'' (otherwise ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the s ...

Acts and Monuments The ''Actes and Monuments'' (full title: ''Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church''), popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, is a work of Protestant history and martyrology by Protestant Engli ...

. He was the grandfather of Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

favourite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated s ...

, Sir John "Lusty" Pakington.

Family

Robert Pakington, born about 1489 at

Stanford-on-Teme Stanford-on-Teme is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stanford with Orleton, in the Malvern Hills district in the county of Worcestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 144. History Stanford Court, a ...

, Worcestershire, was a younger son of John Pakington and Elizabeth Washborne, the daughter of Thomas Washborne. He had three brothers,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, Augustine, and Humphrey.

Life

By 1510 Pakington had completed an apprenticeship with the

Mercers' Company The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. It is the first of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. Although of even older origin, the c ...

, one of the twelve great livery companies of London, and was exporting cloth and importing various wares. In 1523, and again in 1529, he and others were chosen to draw up articles on behalf of the Mercers for presentation to Parliament. According to Marshall, one of the articles drawn up in 1529 was "sharply anti-clerical". In 1527-8 Pakington was elected Warden of the . He was elected to Parliament in a by-election in October 1533, and was re-elected in 1536. The chronicler

Edward Hall Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was also sever ...

records that in Parliament Pakington again revealed anti-clerical sentiments, "speaking somewhat against the covetousness and cruelty of the clergy". In the final years of his life Pakington reported to

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the kin ...

on matters in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

at the behest of Cromwell's man of business, Stephen Vaughan, who held strongly Protestant sympathies. On the morning of 13 November 1536 while crossing the street from his home in Cheapside to attend Mercers' Chapel located opposite, Pakington was shot with a gun and killed: His murder was likely the first committed with a handgun in London. His murderer was never found, despite the "gret rewarde" which was offered for information. Pakington's murder was interpreted by Protestant reformers as martyrdom, and became a source of religious controversy. In 1545 the Protestant reformer

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...

suggested that "conservative bishops" were behind the murder. A similar suggestion was made in 1548 by

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

, who also attributed Pakington's death to the Catholic clergy.

, too, held the clergy responsible, but in the process of doing so proposed contradictory theories of the crime. In 1559 Foxe claimed that

John Stokesley John Stokesley (8 September 1475 – 8 September 1539) was an English clergyman who was Bishop of London during the reign of Henry VIII. Life Stokesley was born at Collyweston in Northamptonshire, and became a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, ...

, a former

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

"had paid a priest sixty gold coins to carry out the murder". However, in the 1563 edition of the ''Actes and Monuments'' Foxe stated that

John Incent John Incent ( – 1545) was an English clergyman in the early 16th century, during the early years of the English Reformation. Originating from the town of Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, he studied at the University of Cambridge and later at Al ...

, a former

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire. The current dean is Andrew Tremlett ...

, had made a deathbed confession in which he admitted arranging for Pakington's murder. The Catholic apologist

Nicholas Harpsfield Nicholas Harpsfield (1519–1575) was an English historian and a Roman Catholic apologist and priest under Henry VIII, whose policies he opposed. Origins Born in 1519 in the parish of St Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street, in the City of London, he was ...

accused Foxe of slandering Incent, and in the 1570 edition of the ''Actes and Monuments'' Foxe produced yet another theory, claiming that Pakington's murderer was an Italian. In their accounts of Pakington's death the chroniclers

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles'', ''The ...

Richard Grafton Richard Grafton (c. 1506/7 or 1511 – 1573) was King's Printer under Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was a member of the Grocers' Company and MP for Coventry elected 1562-63. Under Henry VIII With Edward Whitchurch, a member of the Haberdashe ...

and

Raphael Holinshed Raphael Holinshed ( – before 24 April 1582) was an English chronicler, who was most famous for his work on ''The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande'', commonly known as '' Holinshed's Chronicles''. It was the "first complete prin ...

did not repeat Foxe's allegations, and Holinshed put forward an entirely different version of events, claiming that a felon hanged at

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

had confessed on the gallows to Pakington's murder. By the time of his death Pakington was a "man of substance". He had been assessed at 500 marks in the 1534 subsidy, and in 1535 had exported some 250 cloths to Antwerp. The cash bequests in his will amounted to over £300. According to Marshall, the wording of the will, which Pakington drew up on 23 November 1535, provides additional evidence of his sympathy for the Protestant Reformation. Moreover, the sermon at his funeral on 16 November was preached by the "Lutheran activist", Robert Barnes. Pakington was buried in St Pancras Church. Stow states that a monument was erected there to his memory. According to the custom of the City of London his children became orphans in the care of the city; on 20 November 1537 the court of aldermen entrusted Pakington's son and heir, Thomas Pakington, to the custody of his grandfather, Sir John Baldwin.

Marriages and issue

Pakington married firstly Agnes Baldwin, the daughter of Sir John Baldwin,

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the othe ...

, by whom he had two sons and three daughters: * Sir Thomas Pakington (d. 2 June 1571), who married Dorothy, the daughter of Sir Thomas Kitson by his second wife, Margaret (d. 12 January 1561), the only child of John Donnington (d.1544) of

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. T ...

. Their eldest son, Sir John Pakington, was for a time a favourite of Queen

, who invited him to court after he had been presented to her during her visit to Worcester in 1572. * John Pakington, of whom nothing further is known. * Elizabeth Pakington, who married firstly John Lane (died 12 September 1557) of Walgrave, Northamptonshire, and secondly Sir Richard Malory, Alderman of London and Lord Mayor in 1564. * Anne Pakington, who married Richard Cupper, esquire, of

Glympton Glympton is a village and civil parish on the River Glyme about north of Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The 2001 Census recorded the parish's population as 80. The village and church are owned by the Glympton Park estate. History Grim's Ditch in ...

, Oxfordshire.Cupper (Couper), Richard (by 1519-83/84), of London and Powick, Worcestershire, History of Parliament
Retrieved 11 May 2013. * Margaret Pakington, who married firstly Benedict Lee (d.1559), esquire of Burston, Buckinghamshire, half-brother of Sir Anthony Lee, and a

henchman A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies prim ...

to King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

, and secondly Thomas Scott, esquire, of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. Between 1533 and November 1535, Pakington married secondly Katherine Dallam (d.1563), the daughter of Thomas Dallam, a member of the

Worshipful Company of Skinners The Worshipful Company of Skinners (known as The Skinners' Company) is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was originally an association of those engaged in the trade of skins and furs. It was granted Royal Charter in 1327 ...

and the Warden in 1497. At the time of the marriage Katherine was the widow of her first husband, Richard Collier (d.1533), by whom she had a son and daughter, George and Dorothy. On 21 August 1539 Katherine Pakington took as her third husband Sir Michael Dormer (d. 20 September 1545), the son of Geoffrey Dormer (d. 9 March 1503) of

West Wycombe West Wycombe is a small village famed for its manor houses and its hills. It is three miles west of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The historic village is largely a National Trust property and receives a large annual influx of touri ...

, Buckinghamshire, by his second wife, Alice Collingridge. Dormer was a wealthy Mercer, and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

in 1541. Katherine's two children by her marriage to Richard Collier died about the time of her marriage to Dormer.

Notes

References

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Family

Life

Marriages and issue

Notes

References

Further reading