Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
statesman and soldier.
Family
William Drury, born at
Hawstead
Hawstead is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located south of Bury St. Edmunds between the B1066 and A134 roads, in a fork formed by the River Lark and a small tributary.
The ...
in
Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of
Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of
Hedgerley,
Buckinghamshire, and Elizabeth Brudenell, the daughter of
Edmund Brudenell of
Chalfont St Peter,
Buckinghamshire. He was the grandson of another
Sir Robert Drury (c. 1456–2 March 1535),
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings.
Systems that have such a position include:
* Speaker of ...
in 1495. He was a brother of Sir Robert Drury (1525–1593) and
Sir Drue Drury (1531/2–1617).
Career
Drury was educated at
Gonville College,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
. Fighting in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, Drury was taken prisoner in 1544; then after his release, he helped
Lord Russell, afterwards
Earl of Bedford
Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England and is currently a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Bedford. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded fr ...
, to quell a rising in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
shire in 1549, but he did not come to the front until the reign of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
.
In 1554 he sat as
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for
Chipping Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Aylesbur ...
. In 1559, he was sent to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
to report on the condition of Scottish politics, and five years later he became Marshal and deputy-governor of
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...
.
He was a close observer of the affairs of
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...
and her house-arrest in
Loch Leven Castle
Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–13 ...
, was in constant communication with
Lord Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...
and wrote to him on 3 April 1568 regarding her escape from that place on 25 March, about which he gave a full account.
He went to Scotland with
Sir Henry Gates and met
Regent Moray
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. A supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for hi ...
in the Great Hall of
Stirling Castle on 19 January 1570, and they had a discussion in his bedchamber after dinner. Moray was proceeding to keep an appointment with Drury in
Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...
when he was mortally wounded, and it was probably intended that Drury should be murdered also.
After this event, Drury led two raids into Scotland; at least thrice he went to that country on more peaceable errands, during which, however, his life was continually in danger from assassins. As ambassador with
Thomas Randolph in April 1572 he stayed at
Restalrig
Restalrig () is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish).
It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalri ...
Deanery. There he plotted with
Archibald Douglas to kidnap
George, Lord Seton from the shore at
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
, but the plan did not take effect. In May 1573 he commanded the force which compelled
Edinburgh Castle to surrender. A year later, a letter from the defeated and executed commander of the castle,
William Kirkcaldy of Grange
Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange (c. 1520 –3 August 1573) was a Scottish politician and soldier who fought for the Scottish Reformation but ended his career holding Edinburgh castle on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots and was hanged at the co ...
came to light, which mentioned the
jewels Mary, Queen of Scots had left behind in Scotland, and that Drury had taken some for a loan of £600. During the 1573 siege Drury billeted at the house of
Robert Gourlay on the
Royal Mile, a few hundred metres from the castle.
In 1576, he was sent to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
as
President of Munster
The post of Lord President of Munster was the most important office in the English government of the Irish province of Munster from its introduction in the Elizabethan era for a century, to 1672, a period including the Desmond Rebellions in Munst ...
, where his rule was severe but effective, and in 1578 he became
Lord Justice of Ireland
The Lords Justices (more formally the Lords Justices General and General Governors of Ireland) were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch o ...
, taking the chief control of affairs after the departure of Sir
Henry Sidney
Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he receive ...
. The
Second Desmond Rebellion
The Second Desmond Rebellion (1579–1583) was the more widespread and bloody of the two Desmond Rebellions in Ireland launched by the FitzGerald Dynasty of Desmond in Munster against English rule. The second rebellion began in July 1579 whe ...
had just broken out when Sir William died in October 1579.
Drury's letters to Cecil, and others, are invaluable for the story of the relations between England and Scotland at this time.
His house in London gave its name to the street
Drury Lane.
Marriage and issue
On 10 October 1560 at
St Alphage London Wall
St Alphege or St Alphage London Wall was a church in Bassishaw Ward in the City of London, built directly upon London Wall. It was also known as St Alphege Cripplegate, from its proximity to Cripplegate. It is now operated as St& ...
Drury married Margery Wentworth (died 1587), widow of
John Williams, 1st Baron Williams of Thame
John Williams, 1st Baron Williams of Thame (c. 1500 – 14 October 1559) was Master of the Jewels and Lord President of the Council of the Welsh Marches. He was summoned to parliament as Lord Williams of Thame on 17 February 1554.
Life
Will ...
, and daughter of
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Baron Wentworth
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Baron Wentworth and ''de jure'' 6th Baron le Despencer, PC (15013 March 1551) was an English peer and courtier during the Tudor dynasty.
The Wentworths were originally from Yorkshire but a branch of the family had settled ...
of
Nettlestead, Suffolk
Nettlestead is a dispersed village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England.The surrounding villages of Nettlestead include Somersham (the closest), Little Blakenham, Baylham, Barking, Willisham and Offton.
I ...
, by whom he had three daughters:
[Sir William Drury, tudorplace.com](_blank)
*Jane Drury, who married Sir Richard Chetwood, son of Richard Chetwood and Agnes Wodehull.
*Anne Drury, who married Robert Hartwell, esquire.
*Elizabeth Drury, who was born 12 December and baptized 29 December 1573 at
Long Crendon
Long Crendon is a village and civil parish in west Buckinghamshire, England, about west of Haddenham and north-west of Thame in neighbouring Oxfordshire.
The village has been called Long Crendon only since the English Civil War.Birch, 197 ...
,
Buckinghamshire, with
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".
El ...
, Lady Wentworth, and
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, as godparents. Elizabeth Drury married
William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter
William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter, (1566 – 6 July 1640), known as the third Lord Burghley from 1605 to 1623, was an English nobleman, politician, and peer.
Life
Exeter was the son of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, and Dorothy Neville, daug ...
and from this union descended the
Earls of Berkshire.
After Drury's death, his widow married, in 1580, James Croft (died 4 September 1624), the third son of
Sir James Croft
Sir James Croft PC (c.1518 – 4 September 1590) was an English politician, who was Lord Deputy of Ireland, and MP for Herefordshire in the Parliament of England.
Life
He was born the second but eldest surviving son of Sir Richard Croft of C ...
of
Croft Castle
Croft Castle is a country house in the village of Croft, Herefordshire, England. Owned by the Croft family since 1085, the castle and estate passed out of their hands in the 18th century, before being repurchased by the family in 1923. In 1957 ...
,
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...
. Croft had served as a captain under Margaret's second husband, Sir William Drury, in 1578–9. The couple settled on property in
Weston-on-the-Green,
Oxfordshire, which had come to Margaret through her first marriage.
[; ; .]
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
Attribution
* ''The History of the Family of Drury'', by Arthur Campling, F.S.A., London, 1937, p. 102.
External links
Robert Drury (by 1503–1577), History of ParliamentThe Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal- Clarence Volume by the
Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval
Melville Amadeus Henry Douglas Heddle de La Caillemotte de Massue de Ruvigné, "9th Marquis of Ruvigny and 15th of Raineval" (25 April 1868 – 6 October 1921) was a British genealogist and author, who was twice president of the Legitimist Jacobit ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drury, William
1527 births
1579 deaths
People from Hawstead
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
People of Elizabethan Ireland
People of the Scottish Marian Civil War
English MPs 1554–1555
English knights
16th-century English soldiers
16th-century English diplomats
People of the Second Desmond Rebellion