Sir Henry Isley was an English nobleman involved in

Wyatt's Rebellion Wyatt's Rebellion was a limited and unsuccessful uprising in England in early 1554 led by four men, one of whom was Sir Thomas Wyatt. It was given its name by the lawyer at Wyatt's arraignment, who stated for the record that "this shall be eve ...

. The Isley family were established landowners of

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

county.Loades, p. 79. Henry Isley owned Sundridge manor estate in

Brasted Brasted is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. Brasted lies on the A25 road, between Sundridge, Kent, Sundridge and Westerham; the road is named Westerham Road, High Street and Main Road ...

, his brother Thomas Isley (Jr.) in Vinters Park near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

. He was appointed

sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instru ...

for 1542 and 1550. 1542 he was appointed to be master of the hunt and overseer of all the deer in Northfrithe park in the manor, honor, or lowy of Tunbridge ow Tonbridge Kent; keeper of Northfrith and chief steward and bailiff of the lordship or manor of Hadlow. The Lowy of Tunbridge had previously belonged to the Dukes of Buckingham. Between 1547 and 1550

protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

George Harper, Thomas Culpepper, Thomas Wyatt the younger and Henry Isley, all strongly associated with

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

's regency council, had followed each other as sheriffs of Kent. Immediately after the accession of

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

Isley was arrested, but managed to make peace with the new regime, accepting the changes in the established religion and was released.Loades, p. 86. On 22 January 1554 Henry Isley attended a meeting of thirty key conspirators at Wyatt's

Allington Castle Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal c ...

. On 25 January Wyatt took control of

in an open revolt; brothers Thomas and Henry Isley operated their own detachments separately from Wyatt's main forces. On 27 January 1554, when Wyatt occupied Rochester, Henry Isley and his men stayed at

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

.Loades, p. 58. On the next day, however, Henry Isley and his five hundred men marched out of Sevenoaks to join Wyatt at Rochester.Loades, p. 59. Loyalist sheriff Robert Southwell intercepted Henry Isley at

Wrotham Wrotham ( ) is a village on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is north of Borough Green and approximately east of Sevenoaks. It is between the M20 motorway, M20 and M26 motorway, M26 motorways. History T ...

and defeated the rebels, taking around sixty men prisoners. Isley himself fled to

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. The Crown offered pardon to all rebels, ''excluding'' Isley, Wyatt, Harper and Rudstone, and offered a £100 bounty for the capture of each ringleader.Bounty was offered for four men only - Wyatt, Isley, Harper and Rudstone - Loades, p. 71. By the end of February all the rebels were apprehended and imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

.Loades, p. 109. The trials began on 10 February and were largely over by 22 February. The case against the leaders was examined by the Westminster Commission. Henry Isley was sentenced to death and executed. The overwhelming majority of noble rebels were fined and set free, and some released without fine.Loades, p. 127.

Notes

References

* * Loades, D. M. (1965).
The Two Tudor Conspiracies
'. Cambridge University Press. * Zell, Michael (2000).
Early modern Kent, 1540-1640
'. Boydell & Brewer. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Isley, Henry 1554 deaths People from Brasted English rebels People from Sevenoaks District People executed under the Tudors for treason against England High sheriffs of Kent Year of birth unknown Executed people from Kent People executed under Mary I of England