Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger Lady Scudamore

Mary Scudamore ( Shelton; c. 1550 – 1603) was a

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

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. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

Life and career

She was a daughter of Sir John Shelton of Shelton Hall, Norfolk and his wife, Margaret Parker. She joined the household of Queen Elizabeth around the year 1567, serving as a

chamberer A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen regnant, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households. Chamberers at court At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The n ...

. Her family reached the zenith of their influence during the reign of

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

, when Mary's grandparents,

Sir John Shelton Sir John Shelton (1476/7 – 1539) of Shelton, Norfolk, Shelton in Norfolk, England, was a courtier to King Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII. Through his marriage to Anne Shelton (courtier), Anne Boleyn, a sister and co-heiress of Thomas Bol ...

and Anne Shelton were entrusted with the custody of the future queens

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 ...

and

, in part because Anne Shelton was the aunt of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

. Also, Mary's aunt, poet

Mary Shelton Mary Shelton (1510/15 – 1570/71) was one of the contributors to the Devonshire manuscript. Either she or her sister Madge Shelton may have been a mistress of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. Family Both Margaret and Mary were daught ...

, was the King's mistress. Mary Scudamore married another courtier, the gentleman usher, Sir John Scudamore of

Holme Lacy Holme Lacy is a village and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 466 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Etymology The name of Holme Lacy is not from Old Norse language, Old No ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. She married him secretly. and their marriage was revealed early in 1575. Elizabeth I was apparently extremely angry that this had been done without her consent, and allegedly attacked Mary, breaking her finger. A courtier Eleanor Bridges wrote that Elizabeth was liberal both with blows and evil words to Mary Shelton. Eight years later

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 List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, claimed that

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made marri ...

had told her that Elizabeth had broken Mary Scudamore's finger with a candlestick.

Costume at the Elizabethan court

In 1571, Mary, as a chamberer, was given an allowance of clothing including satin for a gown, velvet to border and the gown, and sarcenet silk for its lining. Sarcenet was a fine translucent silk fabric. She was to receive similar fabric every year. Some of her clothes were gifts from the queen, made by her tailor Walter Fyshe. In October 1574, Elizabeth I gave her, "Mistress Mary Skydmore", a gift of a forepart or skirt front. A wardrobe book recorded that she was given for the use of the Queen's dwarf (perhaps Thomazina Muliercula) in October 1579. On 18 February 1584, Elizabeth gave Mary Scudamore a doublet of "spotted satin called sops of wine, cut and embroidered with small flowers and spangles of gold and silver". As a New Year's Day gift to the Queen in January, 1599, John and Mary Scudamore jointly gave a "loose gown" or night gown of ash-coloured wrought velvet, edged with ermine.

Janet Arnold Janet Arnold (6 October 1932 – 2 November 1998) was a British clothing historian, costume designer, teacher, conservator, and author. She is best known for her series of works called ''Patterns of Fashion'', which included accurate scale sew ...

, ''Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd'' (Maney, 1988), p. 340.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scudamore, Mary Ladies of the Privy Chamber Chamberers at court 1603 deaths 1550s births 16th-century English women 17th-century English women 17th-century English people

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

Court of Elizabeth I