Rowland York or Yorke (died 1588) was an English

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

of fortune and defector to Spain.

Early life

Rowland York was the ninth of eleven sons of Sir John York. He volunteered for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

under Thomas Morgan of Llantarnam in 1572. He embarked at

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

on 19 March that year with his two companions, the poet

George Gascoigne George Gascoigne (c. 15357 October 1577) was an English poet, soldier and unsuccessful courtier. He is considered the most important poet of the early Elizabethan era, following Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and leading to ...

and William Herle, but the ship in which they sailed was nearly lost on the coast of Holland owing to the incompetence of the Dutch pilot. Reaching the English camp in safety, he took part in August that year in the attack on

Goes The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), operated by the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service division, supports weather fo ...

under Captain (afterwards Sir)

Humphrey Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North Ameri ...

and the Prince of Orange's agent Jerome Tseraerts.

Plots and equivocal reputation

Opinions differed about York. By some, he was held "bolde of courage, provident in direction, industrious in labour, and quick in execution". But his profligacy and the fact that he was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

caused him from the first to be distrusted by the states.

Emanuel van Meteren Emanuel van Meteren or Meteeren (1535 – 11 April 1612) was a Flemings, Flemish historian and Consul for "the Traders of the Low Countries" in London. He was born in Antwerp, the son of Sir Jacobus van Meteren, Dutch financier and publisher o ...

, ''Historia Belgica'', lib. xiv. 430. In October 1580 he was reported by William Herle to

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

to have been arrested on a charge of felony. Four years later York was detected in a plot with John Van Imbyss to betray

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

to the Duke of Parma. Against the advice of the Prince of Orange, who would have preferred a more summary punishment, he was clapped in prison in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, whence he was released when the city fell into Parma's hands in 1585. He served at the siege of Antwerp, but by the intercession of his friends, he was allowed to return to England. Joining the expedition under the Earl of Leicester that year, he succeeded in ingratiating himself with

Sir Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. His works include a sonnet sequence, '' Astrophil and ...

. Appointed by Leicester to the command of the

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 11th centur ...

sconce, he, according to

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...

, took the opportunity thus offered him of paying back a grudge he had against the earl by surrendering the sconce to the Spaniards and inducing Sir William Stanley to do the same for

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

. He was appointed captain of a troop of lancers in the Spanish service; but was not, as he thought, sufficiently rewarded. Since he was known to be a bold and determined villain, it is said the Spaniards took precautions to prevent any double treachery by causing him to be poisoned.

Death

He died in

on a Sunday in February 1588, having first 'received sacraments, unction, and all'.Bertie, ''Five Generations of a Loyal House'', p. 120; but cf. ''Cal. State Papers'', Dom. 1581–90, p. 466, where he is said to have died of the smallpox. Three years later his body was exhumed and gibbeted in Zutphen by order of the states. His heir was Edmund Yorke, who was executed at

Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

in 1595 for attempting to assassinate

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

. Edmund had been persuaded by his uncle's associate Sir William Stanley, and Stanley's rather mysterious lieutenant Jacques de Francesci (Captain Jacques), that the assassination would be a meritorious act. On returning to England he quickly fell under suspicion, due perhaps to his association with the Irish fencing master

Patrick O'Collun Patrick O'Collun, also known as Patrick Cullen or Patrick Collen, (died 1594) was an Irish soldier and fencing master who was executed at Tyburn in 1594 for treason, in that he had conspired to murder Queen Elizabeth I. Background Little is kno ...

. They were both arrested, along with Richard Williams, and all three were convicted of treason and executed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:York, Rowland Year of birth unknown 16th-century births 1588 deaths Immigrants to Spain 16th-century English soldiers English mercenaries Deaths by poisoning Posthumous executions