Sir John Gates KB (1504–1553)Sil p. 69 was an English courtier, soldier and politician, holding influential

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

positions in the reigns 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. ...

and

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 ...

. As one of the Chief Gentlemen of the

Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

under Edward VI, he became a follower of

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane ...

and was a principal participant in the attempt to establish

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

on the English throne. Because of this, he was executed for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

under

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 ...

Serving Henry VIII and Edward VI

Originating from an ancient

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

family going back to

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, John Gates had a thorough training as a lawyer at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. He married Mary Denny, sister of Sir Anthony Denny and

Joyce Denny Joyce Denny (1507–1560) was an English courtier. Family and court connections She was a daughter of Edmund Denny, a Baron of the Exchequer, and Mary Troutbeck. Princess Elizabeth was lodged with her brother the courtier Anthony Denny at Che ...

, and served Queen Catherine Parr from 1543–1545.Hutchinson p. 335 He was first a member of

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 known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

as a groom in 1542. From 1546 he was in charge, with his brother-in-law, of the King's personal finances and his "dry stamp", a substitute, for the King's convenience, for Henry's "sign manual" or personal signature. These positions of trust implied considerable influence. In December 1546, Gates was one of three commissioners (along with Sir Richard Southwell and Wymond Carew) sent to confiscate and make an inventory in the houses of

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, KG (1516/1517–19 January 1547) was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person to have been executed at the insistence of King ...

, and

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1473 – 25 August 1554) was an English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beh ...

, following their arrests on suspicion of challenging the succession of Prince Edward. Gates and Southwell produced detailed inventories of

Kenninghall Kenninghall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Kenninghall is located north-west of Diss and south-west of Norwich. History Kenninghall's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the ...

, the duke's mansion,

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Castle Rising is located along the course of the River Babingley, separating the village from the lost village of Babingley. The village is located north-east ...

, and Surrey's house at St. Leonard's, Norwich, while Carew visited and inventoried the house of Elizabeth Holland, the duke's mistress, at Mendham, Suffolk. Under

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 ...

Gates became a Chief

Gentleman of the Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

after the fall of

Protector Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King Ed ...

in the autumn of 1549. He rose to Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal Household on 8 April 1551; a few days later he was admitted to the Privy Council under the leadership of

. In these positions Gates was a significant channel of communications between the Duke and the young King and was granted custody of the King's

signet Signet may refer to: *Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals * Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...

in December 1551. In July 1552 he was appointed

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

. He was a justice of the peace for Essex from 1532 until his execution and served as

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

for 1549–50. Gates was also a soldier and as Sheriff went several times into Essex to arrest rioters and carry through the official destruction of "superstitious altars". He was also

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the

Gentlemen Pensioners His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a Sovereign's Bodyguard, bodyguard to the British monarchy, British Monarch. Until 17 March 1834, they were known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. Formation ...

(the royal guard) from April 1551.

Parliamentary career

Gates was elected MP for Wycombe in 1542, for New Shoreham in 1545, for

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

in 1547 and for

in 1547 and 1553.

1553 succession crisis

John Gates was deeply involved in the succession crisis of 1553, and

claimed that he had confessed to have been the first to have induced King Edward to name her his successor. Notwithstanding Gates's commitment to Edward's will, his putative role in its conception has been questioned by Narasingha P. Sil on the grounds that he probably was not as close to the young King as traditionally believed. On 14 July 1553, Gates led the troops of the royal household to

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

in the campaign against

. He was arrested with Northumberland at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and tried at

Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...

on 19 August 1553. On 22 August 1553, he took the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

communion, recanting his

Protestant 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 ...

faith in a ceremony at St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower precincts. Immediately afterward, he was executed, together with the Duke of Northumberland and Sir Thomas Palmer on

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

. He was buried in St Peter ad Vincula. According to one chronicle the following scene had taken place shortly before at the

Lieutenant of the Tower The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like th ...

's garden gate:

"Sir John," sayeth the duke, "God have mercy upon us, for this day shall end both our lives. And I pray you forgive me whatsoever I have offended; and I forgive you with all my heart, although you and your counsel was a great occasion hereof." "Well, my lord," sayeth Sir John Gates, "I forgive you as I would be forgiven; and yet you and your authority was the only original cause of all together; but the Lord pardon you, and I pray you forgive me." So, either making obeisance to achother, the duke proceeded owards the scaffold

His Essex estates at Rivenhall and Shalford were confiscated by the Crown.

Notes

References

*Alford, Stephen (2002): ''Kingship and Politics in the Reign of Edward VI'' Cambridge University Press * Hutchinson, Robert (2006): ''The Last Days of Henry VIII: Conspiracy, Treason and Heresy at the Court of the dying Tyrant'' Phoenix * Ives, Eric (2009): ''Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery'' Wiley-Blackwell * Loades, David (1996): ''John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland 1504–1553'' Clarendon Press * Nichols, J. G. (ed.) (1850)
''The Chronicle of Queen Jane''
Camden Society *Sil, N.P. (2001): ''Tudor Placemen and Statesmen: Select Case Histories'' Rosemont Publishing {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, John (courtier) 1504 births 1553 deaths 16th-century English soldiers English MPs 1542–1544 English MPs 1545–1547 English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1553 (Edward VI) Knights of the Bath Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber High sheriffs of Essex High sheriffs of Hertfordshire People executed under the Tudors for treason against England Executions at the Tower of London Executed people from Essex People executed by Tudor England by decapitation People executed under Mary I of England Burials at the Church of St Peter ad Vincula English courtiers English politicians convicted of crimes Court of Henry VIII Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster

Serving Henry VIII and Edward VI

Parliamentary career

1553 succession crisis

See also

Notes

References