William Herle (died 1589) was an Englishman who was both a Member of Parliament and the county

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

; he was also a privateer and spy while imprisoned in the

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, ...

prison in 1571. He became known for his part in

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 ...

's intelligence network inside the jail. He smuggled letters from William Cecil and Lord Burghley about people involved in the so-called

Ridolfi plot The Ridolfi plot was a Catholic plot in 1571 to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto Ridolfi, an international banker who was able to travel between Bruss ...

, which was a Roman Catholic plan to assassinate the Queen and replace her with

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 ...

Privateering

Herle was hired by Sir William Garrard in 1565. Garrard was the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

and had a market in the northern sea. This brought Herle to the attention of William Cecil, who hired him in the mid-1560s to travel and supply the allies in England. Herle was sent to raid ships on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. Eventually, Margaret, Duchess of Parma, a Spanish regent in the Netherlands, asked

to stop Herle. In July of 1566, Herle turned himself in to Cecil to be imprisoned and questioned for his pirating. During the trial in July 1566, he was acquitted for his absence on the ship ''Tigger'' when the raid happened.

Imprisonment

Herle was placed in prison due to his crimes as a pirate. Herle would have gotten the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

for being a pirate, but often managed to escape through a loophole where he stayed in jail and wrote about his experiences. Herle wrote in his journal to Cecil about Herle and the other prisoners' lives. His writings have helped to understand Tudor jail life. In 1571, he wrote to Cecil several times about the

Ridolfi Plot The Ridolfi plot was a Catholic plot in 1571 to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto Ridolfi, an international banker who was able to travel between Bruss ...

. He also wrote to William Cecil about Mary I of Scotland's guest,Bossy 1991. and was able to obtain letters to Cecil that proved there was a plot against Elizabeth I.

Privateering

Imprisonment

References

Further reading