The Earl of Essex Rebellion

The Earl of Essex

Essex's Rebellion was an unsuccessful rebellion led by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex in 1601 against Elizabeth I of England and the Cecil Family in order for him to gain further influence in court.

Motives

Elizabeth relied more and more on a small clique of personal advisors: the Cecils, William, Lord Burghley and his son Sir Robert Cecil, who controlled both the Privy Council and the Treasury. Meanwhile, those who had become political outcasts soon swarmed around the dashing figure of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.

Leicester, the Queen's favourite, was dead and Burghley, her principal advisor, was getting old. Essex thought that he should be allowed to fill the place of both and dominate the court.

After failing in battle against the Irish Leader (Lord Tyrone), Essex conceived the treasonable idea of using the young, headstrong gentlemen in his military to force Elizabeth to ruin the Cecils and to give him the predominance at court.

He returned against the orders of the Queen. Lord De La Warr (Later 1st Colonial Governor of Virginia) also abandoned Ireland with Essex and accompanied him back to London to confront the Queen. Elizabeth's fondness for her young favourite swiftly turned to fury. She had sent him to Ireland so that he would put down the rebellion and yet the rebels were still running amok. Essex was subsequently deprived of his offices of state and was kept under house arrest for nearly a year due to having fled his Irish command.

The final stages for rebellion came strangely enough when the Queen refused in a fit of pique to renew Essex's patent for sweet wines, which was a considerable £50,000 source of annual income, and took the patent herself.

He had spent many months imprisoned in his own home, brooding over the injustice he had been dealt and upon his release, he gathered a band of other discontented gentlemen around him to plan some violent reprisals which would greatly help restore their fortunes. So sure was he of his popularity, Essex even tried to persuade Lord Mountjoy, who had replaced him as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Master-General of the Ordnance, to bring the army over from Ireland to support his coup d'etat. Essex and Mountjoy had not always been allies, as the favour which Mountjoy received from Queen Elizabeth aroused Essex's jealousy, and led to a duel between the two courtiers, who later became close friends.

Initial plans

There was talk of armed rebellion and at the Globe Theatre, the conspirators arranged for Shakespeare's Richard III to be performed on 7 February 1601, sponsored by the Earl of Essex. The significance of this particular play to the rebellion is that Richard III is about the tragic history of a monarch who loses his throne after listening to the whispers of evil advisors.

The Privy Council learned about the supposed plot and called Essex's bluff by summoning him to appear before them. On the morning of the 8th, the Queen dispatched Lord Worcester; Lord Chancellor Sir John Egerton; Lord Chief Justice Sir John Popham and Treasurer of the Household Sir William Knollys, to Essex's home. The Earl invited them to his library, but a mob swarmed up the stairs behind them, crying "Kill them! Kill them!", Essex quickly locked the four councillors in the library and left Francis Tresham and two others to guard them, whilst he and the rest of his supporters marched through London.

Rebellion

During the Earl's march, Lord Monteagle attempted unsuccessfully to prevent Lord Burghley's herald from proclaiming Essex a traitor, his men only successfully driving them away once the proclamation had been read out. Whilst trying to make his way back to the House with the others, he fell into the River Thames and nearly drowned.

Soon after the Sunday sermon at St Paul's Cross, Essex led a 300-strong band of armed followers through Ludgate and into the City, shouting "Murder, murder, God Save the Queen!" and "For the Queen, For the Queen!". By claiming that England was being sold to the Spanish, Essex hoped that his fellow Londoners would rally around him in his bid to restore himself to royal favour. Essex wore court clothes rather than a suit of armour, to signify his peacful intentions.

Essex expected the Sheriff of London Sir Thomas Smythe, using his position as Captain of the Trained Bands, to raise the city in his support. Essex had often mentioned to his followers that Smythe could bring him 1,000 loyal men when he needed them. It was claimed by witnesses that Sir Thomas visited Essex House on the evening of the 7th and reiterated his pledge to support Essex and that he knew of the rising by 5 o'clock on the Sunday morning at the latest. Essex on his way through the City went to Sir Thomas's home on Fenchurch Street, perspiring so much that he asked for a clean shirt. A number of people observed Essex's arrival at Smythe's house and saw them talking in the street outside. Some of these claimed that the Sheriff urged Essex to go seize Ludgate and Aldgate, where he would send him arms shortly.

Unfortunately for Essex, the City of London did not rise up at his urging. A force under Sir John Levenson occupied Ludgate, and every one of London's seven gates were locked. Around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, realising that they had been overcome without fighting, Essex abandoned his followers and fled to Queenhithe, where he immediately took a barge to his home, only to find that one of his followers, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, had released his hostages and returned them to Whitehall Palace. Realising his predicament, Essex quickly burnt dozens of incriminating documents.

Lord Nottingham led the forces that crushed the rebellion at Essex's House. They surrounded the house and trained their cannon upon it, demanding that Essex give himself up. Essex clambered up onto the roof and, bradishing his sword, cried "I would sooner fly to heaven." Nottingham replied he would blow the house up. Realising that death would be his fate if he did not surrender, Essex surrendered his sword to Nottingham at 10 o'clock in the evening. His request before he was arrested was that his personal chaplain, Abdy Ashton, remain with him. Before long eighty-five rebels had been rounded up from the house and taken into custody.

Aftermath

Within ten days he was condemned for treason and within another week, was beheaded. There was a great sympathy for him.

• Sir Christopher Blount, stepfather to the Earl of Essex, was badly wounded in the cheek during the rebellion. Weak from his hurt, he was carried on a litter to his trial and beheaded about four weeks after Essex on Tower Hill for high treason with Danvers.

• Sir Charles Danvers was captured and beheaded about four weeks after Essex on Tower Hill for high treason with Blount.

• Sir Henry Cuffe, Essex's Secretary was hanged ne\r Tyburn.

• Sir Gelli Meyrick, Essex's Steward was hanged at Tyburn.

• Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton was captured and sentenced to death, however Cecil obtained the commutation of the penalty to imprisonment for life. He was released upon the accession of James I.

• Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford escaped capture by the help of two servants who had followed him into London, "Their purpose to withdraw the Earl of Bedford from that company [the rebels]; as soon as they could get opportunity they got the Earl away, and carried him off by water". Bedford was fined £10,000 for his implication in the rebellion.

• Edward Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell, was arrested and confined to the tower on 9 February 1601. Cromwell's wife "made humble suit to the Council on behalf of her Lord that is a prisoner in the Tower, in regard that he is corpulent and sickly he may take the air". Her wish was granted, permitting her husband "from time to time to take the air, but only in the company of the Lieutenant and his deputy". He was fined £3,000 and was placed under house arrest.

• William Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys was fined £3,000 and was placed under house arrest.

• Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland was imprisoned and was fined £30,000

• The Hon. Francis Manners was imprisoned and was fined £1,000 but obtained a remission of the fine, and thus the affair cost little to him.

• The Hon. George Manners was imprisoned.

• William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle gave himself up after the siege, he wrote a letter to Sir Robert Cecil asking for mercy, saying "My conscience tells me that I am in no way guilty of these imputations, and that merely the blindness of ignorance led me into these infamous errors". This letter along with his confession helped convict Essex and possibly spared him his own. He was subsequently released, but fined £8,000, leading some to claim he was a government spy at this time.

• Sir Henry Neville was imprisoned and fined £3,000.

• Sir John Davis was sentenced to death, however he was pardoned after becoming a witness against his fellow conspirators.

• Sir Thomas Smythe, was dismissed from his post and was imprisoned and fined £3,000. When pressed in court about the meeting with Essex, an incident witnessed by many, he stated that he had merely passed on a message from the Lord Mayor of London Sir William Rider and then left home by the back door.

• Sir Edward Maria Wingfield was banished to Ireland by Sir John Popham, doubtless telling him that this would prevent his being executed - and sequestered his house, Kimbolton Castle, sending his family off to their London house at St.Andrew's, Holborn.

• Penelope Rich, Lady Rich, was the sister of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, the step-daughter of Sir Christopher Blount and mistress of Charles Blount, Baron Mountjoy by whom she had four children, which led to her being thrown out by her husband.

• Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, was arrested as he "had a letter from Essex, and would, it is thought, been one [a traitor], had he not been out of town, and so come to late". Sussex in the end betrayed his co-conspirators and became one of the judges at Essex's trial.

Among those who supported Essex openly or covertly were the Catholic gentlemen, including: Robert Catesby, Francis Tresham, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Thomas Wintour and John and Christopher Wright.

• Robert Catesby, even though he had been previously arrested on suspicion in 1596 during an illness of Queen Elizabeth - a stomach complaint first diagnosed as a catholic attempt to poison her - was imprisoned after being wounded during the short battle at Essex's house. He was released on payment of a fine of £3,000.

• Francis Tresham only escaped a charge of treason by a bribe of £1,000 to Catherine Howard, Countess of Suffolk. In addition some payment was probably given to Egerton and Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, before the pardon could be procured. Records of Sir Thomas Tresham indicate the reverberation of Francis' incarceration. Sir Thomas was forced to sell a number of properties in order to come up with his son's £2,000 fine. It has also been questioned whether or not he assisted in paying some of Catesby's fine as well, due to Francis and Robert being cousins.