John Foxe and the Howards
- thedudleywomen
- Apr 18
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 25
On This Day (18 April) in 1587, clergyman, historian, theologian and martyrologist John Foxe died at his London home on Grub Street, in the parish of St Giles-without-Cripplegate.
Foxe had been born in Boston, Lincolnshire, in 1516, and had matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1532, aged 16, later becoming a fellow of Magdalen College. It is known that one of his close friends during his time at Oxford was Richard Bertie, the future second husband of Katherine Willoughby, Dowager Duchess of Somerset, whose flight from persecution during the Marian Catholic regime and exile in Protestant Europe he later relayed. He also corresponded with leading figures of the Protestant Reformation, including William Tyndale and Hugh Latimer, both of whom would be executed on charges of heresy, and whose histories Foxe would document (Stephen, 1889).
In 1547, Foxe and his new bride Agnes Randall moved to London, with the intent of Foxe seeking out employment, having previously been worked as a tutor. He was shortly invited into the household of Mary Howard, the Dowager Duchess of Richmond and Somerset, based at Mountjoy House, Knightrider Street, City of London. However, by the end of the year, he had been appointed as the tutor the Duchess's young nieces and nephews (Winter, 1847; Stephen, 1889).
Mary Howard was the younger sister of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who had been married to Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, Henry VIII's acknowledged illegitimate son in 1533. FitzRoy had become a ward of Mary's father, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, following the downfall of Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor, in 1529, his previous guardian. The elder Norfolk encouraged a close friendship with his eldest son, Surrey, and later arranging the marriage to Mary. Unpredictably, FitzRoy had died prematurely in July 1536 from a likely pulmonary infection, possibly consumption or tuberculosis; as the marriage not being consummated, due to the young age of the couple, Mary was not afforded the full benefits of a widow, although was later able to manage her own household, without having to remarry. (Hutchinson, 2009).
Following the downfalls and executions of the two Howard queens, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, in 1536 and 1542 respectively, the tide had turned against Norfolk, with the influence of Edward and Thomas Seymour, the uncles to the heir Prince Edward, becoming more apparent. In May 1546, once again Norfolk proposed that Mary should marry the younger Thomas, putting forward a plan that had been unsuccesful when first suggested in 1538, in order to strengthen alliances betweeen the two families. This proposal was supported by Henry VIII, whose intended Katherine Parr had previously been a paramour of Thomas's, although the Seymours themselves were not interested. Mary's eldest brother then suggested that Mary should try and seduce the king himself, to which she disgustedly replied that "she would cut her own throat rather than...consent to such a villainy”, and wished that the Howards would "perish". (Hutchinson, 2009, p.183).
This incident subsequently damaged the familial relations; following her brother Henry's arrest and charge for high treason in 1546, and their father's arrest for knowingly concealing this, a vengeful Mary provided evidence against both of them, which was used as proof of their guilt. Whilst Norfolk remained imprisoned throughout Edward VI's reign, her brother was executed on 19 January 1547, the last man to be so under the reign of Henry VIII. The custody of Henry's children was then granted to Mary - eldest son Thomas, then aged 10, and his siblings Henry, Katherine, Jane and Margaret - who were then residing at Reigate Castle, Surrey, one of the Duke's properties that had been seized by the Crown, following an Act of Attainder. Having impressed Mary, she appointed Foxe as the tutor to the children, who he joined at Reigate, remaining in his post for five years (Stephen, 1889; Hutchinson, 2009). Foxe held this position until the accession of Mary I in July 1553; one of her first acts as queen was to order the release of the old Duke of Norfolk, and appoint him to her Privy Council. Now in charge of his grandchildren's upbringing and education, Norfolk dismissed Foxe, on account of their religious differences: Norfolk was a Catholic, who could once again openly practice. As the eldest grandson and heir, 15-year-old Thomas was sent from Reigate to the household of Bishop Gardiner, at the Palace of Westminster, to continue his education; however, it was alleged that Foxe continued to visit his former pupil there, the two having had a close relationship and strong affection for each other (Stephen, 1889).
On the accession of Mary I in 1553, and her restoration of Catholicism, many of those who held Reformist reviews made the decision to leave England and seek exile in the more sympathetic countries in Europe, settling there until her reign was over; these included Foxe's contemporary at Oxford Richard Bertie, his wife Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Suffolk and their children. By the end of 1554, Foxe and his wife had left England, initially settling in Frankfurt, before moving to Basel. It was when in exile that Foxe first published, in Latin, his Church History, which were early versions of what was to be his greatest work (Stephen, 1889)
In the autumn of 1559, Thomas Howard, now the 4th Duke of Norfolk, received a letter from Foxe, who had just returned to England from the continent. He also enclosed a copy of his recently published Church History which he had dedicated to the Duke. Norfolk wrote back to Foxe, addressing him as "my right loving schoolmaster", soon inviting him and his family to stay at his primary London home of Christchurch Place (also known as 'Cree Church Place'), in Aldgate, one of the properties that had come into his possession on his marriage to Margaret Audley in 1558. This came as welcome news to Foxe, who had returned to England after five years of exile, now with a young family, unemployed and impoverished (Williams, 1964).
In 1563, having returned to London, the first edition of his work 'Actes and Monuments' was published, also known as 'Foxe's Book of Martyrs': Protestant history and martyrology, including those known to Foxe who had been persecuted and executed under the recent Marian regime, including Hugh Latimer. Foxe continued to write original theological texts, as well as publish translations of pre-exisiting ones into English, in addition to his continuous additions and alterations made to his 'Book of Martyrs'. Three further editions of his work were published during his lifetime: 1570, 1576 and 1583 (Stephen, 1889).
In January 1564, Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, died suddenly, weeks after the birth of her fourth child; she died in Norfolk, likely from childbirth complications or a respiratory infection when she was making her way back to London, desperate to be reunited with her husband who remained at their Aldgate home. Following the Duchess's death, Norfolk went into mourning, with his five young children into the Norfolk countryside, whilst Foxe and his family moved out of Christchurch Place, initially into the home of his publisher John Day in Aldersgate, where he had previously spent prolonged periods of time during the printing of the first folios (Stephen, 1889; Hutchinson, 2009).
In 1569, Foxe and his family moved into their own property in Grub Street, further to the west in the parish of St Giles-without-Cripplegate, where Foxe would remain for the rest of his life. This move coincided with Norfolk's sympathies for the recently imprisoned Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, of his correspondence with her and her supporters, as well as propositions regarding a potential marriage. Foxe was made aware of these rumours, and wrote to his patron, warning him of the consequences of such actions, hoping that he would continue to have the influence he once held as his tutor. This appeal was fruitless, as Norfolk was arrested in November 1569, and held as prisoner at the Tower of London until his release in August 1570 (Stephen, 1889; Williams, 1964).
Whilst his initial release came due to a lack of evidence to charge him for treason, and an apology to a forgiving queen, Norfolk foolishly continued to participate in the Catholic plots involving Mary, Queen of Scots. Norfolk became a primary participant in the eponymous 'Ridolfi Plot', along with Italian merchant Roberto Ridolfi, plotting to free the captured Scottish queen, overthrow Elizabeth I, place Mary on the throne and restore Catholicism to England. Following the discovery of the plot, Norfolk was arrested in September 1571, re-imprisoned back in the Tower of London; a trial held in January 1572 found him guilty of high treason, and sentenced him to death (Hutchinson, 2009). Despite the obvious Catholic sympathies that Norfolk held, his affection and respect for Foxe never faltered; Norfolk, having initially asked for Alexander Nowell, Dean of St Paul's, then wrote to his goaler, Sir Henry Skipwith, requesting the presence of Foxe; Skipwith reported that Norfolk "longeth much for Mr Foxe, his old schoolmaster...to whom he most desires to perform that faith which he first grounded him in". This request was successful, as Foxe and Nowell visited Norfolk on 19 January (Williams, 1964, p.238). The Dean remained a regular visitor to the Duke over the five months he remained in the Tower, his health deteriorating whilst he was awaiting his execution, with Norfolk also making provisions for Foxe, directing his heirs to pay him an annuity of '20l' (Stephen, 1889).
Just after 8 o'clock in the morning of 02 June 1572, both Foxe and Nowell accompanied Norfolk to the scaffold that had been erected on Tower Hill. During his last speech, he denied his own Catholic beliefs, although did not dispute or deny the sympathies of servants or friends. After finishing his speech, he embraced Nowell, and shook hands with others on the scaffold, including Foxe, then asked forgiveness from his executioner. Norfolk was then beheaded, only one stroke required; his decapitated body was then returned to the Tower and overseen by Nowell, was buried in the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula (Stephen, 1889; Williams, 1964).
At the beginning of 1587, Foxe's health had began to decline; both him and his wife Angus wrote to their eldest son Samuel, who had just returned from the continent, regarding his failing health, recognising that Foxe was now unable to continue his work that he had dedicated his life to: "such is my weaknes now, and hath been thys moneth, yt Ican nether eate, sleape, nor wryte, nor goo up yett to my study, whereby ye boke standeth yett att a stay, in prynting" (Winters, 1877, pp.34-35),
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