ON THIS DAY - 30 November 1554

On This Day, 30 November, in 1554, poet, soldier and courtier Sir Philip Sidney was born at Penshurst Place, Kent.

Detail from 'Portrait Miniature of possibly Sir Philip Sidney', ? Nicholas Hilliard, c.1600 © Victoria and Albert Museum London

Philip's parents, Mary Dudley (daughter of the late John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and his wife Jane Guildford) and Sir Henry Sidney had been married in March 1551, during the reign of Edward VI, to which the groom had been a close companion since childhood. It has been suspected that this was not Mary's first pregnancy, but her first one ended in either a late miscarriage or stillbirth.

© Penshurst House & Gardens

In February 1554, Henry's father, Sir William Sidney, died; as his only surviving son, Henry inherited his lands and estates, including Penshurst Place, a 14th century sandstone manor in Kent, 30 miles south-west of London. Penshurst became the Sidney family seat, and Henry commissioned a renovation and expansion project, turning the manor into a comfortable, modern family home. It was to Penshurst in October 1554 that Mary's eldest brother John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick, travelled to, immediately following his release from the Tower of London, after 15 months imprisonment; Warwick, along with his younger brothers, had been convicted of high treason, and been sentenced to death. Being heavily pregnant at the time, Mary is unlikely to have had contact with her weak and ailing brother, who died just three days after his arrival at Penshurst, on 21 October 1554.

Detail from 'Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney'. Hans Eworth, c.1550-60 © National Trust Images

After weeks of preparation, and after entering her confinement at Penshurst, at quarter to five in the morning, on Friday 30 November 1554, St Andrew's Day, Mary gave birth to a son. The couple named him Philip, after Philip II of Spain, who was nominated as one of his godfathers at his baptism, with the service most likely taking place at the nearby church of St John the Baptist, shortly after his birth. Other godparents were John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, and his maternal grandmother, Jane Guildford, Duchess of Northumberland.