Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House: Volume 3, 1583-1589. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1889.
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'Cecil Papers: November 1587', in Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House: Volume 3, 1583-1589, (London, 1889) pp. 295-299. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-cecil-papers/vol3/pp295-299 [accessed 25 April 2024]
November 1587
| 609. Exchequer Receipts. | |
| 1587, Nov. 5. | Note of the weekly receipts and payments from 29 October to 5 November 1587. |
| 3 pp. | |
| 610. Lord Burghley to Archibald Douglas. | |
| 1587, Nov. 10. | Making an appointment for an interview with the Queen “to-morrow or on Sunday afternoon.”—From the Court, this 10th of November 1587. |
| ¼ p. | |
| 611. (fn. 1) Archibald Douglas' Project Touching the Troubles in Scotland. | |
| 1587, Nov. 14. | For remedying of the apparent troubles like to fall out in Scotland, it will be necessary that the perfect state thereof should be understood and laid open before her Majesty, which doth consist in a Prince grieved in mind, and a number of nobility almost equally divided anent their religion into Protestant and Papist, with a number of indifferent religion, that did sometimes profess their obedience to the authority of the Queen, the King's mother, and which now, being joined to the Papists for the better furtherance of their intended matter, make that party both greater in number of nobility and stronger in force. |
| The King as yet doth remain indifferent to both parties, and gives equal favour to both. The Papists with their associates are not idle in practising that the King may be drawn to declare himself to be no enemy to them, and therefore do what they can to make him believe that this accident that fell out against his mother was for no offence committed by her, and that it tends to no other end but to defraud him of any succession he might acclaim to the Crown of England as heir to her, and to ruin him; and that this cannot be helped, unless he join the Princes as Catholics, and so have surety and means to acquire his right. And they are busy to persuade other Princes that, if they offer him assistance and send forces into his realm, the hard dealing used by her Majesty towards him will cause him to assist them to seek revenge for his mother's death. As for religion, they do affirm that no further will be required of him, but that they may enjoy liberty of conscience, which they persuad him will be expedient to be granted for divers respects. | |
| The Protestants do consist of a few of the nobility and meanest sort of gentlemen called lairds, whose second sons and brethren are for the most part merchants and travellers by sea, and of the whole body of merchants dwelling in the towns. The noblemen Protestants are become careless for the preservation of their religion, because they do esteem that the King will never change his religion, whose favour they think to possess by keeping themselves quiet at their houses. The merchants and mean gentlemen are so wounded with the infinite number of piracies committed by some of this country that, in this matter that touches them so near as their conscience and religion, they keep themselves silent, and rather wish matters so to fall out as they may recover their losses by way of justice, whereof they are destitute of all hope. If advertisements given shall be found true, forces of unfriends are to be landed in Scotland. And what may be looked for in so troubled and confused a state may be easily conjectured, with the ills that may follow thereupon if timeous remedy shall not be provided. | |
| The apparent remedies are these. The King is to be won to declare himself for the Protestants, and to desire their assistance for suppressing the insolent, and the forces of the Papists by executing the laws of the realm against them, and imprisoning their bodies for avoiding greater inconveniences. The noblemen and gentlemen must be put in remembrance of their own state, whereby they may provide for their surety. And the state of merchants must be by some means fortified, whereby they may be drawn to set apart their revenging mind, and assist to procure their surety, which may be done by these means : that the King may be answered directly, according to her Majesty's accustomed love and favour at all times extended towards him. to such instructions as were sent to his Ambassador in July last. Since her Majesty cannot be moved to publicly declare him second person, that privately she may do it under own hand writ. If her Majesty shall not like thereof, that under own hand writ she may acknowledge him her nearest cousin and kinsman, and shall never prejudge directly nor indirectly any title he may acclaim to this Crown, notwithstanding of any delict or process had against his mother, which she shall see the judge and those of the jury to affirm by the testimony of their hand writ and her Highness' Great Seal. | |
| Item, for the performing hereof it will be necessary that a letter under the Great Seal, and the handwriting of those that were upon the jury, shall be made concerning her Majesty's innocency in that procedure, so far excepted as may grant the giving of permission that the laws of the realm should have course for safety of the state thereof; and yet affirming the lawfulness of the procedure, and bearing this narrative : that some malevolent persons, desirous to stir up sedition amongst Princes, have slanderously given it out that the lawful proceeding against the Queen of Scotland did tend to no other end but to the disinheriting of her posterity in any right they might acclaim to the Crown of England; for declaration of the sincerity of her Majesty's meaning in that matter, and for the manifesting of the contrary thereof, her will and pleasure is, that all Princes and nations should be informed of her and their meaning there anent, which is, &.c. And for more sure testimony of her meaning, she can be contented that her son, the King of Scotland (nearest cousin to her Majesty) shall be honoured with the inheritance, &c. | |
| Item, that . . . . belle, his next cousins, shall not be bestowed in marriage but by his good counsel and advice. | |
| Item, that satisfaction shall be made for piracies according to divers promises made heretofore, whereupon acts of Court are extant. These; promises being performed, the King will remain in whatsoever sort of strait amity that shall be thought convenient to be performed. | |
| Endorsed by Burghley :—“14 November 1587—The Ambassador of Scotland's project for remedying the differences between England and Scotland.” | |
| 2¾ pp. | |
| 612. Form of a Deputation. | |
| 1587, Nov. 14. | Copy of a form of appointment of a Lord Lieutenant's deputies, with names not filled in. |
| Noted by Burghley at head : “Wm, Cecill, Knight of the order of the Garter, Lord Burghley, Lord Tresorer of England”; and, at foot : “Charles, Lord Willoghby of Parsham; Thomas Cecill, Knight; Edward Dymock; Anthony Thorold.—xiiij. Nov. ao 29o.” | |
| 1 p. | |
| Annexed :— | |
| Copy of the appointment of Sir Thomas Shirley, Knt., Sir Thomas Palmer, Knt., and Walter Covert, Esq., as deputies of Lord Howard of Effingham, who was made Lieutenant of the counties of Surrey and Sussex, the borough of Southwark, and the city of Chichester, by the Queen's letters patent, dated 3 July, 27 Eliz.—23 July 1585. | |
| Noted in margin : The like for Surrey, mutatis mutandis, W. Howard, Sir W. More, Sir Tho. Browne. | |
| [1 p.] | |
| 613. Sir Ralph Lane to the Queen. | |
| 1587, Nov. 16. | Having discovered “somewhat of most important consequence to the Queen's safety,” beseeches her Majesty to command the Lord Treasurer to receive the intelligence and to provide a remedy.—16 November 1587. |
| ½ p. | |
| 614. The Earl of Leicester to the Queen. | |
| 1587, Nov. 21. | I do most humbly on my knees thank your most Excellent Majesty for your gracious licence sent me by Sir Thomas Gorge for my return unto your presence, which hath bred in me as much comfort as, before that, the untoward proceeding in these countries had tilled me with the contrary; which your licence I had not thus long deferred to put in execution, but to observe your expectation and commandment in taking such leave of these men here as were convenient, as well for your honour as my poor honesty; for which purpose I have sent unto them to let them know your Majesty's good pleasure in revoking me at this present, as also to require the access of some of them hither to me, to have conference with them before my departure. And where your Majesty sent my Lord Willoughby a patent to be your Lieutenant here, with a clause that Sir Wm. Pelham should assist him, and that my Lord is tied to do nothing without his advice, I must let your Majesty know that, partly in respect Sir Wm. Pelbam is not like to live many days in this world, and for other very great causes, I shall be forced to bring back the patent to your Majesty, hoping to be the next messenger myself, that it may please you to take some consideration thereof upon my repair unto you. And yet, for the meanwhile, I will leave all absolute authority with my Lord Willoughby over all your forces here, even as myself have it from your Majesty; whereby, notwithstanding the want of the patent, your people shall be governed till your pleasure be renewed. And the easier will it be for my Lord, for that your forces be gathered into four places only, as Flushing and Briel, which both have special Governors, so that there is chiefly two for my Lord to govern your people in, which is Ostend and Berghen op Zoom. As for all the places in Holland and Zealand, they are held, as I have signified unto your Majesty heretofore, altogether at the discretion of the Count Maurice, which hath been a great cause of difference between the States and me of long while, and that hold no doubt but they will maintain still in him as long as they can; which I think will be till they be all overthrown, for they take the right course, as I have particularly declared my opinion to your Majesty sundry times, and have more also somewhat again touched the same to my Lord Chancellor and Lord Treasurer; wherein I have advertised them of the speedy going on of the Duke of Parma's preparations by sea, which is in all readiness most assuredly, and the greatest that ever was—not like to be all for these parts, but rather part of Scotland, for I am credibly informed that the King hath his instruments continually labouring to have men sent him, which your Majesty must with great care and diligence prevent, and now use all those good means which God hath given you. And do not defer the time and occasion, for your enemies do not; and if this be true, then is your Majesty to consider of this treaty of peace with what mind it is offered you. And because I am afraid it will prove too true, that this enterprise is to annoy your Majesty and your estate, I cannot but in humble sort advise your Majesty to prepare every way for the worst, and, having so just occasion, it were very requisite, under correction, that your Majesty called your Parliament, that you might receive the better the help and aid of your subjects, and let them feel of your care and love to them, that you will not see them negligently lost. For it is your Majesty that is their watch, and their care to prevent and provide for their safety. |
| The world was never so dangerous, nor never so full of treasons and treacheries as at this day. God, for his mercy sake, preserve and keep you from them all! And it is one great part of my greatest comfort in coming home near your presence, that if these attempts fall out against your Majesty, that I shall be in place to do you a day's service. And two things your Majesty is presently to do : the first, to set out a very strong navy to keep the seas forthwith; the next, to provide by your subjects whose case it is to have store of money, which is the sinews to hold all by. If the Duke send any forces towards Scotland, then is it a plain argument of some secret treason here among some of the chief dealers, whereof at my coming to your Majesty I will say more. In the meanwhile I thought it good to bring your own people into your own most needful places.—At Flushing, this 21 of November. | |
| 1 p. | |
| 615. Robert Carvyle to Robert Scott. | |
| 1587, Nov. 23. | Begs him to bear him in remembrance to Mr. Secretary and the Lord Ambassador touching his suit. The plague very grievous in Leith, and many houses infected in Edinburgh.—Berwick, the 23rd of November 1587. |
| ½ p. | |
| 616. William Hunter to Archibald Douglas. | |
| 1587, Nov. 24. | In behalf of the bearer, a Scotchman, that he be not wronged. Has done what in him lay to make composition, but could not.—Bristol, this 24th of November 1587. |
| 1 p. | |
| 617. R. Graham to Archibald Douglas. | |
| 1587, Nov. 27. | Begging him to stand Captain Turner's friend at this present; to relieve him if he be in trouble, and to get stay of the ship's arrestment.—From Yarmouth, the 27th day of November 1587. |
| 1 p. | |
| 618. Thomas Bamburgh to the Queen. | |
| 1587. Nov. 30. | For a lease in reversion of the farm of the Fryth, near Boston, Lincoln, for his services, which he details. |
| Endorsed :—30 November 1587. | |
| 1 p. | |