The Duke of Northumberland’s Seized Goods

First, sorry for the long absence! I went on a short trip with the family to San Francisco and enjoyed myself thoroughly. Didn’t get much work done at all, which was probably a good thing! I’ll try to put some pictures up on Facebook soon.

To get back into the blogging swing of things, here’s some selected items from an inventory of goods seized from the residences of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, after his downfall and arrest in 1553. Some of the goods were turned over to Queen Mary; some were given to the young Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, and the old Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who had been released from prison by Mary; others were sold or given to persons of various degrees; and some were given to the Duchess of Northumberland. The complete list, which can be found in the UK National Archives at E 154/2/39, gives a fascinating glimpse of the type of goods that could be found in the wealthiest Tudor households. Note the intrusion of a lone fork into the duke’s stock of knives, the duchess’s many sleeves (plus a special chest just to carry them in), the elaborate clocks, the lavish tapestries, and the intrusion of the humble moth into even the grandest of households.

Item an other stocke of knyves w[i]th Iron haftes wherin is a dosen and a forke

Item a stocke salte of golde w[i]th iiij pillers having a faire rocke Rubie upon the cover and garnisshed w[i]th viij diamondes vj and Rubies ij poiz. xxxj oz

Item oon dosen napkins of crosse diamondes

Item a quilte of yelowe seye mottheaten

Item [the duke’s] Cloke of felte w[i]th a cape of blacke vellut w[i]th buttons and lace of silke and golde

Item a purse of grene bruges saten wherin is an hawkes glove garnisshed w[i]t[h] crimsen saten and a lure of purple vellut garnisshed w[i]th golde and perle

Item a Caparison of white vellut for an horse

Item a Cace of a perfumepan of Alablaster finelie wrought

Item an upright deske covered w[i]th grene vellut w[i]th a doble standisshe covered with the same standeng upon a frame

Item a writeng deske of Walnottre wherin ar diverse Instrumentes of silver an Inkehorne, a Staundisshe w[i]t[h] a dustboxe with divers oother Instrumentes of silver in the same

Item the dukes Robes for the Parliament of Scarlet [this went to the Duke of Norfolk]

Item his Robes of purple and crimsen vellut for the garter w[i]th the hood for the same [this also went to the Duke of Norfolk]

Item a Clocke of Cristall garnisshed w[i]th silver and gilte belonging to a great salte of cristall poiz. xij oz

Item a faire Clocke of copper and gilte w[i]th vj belles in a chyme the clocke being iij quarters high

Item an other Clocke standeng in a frame of wood gilte

Item a faire Astrolabie

Item iij olde hattes of crimsen silke fringe motheaten

Item a Table of the picture of King Henrie theight and another of Quene Jane Seymo[ur] solde to S[i]r Thom[a]s Pope

Item a lowe Chaier w[i]th the seate and backe of nedilworke w[i]th ij l[ett]res T. and D.

Item [the duchess’s] loose gown of lozenges of the one side and ruffed vellut on thother side [most of the duchess’s wearing apparel was delivered to her]

Item iiij paire of sleves of purple vellut wherof oon paire edged with luserdes

Item v paire of blacke vellut sleves of sondrie sortes edged w[i]t[h] luserdes

Item ij paire of sleves of blacke vellut edged w[i]th Sables

Item v paire of sleves of blacke vellut of sondrie sortes edged w[i]t[h] blacke Jennettes

Item a paire of blacke sleves of vellut edged w[i]th conye

Item a Partelet and a paire of sleves of blacke damaske edged w[i]th Swanne

Item xiij paire of blacke vellut sleves of sondrie sortes

Item a litell square Chest for cariage of the duches sleves

A Testo[ur] of a standeng bed of clothe of Tincell and purple Taphata w[i]th fringes of golde verie riche

Item a Cussheon of purple vellut embrodred richelie w[i]th golde w[i]th iiij Tassels w[i]th the kinge and the quenes Armes

Item a doblet of crane colored Taphata pinked solde to Mr White [the duke wore a “crane-colored” gown to his execution]

Item v nightcappes of velvet

Item ij shaving clothes garnisshed w[i]th golde solde to therle of Devonshire

Item ij large bookes faire written w[i]th armes covered with velvet garnisshed with silver conteyneng the Armes of Germanie

Item a Cace of combes gilte wherin ar v blacke combes a Glasse and certaine oother Instrumentes and a blacke cace of combes of Ibonie wherin ben two combes with certaine other Implementes solde to S[i]r Thomas Pope

The dukes Coronet of golde w[i]th a border of mynifer and the cap of crimsen vellut the Coronet wayeng xxiij oz [delivered to the Duke of Norfolk]

Item a close stoole with a bucket of pewter covered w[i]th black lether worne solde to Sir Robert Sothwell

Item a paire of playeng Tables paynted in a Cace

Furst a large Coller of the order of the garter with a George with the Armes of the George made of diamondes [delivered to the Duke of Norfolk]

w[i]th the duke at the Tower: Item a Gowne of blacke saten with a cape and face of sables with ij dosen paire of aglettes

Item a Gown of crimsen Capha and a kirtell of white damaske for a childe [Was this a garment that had belonged to one of duke’s children who predeceased him?]

Furst a Tonne of beir spent

Item a booke w[i]th viij leaves of slate covered w[i]th vellut garnisshed w[i]th silver with claspes locke and keye of silver

Item ix pecis of countrefaict arras of the storie of Hester conteyning cclx elles at ijs thell solde to Mr George Tirrell

Item a counterpoincte of Tapestrie w[i]th burdes and flowers

Item a Turkie carpet for a Windowe solde to Michaell Plowman

Item a framed chaier of Walnottree the seate and backe of crimsen vellut paned with clothe of golde solde to Mr Peckeham

v peces of Imagerie of the storie of Diana single [delivered to the duchess]

Item v peces of Tapestrie of the storie of David and Salomon [delivered to the duchess]

Item vj peces of Tapestrie unlyned of the storie de filio prodigo [delivered to the duchess]

Item vj single peces of hanginges of Imagerie of the storie of David [delivered to Ambrose Dudley, who was imprisoned along with the rest of the Dudley sons in the Tower]

Item ij quiltes for the sides of the bed covered with purple vellut

Item oon Counterpoincte belonging to the same bed of purple and crimsen saten embrodred rounde aboute with golde and in the middes and oother places with the Rose and l[ett]res of H and R and lyned with white fustian

Item a barehide

Item a Celer and Testo[ur] of crimsen saten embrodred with white silver with the dukes armes in the middes of a Garlande richelie enbrodred with the Valaunce in vj peces belongeng to the same being embrodred with silver the Lion, the ragged staf and the fierbronde fringed with red silke and golde with iij peces for the bases of the same bed likewise embrodred with the ragged staffe and the fierbronde

Item ix hoggesheddes of Gascoign wine

Item ij hoggesheddes and a puncheon of Frenche wine

Item parte of a butte of Reynisshe wine

Item parte of a Butte of Muskadell

Item oon Cowe [delivered to the duchess]

Item certaine Remnauntes of spices, as Suger Peper Cloves and maces

3 thoughts on “The Duke of Northumberland’s Seized Goods”

  1. That's a lot of stuff, Susan! I'm intrigued that some of it was delivered to the duchess and some things that were clearly hers went to someone else – or did she have particularly nice sleeves that were coveted by someone perhaps?

  2. My goodness, they even seized the spices! This is quite a comprehensive list and must have been quite upsetting to the Duchess if she had to bear witness to these people picking through and dividing up her household.

    And were there really only 9 hogsheads of 'Gasciogn' wine, or did a few help them do their work…?

    Thanks for taking the time to write this up for us, very cool peak into a Tudor home.

  3. Susan Higginbotham

    Ragged Staff, the list here includes only a fraction of the stuff! I should have clarified (and did just now through an edit) that the duchess was allowed to keep most of her own apparel, including her many sleeves. She also had a lot of "loose gowns" and "French kirtells." Some furnishings, kitchen goods, and stable goods also went to the duchess.

    Elizabeth, I wonder if they did have a little help with the wine! I hope the poor duchess was staying elsewhere when her goods were seized, as she already had the trauma of dealing with her husband's impending fate.

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