Edward North, 1st Baron North (c. 1496–1564) was an English peer and politician. He was the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire 1559–1564 and Clerk of the Parliaments. A successful lawyer, he was awarded a title, Baron North, created for him.
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Born about 1496, was the only son of Roger North, a citizen of London, by Christian, daughter of Richard Warcup of Sinnington, Yorkshire, and widow of Ralph Warren. He studied at St. Paul's School under William Lilye.[1]
His father died in 1509, when Edward was in his fourteenth year, and he later entered Peterhouse, Cambridge; but he seems never to have proceeded to a degree. He then entered one of the inns of court, was called to the bar, and became counsel for the city of London, probably through the influence of Alderman Wilkinson, who had married his sister Joan.
In 1531 he was appointed clerk of the parliament, and was associated in that office with Sir Brian Tuke. In 1536 he appears as one of the king's serjeants. In 1541 he resigned his office as clerk of the parliament, on being appointed treasurer of the court of augmentations, a court created by the king for dealing with the estates which had been confiscated by the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1541 he was knighted, and served as High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire for 1543 [2]. He was one of the knights of the shire for Cambridgeshire in parliament in 1542, 1547 and 1553.
On the resignation of the chancellorship by Sir Thomas Audley in 1544, he was deputed, together with Sir Thomas Pope, to receive the great seal, and to deliver it into the hands of the king. In 1545 he was one of a commission of inquiry as to the distribution of the revenues of certain cathedrals and collegiate churches, and about the same time he was promoted, with Sir Richard Rich, chancellor of the court of augmentations, and on the resignation of his colleague he became sole chancellor of the court. In 1546 he was made a member of the privy council, received some extensive grants of abbey lands, and managed by prudence to retain the favour of his sovereign, though on one occasion towards the end of his reign Henry VIII was induced to distrust him, and even to accuse him of peculation, a charge of which he cleared himself. He was named as one of the executors of King Henry's will, and a legacy of £300 was bequeathed to him.
On the accession of Edward VI North was induced, under pressure, to resign his office as chancellor of augmentations. He continued on the privy council during the young king's reign, and was one of those who attested his will, but his name does not appear among the signatories of the deed of settlement disinheriting the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. North was among the supporters of Lady Jane Gray.
He was not only pardoned by Mary, but again sworn of the privy council, and on 5 April 1554 he was summoned to parliament as a baron of the realm by the title of Lord North of Kirtling. He was chosen among other lords to receive Philip II of Spain at Southampton on 19 July 1554, and was present at the marriage of the queen. In the following November he attended at the reception of Cardinal Pole at St. James's, and he was in the commission for the suppression of heresy in 1557.
On the accession of Elizabeth she kept her court for six days (23 to 29 November 1558) at Lord North's mansion in the London Charterhouse, and some time afterwards he was appointed lord-lieutenant of the county of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely. He was not, however, admitted as a privy councillor, though his name appears as still taking part in public affairs. In the summer of 1560 he lost his first wife, who died at the Charterhouse, but was carried with great pomp to Kirtling to be buried. Lord North entertained the queen a second time at the Charterhouse for four days, from 10 to 13 July 1561. Soon after this he retired from court, and spent most of his time at Kirtling in retirement. He died at the Charterhouse on 31 December 1564, and was buried at Kirtling, beside his first wife, in the family vault. His monumental inscription may still be seen in the chancel of Kirtling Church.
Lord North was twice married. About his thirty-third year he married Alice, daughter of Oliver Squier of Southby, Hampshire, and widow of John Brockenden of Southampton, with whom he acquired a fortune large enough to enable him to purchase the estate of Kirtling, near Newmarket, which remained in the possession of his descendants until 1941. By Alice he had two sons: Roger North, 2nd Baron North, and Sir Thomas North, translator of Plutarch's ‘Lives,’ and two daughters: Christiana, wife of William Somerset, 3rd Earl of Worcester, and Mary, wife of Henry Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Bolton.
His second wife was Margaret, daughter of Richard Butler of London, and widow of, first, Sir David Brooke, chief baron of the exchequer; secondly, of Andrew Francis; and, thirdly, of Robert Charlsey, alderman of London. She survived till 2 June 1575. This lady, like his first wife, brought her husband a large fortune, which he left to her absolutely by his will.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "North, Edward". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brian Tuke |
Clerk of the Parliaments 1531–1540 |
Succeeded by Thomas Soulemont |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New creation | Baron North 1554–1564 |
Succeeded by Roger North |