Who was William Cecil?
Statesman and principal advisor to Queen Elizabeth
the First of England. Became Lord Burghley.
Date and Place of Birth:
13th September 1520, Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.
Family Background:
Son of a father (Richard Cecil or Cyssel) and
grandfather who had acquired wealth and office and the status of
gentry by service to the Tudor Monarchs and marriage to local heiresses.
Mother was Jane Heckington.
Education:
St. John's College, Cambridge.
Chronology/Biography of William Ceil, Lord Burghley:
1535: Went
to Cambridge.
1540: His father
tried to prevent what he regarded as an improvident marriage to
Mary Cheke and Cecil was removed from the University and admitted
to Grays Inn in London to study law. However the marriage took place
the next year, probably in secret, at Cambridge.
1541: Birth of his
son Thomas.
1544: (22nd February)
Death of his wife, Mary.
1547: Appointed
Master of Requests by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who was
uncle of King Edward the Sixth. Cecil became the private secretary
and advisor to the Duke who was Protector of the Realm during the
minority of the King. (10th September) He was present at the Battle
of Pinkie against the Scots and it was claimed that Cecil narrowly
escaped with life.
1549: (13 October)
He was sent to the Tower of London with Somerset but was released
on a bail of a thousand marks.
1550: He acquired
the Manor of Wimbledon, and he bought a house at Canon Row, Westminster.
1551: (October)
He was knighted. After the fall of Somerset, Cecil was made a member
of the Privy Council but unhappy about signing the instrument which
sought to disinherit Princesses Mary and Elizabeth.
1552: (April) Appointed
Chancellor of the Order of the Garter.
1553: (19th March)
Death of his father. (July) King Edward VI died and Cecil was forced
out of office. The Burghley estate was settled on his mother for
life, but he was left estates in Rutland, Lincoln, and Northamptonshire.
1556: Birth of his
daughter Anne.
1557: (10 March)
Death of his mother. His mother's family had owned the estate at
Burley which now made the Cecil family wealthy landowners.
1558: During the
reign of Queen Mary he conformed strictly to the Law, however at
her death on 17th Nov he was one of the earliest visitors to Princess
Elizabeth whom he had secretly kept in touch with for years. Cecil
was the first of the new Privy Council to take the oath and was
made Secretary of State.
1559: Birth of his
son William who died in infancy.
1560: (February)
He was elected Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
1561: (January)
Cecil was granted the office of Master of the Court of Royal Wards
and he began a much overdue reform of the Court. Birth of his third
son, also called William who again died in infancy.
1562: The estate
of Theobalds in Hertfordshire was purchased and became Cecil's principal
seat.
1563: Birth of his
only surviving son Robert at Westminster. Cecil's has been frequently
charged with preventing the promotion of his nephew Francis Bacon.
There appears to be little doubt that this was true as he was ambitious
for his clever son Robert, and not inclined to encourage a talented
rival. Although chosen as Speaker of the House of Commons his other
duties at Court made acceptance of the post impossible.
1571: (25 February)
He was raised to the Peerage under the title of Lord Burghley. Queen
Elizabeth was very sparing in her new creations and in the year
of her accession only three new peerages were created, and during
her reign there were only fifteen new creations.
1572: (March) The
elderly Marquis of Winchester died and Burghley became Lord High
Treasurer.
1577: Grand extensions
built to Burghley House.
Burghley House, near Stamford, Lincolnshire
(© Anthony Blagg)
1586: Cecil was
chiefly responsible for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, after
the discovery of the plot by Thomas Babington to assassinate Queen
Elizabeth. Other members of the Privy Council appear to have put
the responsibility firmly upon the Lord Treasurer. Davison, the
Queen's Secretary who had affixed the seal to the warrant for the
execution of Mary Queen of Scots, was sent to the Tower, though
it is said that that he only acted under duress from Burghley and
Leicester. Burghley soon recovered his position with the Queen.
His son Robert was appointed temporary secretary to the Queen, a
post which lasted through into the reign of King James the First!
Edmund Spenser is said to have satirised
the two Cecils, father and son, as the fox and the ape in "Mother
Hubberd's Tale".
1587: More extensions
at Burghley House.
1590: Burghley
became deaf, but continued to be active in the Queen's affairs until
1595.
1594: (February)
The Earl of Essex and Francis Bacon had
their own intelligence service which was responsible for the conviction
and execution of Dr. Lopez, the Queen's physician, for High Treason
on a charge of attempting to poison her, although the Cecils and
the Queen believed in his innocence. He was executed at Tyburn on
the 7th June.
Marriage:
1.1541 to Mary Cheke, sister of his Classics
tutor. (died 1544).
2. 21st March 1545 to Mildred Cooke, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke
of Gidea Hall, Essex.
Places of Interest:
HERTFORDSHIRE:
Theobalds House.
LINCOLNSHIRE:
Home, Burghley House, near Stamford.
LONDON:
National Portrait Gallery
Cecil House, The Strand.
Date and Place of Death:
4th August 1598, London, England
Age at Death:
77.
Site of Grave:
St. Martin's Church, Stamford, Lincolnshire.
