Sir William Cavendish (1505?-1557), statesman, was the second son of Thomas Cavendish of Cavendish in Suffolk, and Alice Cavendish nee Smith. In 1530 he was appointed as one of the commissioners who visited monasteries to demand the surrender of their property to the crown, during the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1541 he was the Auditor of the Court of Augmentations. and recieved grants of land in Hertfordshire formerly belonging to the dissolved monasteries. In 1546 he became treasurer of the King's Chamber, was knighted and sworn into the privy council. Upon his third marriage to Elizabeth Hardwick, a Derbyshire heiress in 1547, Cavendish sold most of his estates and purchased land in Derbyshire, beginning work on Chatsworth in 1553. The couple had six surviving children, their second son William Cavendish, would later become the First Earl of Devonshire under James I.
Principal Source: John Bettes the elder, 'Cavendish, Sir William (1508-1557)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). By permission of Oxford Uniiversity Press.
Thomas Cromwell, (1485-1540), 1st Earl of Essex, was the most powerful man in England next Henry VIII. He first attracted the notice of Cardinal Wolsey, who in 1514 appointed him collector of his revenues and it was probably by Wolsley's influence that he got into parliament in 1523. When Wolsey fell into disgrace in 1529, Cromwell worked to attract the notice of the king, and in 1531 he was appointed a privy councillor. He continued to rise in the king's favour, becoming the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1533, and the king's secretary in 1534. Cromwell was instrumental in the 1534 Act of Supremacy and the dissolution of the monastries, and in the conviction and execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536, leading to his appointment to Lord Privy Seal. In 1539 he was made Lord Chamberlain of England and in that same year he negotiated the king's marriage to Anne of Cleeves and in reward for his services in this matter, he was created Earl of Essex in April 1540. However, In June 1540, the Duke of Norfolk accused him of treason, he was arrested, sent to the Tower and refused a regular trial. The lords proceeded against him by a bill of attainder, which passed, and Cromwell was sentenced to death. On 28th July 1540 Cromwell was executed, the circumstances of which have been debated, and his head set on a spike on London Bridge.
Principal Source: Howard Leithead, 'Cromwell, Thomas, earl of Essex, (b.in or before 1485, d.1540) royal minister', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). By permission of Oxford University Press.
Richard Cavendish (1530-1601), politician and author, was the younger son of Sir Richard Gernon or Cavendish, a Suffolk landowner. In 1568 and 1569, he was enaged in conveying to Mary Queen of Scots letters and tokens to further her marriage with the Duke of Norfolk, and when Norfolk was on trial, Cavendish appeared as a witness against him. He was the author of a number of publications and studied for over 25 years at Oxford and Cambridge, as well as serving as a member of parliament for the borough of Denbigh.
Principle Source: Simon Adams, 'Cavendish, Richard, (c.1530-1601), courtier', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). By permission of Oxford University Press.
Charles Brandon (1484-1545) 1st Duke of Suffolk, was the son and heir of William Brandon, Henry VII's standard-bearer at Bosworth Field. No mention of Charles Brandon has been found before the accession of Henry VIII, with whom he appears to have been a favourite and friend from the first.He was created Duke of Suffolk in 1514, and in 1515, Brandon secretly married Henry VIII's sister Mary Tudor in Paris, without the king's consent, technically constitutiing treason, although the couple were eventually pardoned after paying a considerable fine. He went with Henry to the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 and in 1523 Brandon commanded the army that invaded France. Brandon rose upon Wolsey's fall and took a position second only to Norfolk, with whom he notified Queen Catherine of the king's marrrigae to Anne Boleyn and was one of the commissioners appointed by Henry to dismiss Catherine's household. He acted as High Steward at Anne Boleyn's coronation in 1533, and in 1534 he was appointed to take the oath in accordance with the new Act of Succession, binding them to accept the issue of Anne Boleyn as their future sovereign. Brandon was sent against the rebels in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, and later recieved a large share of the abbey lands following the suppression of the greater monasteries. however, in the years following the rebellions he took no important part in public affairs. He died on 24th August 1545 and was buried at Windsor by the king's own charge.
Principal Source: S.J. Gunn, 'Brandon, Charles, 1st duke of Suffolk (c.1484-1545), magnate, courtier and soldier', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). By permission of Oxford University Press.
