Hugh Underhill like his
brother Edward Underhill, traded life as a country man for that of a courtier,
though he was somewhat less militant when compared to his brother. As the fifth
son of Thomas Underhill and Ann Wynter, all of the manor lands at Idilcote,
Hunningham, and Ettington Park had been deeded to his older brothers. As a
result, Hugh found a place on the staff of the Royal Court in London. While
there in 1540 and still under the reign of King Henry VIII, he married a
daughter of Thomas Maynman, then Keeper of the Wardrobe at Greenwich. Maynman
traced his roots to Warwickshire much like the Underhills, and it is there
where his daughter was born in 1523. Underhill and Maynman almost certainly
developed a relationship through their connections in court prior to their
marriage.
Hugh Underhill married the
daughter of Thomas Maynman in 1540 and they had a son Thomas Underhill who was
born in 1545 at Greenwich in London. There Hugh Underhill and his family
continued to live and work under the reign of Queen Mary I and then that of her
sister Queen Elizabeth I. Hugh’s first wife died at Greenwich on October 18,
1562. Her father Thomas Maynman died the following year in 1563.[i]
We find on February 5, 1563, a Royal Warrant appointing Hugh Underhill as the
Keeper of the Wardrobe at Greenwich. The warrant read as follows:
In consideration of
the true and faithful service heretofore done unto us by our well beloved
servant Hugh Underhill, one of the officers of our wardrobe of beds, we have
given and by these presents grant unto Hugh Underhill the office of keeper of
our wardrobe within our manor of Greenwich.[ii]
The relationship of Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley would continue long
after their imprisonment together in the Tower of London. Just after Elizabeth was made Queen of
England, Dudley was made Master of the Horse, putting him into close contact
with the Queen. He would provide service to Elizabeth in the years to follow,
rising in rank and status.
Having lost his title and
lands in controversy surrounding the rise and fall of Lady Jane Grey, he had to
start over rebuilding the family fortunes. Dudley was greatly aided by large
loans from City of London merchants, and monopolies and export licenses granted
by Elizabeth to her favorites. Shortly after being made Queen, Dudley was
named Master of the Horse, putting the two of them together into close contact.
Dudley would serve Elizabeth in the years to follow, rising in both rank and
status.
Upon the death of Dudley’s first wife in 1560, some questioned his motives
and whether he possibly wanted to see her removed so he could marry the Queen.
Realizing this impractical, Dudley married Lettice Knoylls. Knolylls was the
former wife of Walter Devereux. Their son Robert Devereux would later marry
Frances Walsingham, daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, Secretary to the Queen.
Dudley was granted Kenilworth Manor, Castle, and Park in 1563, and from
there presided over a growing collection of lands. That same year in 1563, Hugh’s son Thomas Underhill was assigned the
role as Keeper of the Wardrobe for Robert Dudley at Kenilworth Castle. Robert
Dudley would subsequently invest 60,000 pounds[iii]
to convert Kenilworth into a place suited to receive the Queen during her
ceremonial ‘progresses’ around her realm.[iv]
As an indication of Dudley’s suitability for hosting Elizabeth and his taste
for entertainment, in June 1559 Dudley formed a company of players. At the head
of this company was James Burbadge, an associate of Shakespeare. [v] These players undoubtedly played an important
role in festivities held at Kenilworth Castle.
Hugh would live two decades more before his death on January 1593. Near the end of his life, Sir Hugh and his wife were given a royal grant “by special grace” of the queen for lifetime appointments to the office of Keeper of the Garden at Greenwich. Among their responsibilities were to attend to part of the grounds particularly reserved for Elizabeth I.[vi] He and his wife were remembered in royal records by Queen Elizabeth I as being one of her “Well beloved subjects.” Elizabeth would live 10 years longer following Hugh’s death. His wife Katherine Manning apparently found comfort and protection in the royal court though through her death 35 years after his, and 25 years after Queen Elizabeth’s.
[i]
A Cornell-Hardtwell Genealogy by Stephen Wood Cornell (1990, Gateway Press)
[ii]
http://books.google.com/books?id=SO_kPIVURnMC&lpg=PA9&dq=hugh%20underhill%20keeper%20of%20our%20wardrobe&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q=hugh%20underhill%20keeper%20of%20our%20wardrobe&f=false
[iv]
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/kenilworth-castle/history/
Accessed October 2, 2010
[v] Notices illustrative of the drama,
and other popular amusements, chiefly in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries: incidentally illustrating Shakespeare and his contemporaries;
extracted from the chamberlains' accounts and other manuscripts of the borough
of Leicester, By William Kelly (Published by J. R. Smith, 1865)
[vi] Crossing to Freedom by Elizabeth Wells Bardwell (2002, iUniverse)
[vi] Crossing to Freedom by Elizabeth Wells Bardwell (2002, iUniverse)
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