Thomas Underhill (1545-1591) of Greenwich and Kenilworth

In 1563 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[i] to convert Kenilworth into a place suited to receive the Queen during her ceremonial ‘progresses’ around her realm.[ii] 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. [iii]  These players undoubtedly played an important role in festivities held at Kenilworth Castle.

Thomas Underhill would accompany Leicester to the Netherlands, where Leicester directed Protestant efforts against the Spanish.[iv]

For Hugh Underhill to be serving Queen Elizabeth I at Greenwich, and his son to be serving Robert Dudley at Kenilworth, was to place two members of the Underhill family as witnesses to one of the greatest intrigues of their time. Much has been said about the purported relation between Elizabeth and Dudley that began during their imprisonment in the Tower of London shortly after the rule of Queen Mary I began, and that continued long thereafter.

Queen Elizabeth I is reported to have visited Kenilworth Castle several times in 1566, 1572, and 1575. The last visit is remembered as the most lavish. Elizabeth brought several hundred people with her to visit and was entertained for 18 consecutive days that cost Dudley almost a thousand pounds a day. One guest declared afterwards, “For the persons, for the place, time, cost, devices, strangeness and abundance of all… I saw none anywhere so memorable.”[v] This had the effect of nearly bankrupting Dudley too for this was among the most lavish celebrations ever held in England at the time.

People from throughout the countryside are reported to have visited Kenilworth during the festivities in 1575. John Shakespeare was a well-to-do citizen of Stratford. Given the station he rose to in life, there likely would have been a friendship between the Underhill and Shakespeare families.[vi] That makes the likelihood very good that John Shakespeare brought his son William Shakespeare who was 11 years old to the pageant at Kenilworth.[vii] A passage from A Midsummer-Night’s Dream is considered by some proof that Shakespeare was present for the festivities:

A mermaid on a dolphin’s back

Uttering such dulcet and harmonious sounds

That the rude sea grew civil at her song.

This passage is said to be reminiscent of features of the Kenilworth pageant. The minstrel Arion appeared on a dolphin’s back singing, and other player representing Triton in the likeness of a mermaid, commanded the waves to be still. Then fireworks were like shooting stars that feel to the water, as a passage from Oberon later stated:

Shot madly from their spheres

To hear the sea-maid’s music.

Thomas Underhill had married Magdalen Amyas (1553-1597) in 1570 and had a son John Edward Underhill (1574-1608). Following Leicester’s death in 1589, Thomas Underhill and his son John Edward Underhill would remain at Kenilworth as part of the retinue of Robert Dudley, Leicester’s heir. [viii]  

Hugh Underhill would continue to distinguish himself in service to Queen Elizabeth I. In 1572 he married his second wife Katherine Manning, nearly 30 years his junior, and would have a second son by her named George Underhill who was born in 1573. George would graduate from Oxford University in 1588, and have a first wife of unknown name who died in 1604. His second wife’s name was Elizabeth, and together they also had a daughter named Elizabeth.[ix]

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[i] http://books.google.com/books?id=jqgQAAAAYAAJ&dq=shakespeare%20kenilworth&pg=PA12#v=onepage&q=shakespeare%20kenilworth&f=false

[ii] http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/kenilworth-castle/history/ Accessed October 2, 2010

[iii] 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)

[iv] Breen,63

[v] Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset (1992, Macmillan)

[vi] http://books.google.com/books?id=pS8sAAAAYAAJ&dq=Here%20lyeth%20buried%20under%20this%20stone%20Edward%20Underhill&pg=PA104#v=snippet&q=john%20underhill&f=false

[vii] http://books.google.com/books?id=jqgQAAAAYAAJ&dq=shakespeare%20kenilworth&pg=PA12#v=onepage&q=shakespeare%20kenilworth&f=false

[viii] Breen,63

[ix] http://www.angelfire.com/ny/chickened/underhillfamily.html

[x] Crossing to Freedom by Elizabeth Wells Bardwell (2002, iUniverse)

Sir Hugh Underhill (1519-1593) of Ettington and Greenwich

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.

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[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

[iii] http://books.google.com/books?id=jqgQAAAAYAAJ&dq=shakespeare%20kenilworth&pg=PA12#v=onepage&q=shakespeare%20kenilworth&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)

The Underhill Family and the Making of America

Relatively few families have had a greater influence in forming our American character than that of the Underhills, and still fewer families yet have individuals like Captain John Underhill.

Underhill found himself among the first and earliest wave of a trans-Atlantic progression, immigrating to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. His first purpose was to form the militia for the Bay Colony. Trained in the arts of war under William of Orange, Underhill provided leadership at a time this was needed most. Unfortunately, by doing so this set him at odds with the Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Underhill was outspoken in his defense of Anne Hutchinson, being the first to sign a petition for her defense when she was being persecuted. Neither Hutchinson nor Underhill fared well, for in a short period thereafter both were exiled from Massachusetts Bay Colony.

This began a period of wandering that took Underhill to Stamford, New Hampshire, and ultimately to New Amsterdam where he played an instrumental role in the defense of the later in the Indian Wars. After his distinguished service his reward was land on the parcel of Trinity Church. Underhill developed the reputation of being a “strong man” and posed a threat by his presence to the Dutch authorities of the New Netherlands. As such, his time on Manhattan was brief, before being relocated to Flushing.

There, once again, Underhill found himself in league with other religious dissenters, this time Quakers, who simply sought the freedom to practice their faith in their own home. The Quakers of Flushing were repressed by then Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant. The Flushing Remonstrance was signed by offended by infringement on their freedom of religion by Dutch authorities. Later, Bowne was sent to The Netherlands by the Dutch, only to be returned with the orders to allow the Quakers of Flushing to peaceably worship. What happened to Underhill was a different matter. He struggled with the Dutch authorities, raising the English parliamentary colors three times upon which he was arrested.

Eventually Underhill found his freedom and settled in Oyster Bay on Long Island. From that vantage he played an important role of the overthrow of the same Dutch authorities that persecuted him. There he found himself surrounded by Quaker dissenters, including Elizabeth Feake who was sister of Hannah Bowne, and influenced Underhill to convert to Quakerism. Underhill’s efforts to negotiate on behalf of the local Matinecock Native-Americans led to him being given 150 acres in the present-day area of Lattingtown. There he lived the final years of an active and tumultuous life, dying in 1672 at the ripe age of 75.

Generations that followed used Underhill and his epic story for varying purposes. The first generation of historians including John Winthrop and Jeremy Belknap sought to cast Underhill as a threat to the religious purity of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, heaping various forms of condemnation upon him, including that of being an adulterer. Still, later, in the Revolutionary War era Underhill was recognized as a leader in the defense of liberty, freedom of expression, and freedom of worship.

To our modern sensibilities a figure like Captain John Underhill, while a character with some notoriety in his time, might fit in quite well his fellow Americans as an exemplar of the freewheeling American spirit. Walking the streets of Manhattan today, just as he did over 350 years ago, Captain Underhill might fit right in. This is the legacy of Underhill that is most profound. For by relying on his conscience, and by following through on his beliefs, he made a contribution to the American character and spirit before we even knew what to call it.

To fully understand Underhill, one must take a broader view than merely since the time of his arrival in America in 1630. Underhill was the recipient of a family heritage and story in England unlike almost any other. Members of the Underhill family in England rose to positions of prominence several generations even before John Underhill was born in 1597.

Almost a century earlier in 1509, a moment of great importance occurred for the Underhill family. This was when an ancestor of Captain John Underhill, also by the name of John Underhill (1450-1518), gained the lease to Ettington Manor.

The Underhill family in Europe and America rose to prominence in England during the 16^th century, and found themselves at the cross-roads of important political, social, and economic movements in Europe and America from that time onwards. This brought them into contact with the English court, and leading political, military, and literary figures of their day. Through these connections members of the Underhill family have served as witness to some of the great people and events that have helped to bring our modern world about as we know it today.

The Underhill family finds itself at the intersection of some of the greatest mysteries of the time too, including the supposed relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Robert Dudley, the emergence of a country writer by the name of Shakespeare, and the mysterious death of Sir Francis Bacon. For one family to be associated with just one of these great issues would be a distinction, but for one family to be associated with all of them goes to show the central role the Underhill family played in important issues in 16^th and 17^th century England.

The Underhill family provides a single string which connects together the stories of Henry VIII, Lady Jane Grey, Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Dudley, Francis Bacon, and Shakespeare. When the family moves to America in 1630, here too they find themselves with leading personalities and leaders including Anne Hutchinson, John Winthrop, and Peter Stuyvesant. As such they may be seen as unifying figures during a time of great turmoil as religious conflict gripped Europe, and as a new American colony was being established.

One of the most fascinating questions is how one family dating back to the 1200’s in the Staffordshire area could rise from relative obscurity to become associated with some of the most important personalities and to be at the crux of important events defining England and later America in the 16^th and 17^th centuries?