{"id":1119,"date":"2019-11-25T09:23:31","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T09:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetforyou.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/?p=1119"},"modified":"2019-11-19T11:46:24","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T11:46:24","slug":"courtiers-criminals-and-cuttings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/2019\/11\/25\/courtiers-criminals-and-cuttings\/","title":{"rendered":"Courtiers, Criminals and Cuttings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sherborne is the focus of most of the 11th<\/sup> volume of Hutchin\u2019s Extra illustrated. Numerous pictures of Sherborne Abbey and Castle are included, along with portraits of some of the town\u2019s most illustrious inhabitants such as Sir Walter Raleigh and the Digby family.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not all of those mentioned in this volume have such a long connection with Sherborne. There is also a portrait and short biography of Thomas Wyatt. Wyatt was a poet and a courtier of Henry VIII and is credited with introducing the sonnet to English Literature. There is a lot of speculation that he may have been in love with Anne Boleyn and that many of his poems are about her. In 1536 he was imprisoned in the Tower of London on the charge of Adultery with her, but he was released, probably with the help of Thomas Cromwell. He was imprisoned in the Tower again in 1541, charged with treason, but was pardoned by the king. This may explain why in 1542, when he was sent to meet an imperial ambassador in Falmouth, according to Hutchins \u2018from an excess of zeal to please the King he made more expedition than was necessary, riding hard in a very hot season and died of a violent fever\u2019. Wyatt died at the house of his friend John Horsey at Clifton Maybank and is buried in Sherborne Abbey.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Another courtier to appear in this volume is Walter Hungerford. The picture of him surrounded by all his hunting animals really caught our eye. Hungerford was renowned for his sporting abilities and appears to have been regarded as one of the finest breeders of horses, hunting dogs and hawks in Elizabethan times.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sir Walter may have been very successful with his animals, but he seems to have had a lot of trouble with his family. His father, also named Walter, was executed for treason in 1540 and in 1568 he sued his second wife, Anne Dormer, for divorce, citing adultery, giving birth to an illegitimate child and attempted poisoning. Walter failed to prove his claims and lost the case but chose to be locked up in Fleet debtors\u2019 prison, rather than pay money to support her.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sir Walter is not the only person in this volume to have had an ancestor who ran into trouble with the law. Abraham Bragge, whose arms appear in this volume, was a prosperous and successful surgeon from Sherborne whose grandfather, Matthew Bragge, had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up being caught up in the Monmouth rebellion.<\/p>\n

Matthew Bragge was a lawyer, who had not taken part in the rebellion, but was charged after he gave some rebels directions to a house where they hoped to find arms, and after they seized his horse, cane and coat. He handed himself in to the authorities and it was generally believed that this crime was so benign Bragge would not be severely punished, but Judge Jeffries showed no mercy and he was executed in Dorchester on 7th<\/sup> September 1685.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Finally, there is a whole page of newspaper cuttings concerning Sherborne. These cover a range of subjects from tea smugglers and robberies, to freak weather and the celebration of the coronation of King George IV. There is a wonderful description of a flying fish that was brought to the town. The cutting tells how,<\/p>\n

When it was caught it flew with great violence at the fisherman who caught it, making a most hideous noise.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

There is also a notice of the death of Reverend Thomas Naish. This gentleman is described in the main text of Hutchin\u2019s and in the cutting as having had six children after the age of sixty, although research in the parish records suggests this may have been a bit of an exaggeration! Hutchin\u2019s also includes this amusing story of the Reverend, who had \u2018an extraordinary attachment to his pipe and tobacco\u2019, which seems like a good way to end this blog:<\/p>\n

\u2018One day going to dine with Lord Digby at Sherborne Castle, having ridden as usual for some time with his pipe in his mouth, he put it unextinguished into his pocket; and was soon overtaken by a person who told him he smoked; \u201cI know it\u201d says Naish. \u201cYou smoke, Sir\u201d replied the farmer; \u201cI know I do,\u201d answered Naish; \u201cI smoke a great deal, no man smokes more.\u201d \u201cYou are on fire, Sir\u201d says the farmer with much earnestness. Alarmed by the reply Mr. sub-dean examined his pocket and found that his gown and cassock were in flames\u2026.After dinner at Lord Digby\u2019s he lamented the fire that had happened in the neighbourhood, solicited relief for the sufferer; and at length, to the no small diversion of the company, related his adventure with the farmer and exhibited his unfortunate cassock.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

—<\/p>\n

This blog is part of our monthly series on the 12 extra-illustrated volumes of \u201cHutchins\u2019 History and Antiquities of Dorset.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Part one:\u00a0An introduction to the history and antiquities of Dorset<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Part two:\u00a0The Pitt family, a piano player, and a plague of caterpillars.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part three:\u00a0Coastline, Castles and Catastrophe<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part four:\u00a0A Phenomenon, Fake News and a Philanthropist<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part five:\u00a0Antiquities, Adventurers, and an Actress<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part six:\u00a0A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part seven:<\/em>\u00a0Physicians, fires and false allegations<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part eight:<\/em>\u00a0Graves, Grangerising and a Man who wore Green<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Part nine: Desertion, Drinks and a Diarist<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Part ten: Music, medical miracles, and mills<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sherborne is the focus of most of the 11th volume of Hutchin\u2019s Extra illustrated. Numerous pictures of Sherborne Abbey and Castle are included, along with portraits of some of the town\u2019s most illustrious inhabitants such as Sir Walter Raleigh and the Digby family. — Not all of those mentioned in this volume have such a… Read more Courtiers, Criminals and Cuttings<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1892,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[82,69],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1119"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1892"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1119"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1125,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1119\/revisions\/1125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}