Henry Cavendish (politician)

Sir Henry Hardwick Cavendish (1550–1616) was the eldest son of the Tudor courtier Sir William Cavendish, and Lady Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1527–1608), known as "Bess of Hardwick". A Knight of the Shire for Derbyshire, he offered military service to Queen Elizabeth in the Netherlands as a Captain in 1578; conducted several trade expeditions across Europe and into the Islamic Near East (Constantinople); and was elected as MP for Derbyshire five times.

Cavendish was disinherited by his mother after a complete breakdown in their relationship due to his friendship with Mary Queen of Scots and support for his niece, Arbella Stuart. After his mother's death in 1608, Cavendish inherited Chatsworth from his father's estate, though not its contents. He sold the house intact to his younger brother William, who later that year became the 1st Earl of Devonshire.

Sir Henry and his wife, Lady Grace Talbot Cavendish, daughter of the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, had no surviving children.

Sir Henry was the father of over 8 illegitimate children. His eldest son, Henry (born 1576, of mother unknown) was educated and married to Bridget Willoughby, daughter of Sir Percival and Lady Bridget Willoughby. Among their direct descendants are the Barons Cavendish of Dove; later the Barons of Waterpark.

Also, among his direct descendants William Hunter Henderson Cavendish (born 1734), second son of Sir Henry John Cavendish, 1st Baronet Cavendish of Dove, who migrated from Doveridge, Derbyshire to Warm Springs, West Virginia, USA in pursuit of freedom of religion.

Early life
Henry Cavendish was born 27 December 1550, the eldest son of the politician and courtier Sir William Cavendish and Lady Bess of Hardwick. Henry was christened in December 1550. His godparents included Lady Elizabeth Tudor, half-sister to the King (she became Queen Elizabeth the I); also, Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset (soon to be Duke of Suffolk, father of Lady Jane Grey), and John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, Duke of Northumberland.

Henry's father died 25 October 1557, while he was still young; only 6 years old. Henry was raised with his younger siblings William, Charles, Elizabeth, and Mary at Chatsworth House, which was completed by his mother in the 1560s, where she lived from time to time with her third husband Sir William St Loe (1518–1565) Captain of the Queens Guard, and fourth husband, George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.

On 9 February 1568, in more of a merger than a marriage, Henry was married ( aged 17) to Lady Grace Talbot ( aged 8). The marriage took place at The Cathedral of Saint Peter, Sheffield, York, England as a double ceremony: His sister, Mary Cavendish (aged 12) was also given in marriage to Shrewsbury's eldest son Gilbert ( aged 16). Both couples were matched as part of the prenuptial agreement and condition upon which Henry's mother, Lady Bess, would agree to marry George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Grace's widowed father.

Henry was immediately sent abroad with his brother-in-law and lifelong friend, Gilbert Talbot.

He returned to England, entered politics, and resumed family life by 1575.

Upon attaining his majority, Cavendish received the income from lands settled upon him by his father, income which had, until then, gone to his mother who was formerly granted his wardship. This income would not prove sufficient to cover Henry's lifestyle or debts.

Henry and Grace's marriage is said to have been an unhappy one but Grace's letters to Lady Bess ( among the Hardwick Manuscripts) seem to indicate otherwise; expressing an affection for her husband, though she is frank to admit the suffering of their perpetual state of financial insecurity. The couple had no surviving children.

Education
At 10 years old, Henry Cavendish attended Eton in 1560, four years after his father death.

He also received private tutoring and entered Gray's Inn by 1566-67.

To complete his education Cavendish was sent abroad in 1568, (immediately following his marriage to his stepfather’s eight year-old daughter). He travelled to Germany, Padua, and Venice with his brother-in-law Gilbert Talbot, later 7th Earl of Shrewsbury.

The diary of his journey still survives among the Hardwick manuscripts. Among other colourful descriptions he described the city of Venice as, "a most foul stinking sink".

Military service
As a young man, perhaps under the guidance of his step-father Sir William St Loe (Captain of the Queens Guard), Cavendish trained to proficiency in arms and "won repute as a soldier". He served his country as a Captain in the Netherlands in 1578, during the Dutch Revolt. Cavendish led a force of around 500 men, mostly from his family estates, successfully fighting off an attack by Spanish tercios led by Don Juan of Austria during the Battle of Rijmenam. War, however, was costly, and the expense of campaigning in the Netherlands was likely the initial cause of his considerable debts, which amounted to £3,000 by 1584.

Politics
Cavendish entered politics in his early twenties, becoming the Member of Parliament for the County of Derbyshire for almost 20 years. He was returned to office over five successive elections, in 1575, 1584, 1586, 1589 and 1593. This remarkable record of success may have been supported by the influence of his stepfather, the Earl of Shrewsbury. Record of his contribution in the Parliamentary journals is limited, raising the question of his actual interest in politics and government. However, as a Member of the British Parliament- Knight of the Shire- he did sit on a committee of the house in March 1575 (Journals of the House of Commons, i. 110), and again in Dec. 1584. (Simonds D'Ewes, Journals of all the parliaments during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, p. 340.) He was subsequently appointed to subsidy committees on 24 Feb. 1585, 11 Feb. 1589 and 26 Feb. 1593, and to a legal committee 9 Mar. 1593.

Travels in the East and European Trade Expeditions
Inspired by the travels of his youth, as well as recognising the potential for trade, Henry embarked on a journey to Portugal in 1579.

In 1589, he was commissioned by his mother and father in law, to conduct a trade expedition to Constantinople. This trip took place just as Queen Elizabeth desperately sought to strengthen foreign policy and trade ventures across the Ottoman Empire and beyond. The Protestant Queen was at war with Catholic Portugal and Spain and no longer had access to their nations as trading partners, or to their allies. Instead, she had been fostering trade agreements with the wider Islamic world since the 1560's but her influence and relationships were weakening toward the end of her life. Edward Barton was the Queens trade ambassador, resident in Constantinople in 1589; someone Henry is likely to have met. Much of England's trade aims would have likely been brokered by Jewish mediators who regularly acted in the region as trade and political intermediaries between the sultans and Anglo-merchants. Also, highly influential at this time were Safiye Sultan, queen mother of the royal harem and her kiva, the Jewish Esperanza Malchi.

There was much fascination with the Islamic world in England at the time of Henry's adventurous journey. The wealthy of England could not get enough of their "oriental" rugs, fabrics, baubles (jewellery), sweet wines, sugar and spice while the Sultans were keenly interested in British arms. Protestantism and Islam were also theologically aligned in their abolition of idolatry and resistance to Catholic domination.

Henry's servant-companion Mr. Fox, kept an account of this journey now published as Mr. Harrie Cavendish, his Journey To and From Constantinople, 1589 Fox, His Servant

See Marlow and Shakespeare's plays for context of Anglo-Ottoman relations during the late 1500's early 1600's: Tamburlaine, The Spanish Tragedy, The Jew of Malta, The Merchant of Venice and Othello

Henry's trade ventures proved successful to forward the Earl of Shrewsbury's extensive mineral trade interests and Henry's Lady Mother Elizabeth's investments in the glass industry. Lady Elizabeth ( also called "Building Bess") was also supplied with some of the finest furnishings in England for the magnificent homes she designed. Henry is said to have had an eye for high quality design and returned with many Chinese silks, Persian or Anatolian carpets, and Gujarati embroidered bed-covers, as well as extensive networks to arrange further import.

By 1601, it is said that his mother had amassed a collection of imported goods that included 46 Turkish carpets and a commissioned set of three large embroidered wall hangings depicting the cardinal virtues: Hope, Faith, Love for her homes at Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall. The Elizabethan era of Islamic trade would end, however, soon after Henry's trip to Constantinople with the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603 and the ascension of James 1 who had no interest in pursuing further alliances of this nature.

Mary Queen of Scots
In about 1585, Cavendish and his wife were living at Tutbury Castle when the Tudor courtier Amias Paulet made arrangements for Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots to be sent there. Cavendish, knowing the formidable cost to his father in laws estate during his tenure as keeper of Mary, Queen of Scots between 1568 and 1585, was reluctant to make way for the royal prisoner and her considerable entourage without reimbursement. He asked £100 a year for the use of his home, or as an alternative, that his godmother, Queen Elizabeth I should lend him £2,000 towards the repayment of his debts. Paulet reported to the Queen that "This is his final answer....‘and in my simple opinion is not much different from reason’, but added that "It may be, although he doth not say it, that he will be content with the loan of £1,500".  Both Henry, and Grace his wife, befriended the Scottish Queen.

Personal life
Despite being the eldest son, and working at cost in her service, Cavendish was later disinherited by his mother, from whom he had become estranged. When her marriage to her fourth husband, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury fell into difficulties, Cavendish sided with his stepfather against his mother. His mother also objected to Henry's developing friendship with Mary Queen of Scots, Bess's nemesis. (Bess had accused Mary of seducing her husband and possibly bearing him two children). A subsequent offense was also paid his mother as Henry later attempted to help his niece, Arbella Stuart, escape from her oppressive "care". It was his collaboration during the botched rescue attempt with Stapleton, a Yorkshire Catholic, that proved to be the last straw. This infuriated Bess of Hardwick so much that she forever after referred to her eldest as "my bad son Henry". She maintained her tight control over her granddaughter, Arbella, keeping her under house guard, as she was a potential contender to the throne after her paternal aunt Mary Queen of Scots was executed in 1587.

Both Henry and Arbella were entirely written out of Lady Bess's will from this time. Instead, his younger brother William, who was more amenable to their mother's guidance, was favoured. William later became the First Earl of Devonshire, and inherited his mother's vast estates.

It is interesting to note that after their mother, Lady Bess, died, Henry's sister, Mary Talbot the wife of his friend and twice brother-in-law Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury would also offer dramatic assistance to their niece, Arbella. Mary went so far as to arrange her escape from the Tower of London to France. Arbella was apprehended before she reached Calais and subsequently died from a hunger strike in the tower. Her Lady Aunt Mary Talbot was incarcerated in the Tower for 6 years (1611-1618) for her participation in what was deemed a Catholic plot and only released after paying an enormous ransom.

Henry was suspected of Catholic sympathies, communication and interest in Scottish and Continental politics, and later of involvement in the Bye and Main Plot, which led James I to arrest Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham and Walter Raleigh. Nothing was proven, however, and his complicity deemed unlikely (as he had campaigned years before against the Spanish and Hapsburgs.) Henry Cavendish remained free.

It may be, rather, that this family were simply intent to support the freedom of their loved ones to pursue a life of their own choosing. If so, they each paid a high price for it. One must admire their courage during such dark times.

Hot-headed Henry did receive an official reprimand by order on 30 May 1592. He was instructed to desist from hostility in a private armed feud that had ensued between himself and William Agard ( reason for conflict unknown). Both were engaged in pitched battle via their private armies until Henry's brother in law, Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury intervened, asked the privy council that 'all matters of quarrell and pyke betwyxt them and theyrs' should be adjudicated by Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, and himself." Peace was restored.

Reputedly unhappy in his marriage and unable or unwilling to produce a legitimate living heir with his wife, Cavendish pursued extra-marital liaisons. At one point he accused his wife of the same, but her portrait proclaims "Loyalty" as one of her highest values. He was popularly known as "the common bull of Derbyshire and Staffordshire" and a libertine. Sadly, as his immoral behaviour was no different to many other a promiscuous peer of this era, the possibility of politically motivated libel or biased historic narrative must be considered. It is believed he fathered at least eight illegitimate children, including:
 * Henry Cavendish, Esquire (1576-1624). Sir Henry's eldest illegitimate son married Bridget Willoughby 14 October 1610. She was the daughter of Sir Percival and Lady Bridget Willoughby of Wollaton Hall, Nottingham. The Willoughby family's many trade interests overlapped with the Cavendish family. From this couple descend the Barons Cavendish of Doveridge (Later the Barons of Waterpark), and the American family branch of William Hunter Henderson Cavendish, who migrated to Warm Springs, Virginia, USA, second son of Sir Henry John Cavendish, Baronet Cavendish of Dove.
 * Anne (Cavendish) Lowe. Anne married Vincent Lowe, Esq., of Denby, Derbyshire, sometime before 1614, and had a large family. Her grandson Colonel Henry Lowe emigrated to Maryland and became a planter and politician.

Bess of Hardwick died on 13 February 1608, and it appears that Cavendish did not attend his mother's funeral. Long estranged, he received nothing from her in her will. However, he did inherit Chatsworth from his father's estate after his mother's death, but without its contents; a hard blow for one who had chosen and supplied so much of it. As a result, and in order to pay off his debts, he sold the estate intact to his brother William the following year. William allowed Henry and Grace to live at Chatsworth until the time of Henry's death in 1616. Henry is buried at his brother's side in St. Peter's Church, Edensor, Derbyshire.

Death and legacy
Cavendish died on 12 October 1616 at Chatsworth, Derbyshire, England. The Cavendish Memorial, a magnificent early-17th-century church monument to Henry and his brother William, may have been designed by their mother prior to her death. It can be seen in St Peter's Church, Edensor, Derbyshire, where he is buried. Henry is symbolically depicted by his armour, which hangs on the wall, as well as the startlingly realistic bare bones of his effigy indicating his disavowal of his mothers values and resistance to participate in her dynastic agenda. It may be that Lady Bess attempted to shame him beyond the grave by this design....or it may well refer to Henry's own sense of humour; a final act of defiance to conformity.

The Latin inscription for the two brothers on the church monument provides fascinating insight into their lives indicating both a stark contrast and strong fraternal bond:

SACRED to the Memory of Henry,

eldest son of William Cavendish,

Knight of Chatsworth, in the County of Derby, and of the much celebrated

Elizabeth Hardwick of Hardwick, in the same County, who afterwards

married her fourth husband, George Earl of Shrewsbury.

He was a strenuous and brave man, and particularly distinguished himself

among the English Volunteer Commanders in the campaign in the Netherlands,

in the year 1578, in which he displayed perseverance, skill, diligence,

activity, and fortitude.

When however his military engagements gave place to the enjoyment of ease,

he indulged in the liberal and sumptuous use of his fortune

in such a manner as to retain the character of splendour and festivity

and to avoid the reproach of luxurious indolence.

His Arms and Armour being deposited in this County,

and fixed in the wall, his Body lies here awaiting instead of the Clarion of Fame

the Trumpet of the Resurrection.

He died the 12th day of October in the year of our Lord 1616.

SACRED to the Memory of William Cavendish

the second son of the same parents, who also here put off his earthly dress.

He was a man born to fill every honourable Station,

and in the simplicity of his virtues deserving rather than courting Glory.

Whom when James the 1st of Blessed Memory, King of Great Britain,

had honoured with the Titles first of Baron Hardwick,

and afterwards Earl of Devonshire, he appeared not so much to

do Honour to the man as to the title, with what Wisdom, Integrity, and Applause,

he sustained the Duties of his Province; Common Fame is seldom false.

He was not only the best man of his own but of every age,

nor can his character be suppressed or spoken of without difficulty.

He was capable of the utmost diligence and of unsullied faith,

with the appearance of the greatest indolence.

He claimed no Honour and yet obtained all.

To Him having ordered that he might be buried

without splendour and in a plain grave,

this Monument is erected with an affection greater than its expense.

He died the third of March in the year of our Lord 1625.