In 1540, the bravery and prowess he displayed in a great 'triumph of justing' at Westminster, which justs had been proclaimed in France, Flanders, Scotland, and Spain, for all comers that would, against the challengers of England," still further А а 2 advanced

Huntingdon, Stewkley-Magna, Stewkley-Parva, Turkington, Houghton, Esington, Auconbury, Paxton-Magna, Paxton-Parva, Hale-Weston, Warensley, or Wiresley, and Bawynhoo, all in the county of Huntingdon; Eltisley, Botesham, and Boxworth, in Cambridgeshire; Staplewe and Bewlow, in Bedfordshire; Hamildon-Parva, in Rutlandshire; and Stoke-doyle and Okeley, in Northamptonshire." Vol. I. p. 7. The other grants made to this gentleman in Huntingdonshire, included the Monastery of Saltry-Judith, valued at 1991. 11s. 1d. lands at Eynsbury, Eton, and Little Paxton, belonging to the late dissolved chantry of Swasey, County of Cambridge; the site of the rich Abbey of Ramsey, with the several meers and lakes belonging to it, and generally all its possessions in this county, the annual revenue of which was estimated at 19871. 15s. 3d. St. Mary's Monastery, in Huntingdon, valued at 2321. 7s. per annum; and St. Neot's Monastery, in the town so named, valued at 2561. 1s. 3d. The annual value of these estates, continues Mr. Noble, "were, in Fuller's time, estimated at from 20,000l. to 30,0001. and upwards; and from what they now let for, in and near Ramsey, and Huntingdon, (which are only a part of them,) I should presume that Sir Richard's possessions in this county only, would now bring in as large a revenue as any Peer at this time enjoys; and yet it is evident that he had considerable property in several other counties." The other grants, referred to above, included the Abbey of Grey Friars at Yarmouth, in Norfolk; the Priory of St. Helen, in Bishopsgate Street, London; the Castles, Lordships, and Manors, of Manerbere, or Maverbere, and Penalle, both in Pembrokeshire, of the value of 1001. and also by exchange for other lands, the Abbey of Neath, in Glamorganshire.

It is expressed in the grant, that it passed in consideration of his good service, and the payment of 49631. 4s. 2d. to be held in capite by knight's service.'

*Stow's Chron. The Challengers were "Sir John Dudley, Sir T. Seymour, Sir T. Poynings, Sir George Carew, Knts. Anthony King

ston,

advanced him in the King's favor, and he received the honor of knighthood on the field. Henry was so much delighted with his skill and courage, that, according to a family tradition preserved by Fuller, he exclaimed, "Formerly thou wast my Dick, but hereafter shall be my Diamond," and thereupon "let fall his Diamond Ring unto him: in avowance whereof, these Cromwells have

ever

ston, and Richard Cromwell, Esqs. which said challengers came into the lists on May-day, richly apparelled, and their horses trapped all in white velvet, with certain knights and gentlemen riding afore them, apparelled all with velvet and white sarsnet, and all their servants in white doublets, and hosen cut all in the Burgonian fashion:—and there came to just against them the said day, of defendants 46, the Earl of Surrey being the foremost, &c. and that day Sir John Dudley was overthrowne in the field by mischance of his horse, by one Andrew Breme; nevertheless, he brake divers spears valiantly after that; and after the said justs done, the said Challengers rode to Durham-place, where they kept open household, and feasted the King and Queen, with their ladies, and all the court. The 2d. of May, Anthony Kingstone and Richard Cromwell were made knights at the same place. The 3rd of May, the said challengers did tourney on horseback, with swords; against them came 29 defendants: Sir John Dudley and the Earl of Surrey running first, which in the first course lost their gauntlets; and that day Sir Richard Cromwell overthrew Master Palmer in the fielde off his horse, to the great honour of the challengers. The 5th of May, the said challengers fought on foot, at the barriers, and against them came 30 defendants, which fought valiantly; but Sir Richard Cromwell overthrew that day at the barriers, Master Culpepper in the field; and the sixt of May the said challengers brake up their household. In the which time of their housekeeping, they had not only feasted the King, Queen, ladies, and the whole court, as was aforesaid, but on the Tuesday in the Rogation weeke, they feasted all the Knights and Burgesses of the Common House in the Parliament; and on the morrow after, they had the Mayor of London, the Aldermen, and all their wives, to dinner; and on the Friday they brake it up as aforesaid." Ibid.

*Church Hist. B. VI. p. 370. Sie Richard's arms were, sable, a hon rampant, argent; the crest, a deini lion rampant, double tailed, argent; in his dexter gamb, a gem ring, Or.

ever since given for their crest, a lyon holding a diamond ring in his fore-paw." In 1541, Sir Richard was appointed High Sheriff of the counties of Huntingdon and Cambridge: he was also returned a Member for Huntingdonshire in the Parliament which met in January, 1542: in this year likewise he was made one of the Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber, or, as he is styled in some grants, Gentleman Huisher, or Usher of the Chamber. On the recommencement of the war with France in 1543, Sir Richard was appointed Capteine of the Horssemen in the expedition sent into that country under Sir John Wallop, and Sir Thomas Seymour, and which consisted of 6000 men, right hardie, and valiant,' including the flower of the English chivalry.' While in France, they assisted the Emperor Charles the Fifth, in his attempt to retake Landrecy; but the French King, Francis the First, having approached with a large army, and "making countenance as if he meant presentlie to give battell," drew off the attention of the allies, till he had both victualled and reinforced that town, so that all their efforts proved unavailing. Francis then retreated in good order, placing his rear-guard in ambuscade, by which means 'divers of the English,' who followed close in the pursuit, were taken prisoners, and among them, Sir George Carew, (Sir Richard's Lieutenant,) Sir Thomas Palmer, Knt. and Sir Edward Bellingham: "but neverthelesse, a great number of such Frenchmen as could not make waie, and keepe pase with their maine troops, were snapped up, slaine, and taken in no small numbers by their enemies, who followed them as egre as tigers."+ Soon afterwards," by reason the winter was farre entred, and the weather waxing extreame foule, and contrarie to an armie that should lie in the fields, the Emperour brake vp his campe," and the English forces returned home. In the following year, Sir Richard was made Constable of Berkeley Castle: he had also "given him the office of Steward of the Lordship of Archenfield, with the Constableship of the Castle of Goderyche, in the March of Wales, with the power of appointing the Master, Serjeant, and Porter, A a 3 belonging

Hol. Chron. Vol. III. p. 832. Edit. 1808.

+ Ibid. p. 833.

belonging to those offices, during the nonage of the Earl of Shrews bury." He died about November, 1546, leaving issue two sons by his wife Frances, daughter to Sir Thomas Murfyn, Lord Mayor of London in 1518.

SIR HENRY WILLIAMS, alias CROMWELL, Knt. "eldest son and heir of Sir Richard, was highly esteemed by Queen Elizabeth, who knighted him in 1563, and did him the honor of sleeping at his seat of Hinchinbrook, August, 18, 1564, upon her return from visiting the University of Cambridge. He was in the House of Commons in 1563, as one of the Knights for the county of Huntingdon; and was four times appointed Sheriff of the Shires of Huntingdon and Cambridge by that Sovereign, viz. in the 7th, 13th, 22nd, and 34th. years of her reign; and in the twentieth, she, nominated him a Commissioner, with others, to enquire con cerning the Draining of the Fens through Cloughs Cross, and so to the sea. He made Huntingdonshire the intire place of his country residence, living at Ramsey in the summer, and at Hinchinbrook in the winter: he repaired, if not rebuilt, the ManorHouse at Ramsey, and made it one of his seats. He also built a house adjoining to the Nunnery at Hinchinbrook, and upon the bow-windows there put the arms of his family, with those of several others to whom he was allied. He lived to a good old age, but dying in the beginning of the year 1603,-4, was buried in All Saints Church, Huntingdon. We may judge of the funeral pomp used at his interment, by the charges of the heralds, which were the same as those incurred by some of the greatest knights, his contemporaries. He was called, from his liberality, the Golden Knight.' The report at Ramsey is, that whenever he came from Hinchinbrook to that place, he threw considerable sums of money to the poor townsmen."

Sir Henry was twice married: by his first wife, Joan, daughter of Sir Ralph Warren, Knt. Lord Mayor of London in 1536, and again in 1543, he had eleven children, of whom six were sons and five daughters. By his second lady, whose surname was Weeks,

he

*Noble's Crom. Vol. I. p. 20,-21.

he had no issue: she died in July, 1592, of a lingering illness, which the senseless but popular superstition of the age attributed to Witchcraft; and three persons, of the name of Samwell, who were then inhabitants of Warboys, (a village between Huntingdon and Ramsey,) were committed to prison, and afterwards tried, and executed, as the authors of her death.* This judicial murder was accompanied by the forfeiture to Sir Henry, as Lord of the Manor of Warboys, of all the goods of the much-injured sufferers, which amounted in value to about forty pounds; "but he, unwilling to possess himself of the supposed felons' goods, gave them to the Corporation (of Huntingdon) conditionally, that they procured from the Queen's College, in Cambridge, a Doctor, or Bachelor of Divinity, to preach on every anniversary of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, a sermon against the sin of Witchcraft." The bulk of Sir Henry's fortune went to Sir Oliver, his

A a 4

*See more particulars under the head Warboys.

eldest

+ Noble's Crom. Vol. I. p. 25,-6. "It is with real concern," continues this gentleman, "that I acquaint the reader, that there is still an annual sermon preached against witchcraft in Huntingdon, by a divine sent from Queen's College, for which he receives 21. but is obliged to distribute ten shillings to the poor; and by custom to treat part of the corporation with a dinner. This is the more extraordinary, as all the penal statutes against this supposed crime of witchcraft, have been repealed by an Act of Parliament, which is tacitly declaring that there are no such beings as witches, nor crime as witchcraft: it would be therefore highly commendable in the Corporation of Huntingdon, and Queen's College, to agree, that if a sermon must be preached, the subject of it should, instead of being levelled at the pretended sin of witchcraft, be an address to the people, cautioning them against falling" into such errors and prejudices, as made their forefathers involve the unhappy and immeasurably injured Samwells in ruin and destruction.—In the last trial for witchcraft in England, the Judge asked a clergyman, who had the folly to appear against the supposed witch, whether he really from his heart thought the poor old creature before them guilty of the crime of which she was accused; and he answering in the affirmative, the humane magistrate replied, pointing to the prisoner, It is not such a poor wrinkled wretch as this that I should take for a witch, but such beautiful ladies as those,' bowing to some very handsome females who were near him.