EFL - Enciclopedia delle Famiglie Lombarde

He died intestate and his estate was administered to to his widow o n 6 May 1630. He held the office of: Gentleman of the Horse in 1616, G entleman of the Bedchamber in 1617, Master of the Robes in 1617. He wa s created 1st Baron Daventree, co. Northampton [England] on 18 April 1 623. He was created 1st Earl of Anglesey, in Wales [England] on 18 Apr il 1623. He held the office of Chief Steward of the Honour of Hampto n Court in 1628. He lived at Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, En gland. The Reverend J. Mead reported that "there was talk here that t he Earl of Anglesey (Kit Villiers) was banished the Court ... The Kin g saying, he would have no drunkards of his chamber." '''From Wikipe dia, the free encyclopedia''' Jump to: navigation, search Christoph er Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey (c. 1593 – 3 April 1630), know n at court as Kit Villiers, was an English courtier, Gentleman of th e Bedchamber and later Master of the Robes to King James I. In 1623 h e was ennobled as Earl of Anglesey and Baron Villiers of Daventry. Wi th little ability of his own, Villiers prospered chiefly thanks to th e influence of his brother George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham , a favourite of James I. Life[edit] Villiers was the third son of S ir George Villiers (c. 1544–1606) of Brooksby, Leicestershire, by hi s second marriage, to Mary Beaumont (c. 1570–1632), later created Co untess of Buckingham. He had two full brothers, George Villiers, succe ssively Viscount Villiers (1616), then Earl, Marquess, and finally Duk e of Buckingham, and John Villiers, first Viscount Purbeck, as well a s a sister, Susan, later the countess of William Feilding, 1st Earl o f Denbigh; while Sir Edward Villiers and Sir George Villiers were hi s half-brothers.[1] Villiers was described as "unattractive and unint elligent" in his youth, but he shared in his family's good fortune flo wing from the position of his brother George as king's favourite. In 1 617 he was appointed Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King James I, an d on 7 March 1617/18 he was granted an annuity of £200.[1] In Decemb er of 1617 Sir Robert Naunton (1563–1635) a middle-aged man with n o sons, was appointed as Secretary of State on the condition of makin g Villiers his heir, and during his lifetime Villiers gained from Naun ton estates yielding £500 a year. Villiers was also granted an intere st in the monopoly for gold and silver thread, in respect of which h e was disappointed to receive only £150 altogether, but he also ha d a substantial income from the patent for ale houses. In connection w ith that, he was accused in parliament of malpractice, but the charge s were abandoned. In 1620 Villiers had expectations of becoming Maste r of the Robes, which would secure his position at court.[1] Villier s searched for an heiress to marry, bidding unsuccessfully for the han d of the only daughter of Sir Sebastian Harvey, a rich City of Londo n merchant, and for the hand of Elizabeth Norris, daughter of Franci s Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire and Bridget de Vere.[1] On 16 Februar y 1621/22, a few weeks after Lord Berkshire's suicide on 29 January, J ohn Chamberlain wrote to Sir Dudley Carleton: Your brother Carleton. .. writes further, that letters are come down for the Coroner, that th e evidence touching the Earl of Berkshire's manner of death must not b e urged, but the matter be made as fair as may be. It is generally tho ught, that Kit Villiers shall carry away his daughter. For all I hav e heard, or can learn, I see no cause of so desperate a resolution, bu t that he had laesum principium,[2] and the want of God's grace.[3] I n the event, Elizabeth Norris's hand was won by Edward Wray, another g entleman of the king's bedchamber, and Joseph Mede wrote to Sir Marti n Stuteville on 13 April 1622 "Mr. Wray is turned out of the bedchambe r for marrying the late Earl of Berkshire's daughter, whom Kit Villier s looked for."[4] On 22 June 1622, Chamberlain wrote to Carleton: "Th e world talks likewise of divers new earls to be made – as Kit Villi ers, if he can be taken off his wench, Earl of Berkshire."[5] Villier s then married Elizabeth, the daughter and heir of Thomas Sheldon of H owley in Leicestershire.[1][6] On 18 April 1623 Villiers was ennoble d as Earl of Anglesey and Baron Villiers of Daventry. This had been i n the air for more than a year, with the king seeking to persuade Vill iers to give up a mistress, but in the event he had failed to do so.[7 ] On 19 April, John Chamberlain wrote to Sir Dudley Carleton: But, f or the more grace to the Lord of Buckingham in his absence, his brothe r, Kit Villiers, is presently to be made Baron of Daventry and Earl o f Anglesey, with the endowment of £100 land, old rent, and the gift o f a forest, which is to be sold or enclosed; so that his lady and cous in is like to be a worthy countess.[8] If he had had greater abilitie s, Villiers might have hoped to gain important positions under the Cro wn, but as he admitted to his powerful brother in 1627, his "want of p referment proceeded from his own unworthiness rather than from the duk e's unwillingness".[9] He was known to have a great fondness for alcoh ol, and shortly after the death of James I on 27 March 1625 he disappe ared from the royal court, with the rumour going about that the new ki ng, Charles I, refused to have him because of his drunkenness.[10] Jos eph Mede wrote to Sir Martin Stuteville on 23 April 1625: There wa s talk here that the Earl of Anglesey (Kit Villiers) was banished th e court. The ground of the report, as I heard yesterday, was, that whe n there was suit made by some great ones, that he might be again swor n of the bedchamber, the king denied it, saying, he would have no drun kards of his chamber.[11] The appointment of Villiers as Master of th e Robes died with the old king, with Charles I retaining Lord Compton , who had served him in that capacity as Prince of Wales. According t o one historian of the period, Villiers "summed up all that was unsavo ry and corrupt with the court of James I".[7] His brother, Buckingham , died on 23 August 1628. Despite this, in December 1628 Villiers gain ed the position of Keeper of Hampton Court Palace, and in March 1629 h e became also Keeper of Bushey Park. He was believed to have bought th e reversion of the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer from Edward B arrett, 1st Lord Barrett of Newburgh, but he died at Windsor on 3 Apri l 1630. On 12 April he was entombed there in St George's Chapel.[1] A t the time of his death, Villiers was living at Ashley Park, Walton-on -Thames.[12] His widow, Elizabeth, Countess of Anglesey, married secon dly Benjamin Weston, Esquire, and they continued to live there.[6] Vil liers's titles and estates passed first to his only son, Charles, wh o died childless on 4 February 1661, having married the widow of his c ousin William Villiers, Viscount Grandison. The remaining estates pass ed next to the second Earl's sister, Anne, widow of Thomas Savile, 1s t Earl of Sussex (1590–1659).[1] Notes[edit] 1.^ Jump up to : a b c d e f g A. F. Pollard, revised by Sean Kelsey, 'Villiers, Chri stopher, first earl of Anglesey (d. 1630), courtier', in Oxford Dictio nary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, online edit ion, dated October 2006, accessed 1 January 2011 2.Jump up ^ Laesum pr incipium, a crazing of the brain. 3.Jump up ^ Thomas Birch, Robert Fol kestone Williams, The Court and times of James the First, vol. 2 (Henr y Colburn, 1848), p. 293 4.Jump up ^ Birch & Williams, op. cit., p. 30 4 5.Jump up ^ Birch & Williams, op. cit., p. 316 6.^ Jump up to: a b T he Herald and genealogist, vol. 3 (1866), p. 192 7.^ Jump up to: a b R enaissance papers, vol. 1978 (Southeastern Renaissance Conference, 198 4), pp. 97-98: "The patent was delayed for a year, but Kit eventuall y managed to obtain his peerage without relinquishing the wench... Th e historical Kit Villiers, Earl of Anglesey, summed up all that was un savory and corrupt with the court of James I. The younger brother of t he royal favorite, the Duke of Buckingham, Anglesey had greatness thru st upon him..." 8.Jump up ^ Birch & Williams, op. cit., p. 387 9.Jum p up ^ Calendar of state papers, domestic series, 1627–28, 327 10.Ju mp up ^ G. E. Cokayne, The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Irel and, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom (1887–1898), vol. 1, p. 1 32 (note) 11.Jump up ^ Cyprien de Gamaches, The court and times of Cha rles the First (Henry Colburn, 1848), p. 12 12.Jump up ^ The house wa s demolished about 1925 (Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of B ritish Architects, 1600-1840, 3rd ed. 1995, s.v. "Pearce, Sir Edward L ovett". http://www.thebuckinghamchronicles.com/the-villiers-family.h tml Christopher Villiers, Ist Earl of Anglesey (1594 – 1630) Chris topher (known as Kit) was the third and youngest son of Sir George Vil liers and his second wife, Mary Beaumont. John Villiers, Viscount Purb eck, and George Villiers, first duke of Buckingham, were his brother s and Sir Edward Villiers was his half-brother. Christopher shared th e good fortune of all his family consequent upon the rise of his broth er George as royal favourite. In February 1617 he was appointed gentle man of the bedchamber to James I (though not sworn until January 1618) , and on 7 March following he was granted an annuity of £200 a year . In December 1617 Sir Robert Naunton was appointed secretary of stat e on condition that he made Christopher his heir; the latter consequen tly received lands worth £500 a year. He was also promised £800 a ye ar out of the monopoly for gold and silver thread, but actually receiv ed only £150 during the whole of its existence. Christopher also rec eived large sums from the patent for ale houses, and his alleged malpr actices in this connection formed the subject of charges against him i n parliament, which were, however, abandoned. As with her other two s ons, his mother Mary was keen to arrange an advantageous marriage fo r Christopher, but her two attempts, firstly for Mary, the only daugh ter of Sir Sebastian Harvey, lord mayor of London, and then for Elizab eth Norris, daughter of the earl of Berkshire were unsuccessful, despi te the obvious benefits of being allied to the powerful Buckingham. Ha rvey was reluctant to see her married to a Villiers, and Elizabeth elo ped with and married Edward Wray, a gentleman of the bedchamber and fr iend of Buckingham’s. Christopher eventually married Elizabeth (d. 1 662), daughter of Thomas Sheldon of Howley, Leicestershire. They had t hree children; Charles, Anne and Marie , who died in 1625 and was buri ed at Goadby Marwood near her grand-father, sir George Villiers. On 2 3 March 1623 Christopher was created Baron Villiers of Daventry and ea rl of Anglesey, the patent passing on 18 April, and Buckingham thanke d King James for the honour done to ‘…my little deserving brother ’ in a letter to King James. Christopher’s lack of talent prevente d his employment in any important position, and he himself acknowledge d to his Buckingham that ‘his want of preferment proceeded from hi s own unworthiness rather than from the duke's unwillingness’ (CSP d om., 1627–8, 327). Christopher appears to have been over fond of al cohol, and in 1625 it was rumoured that had been he had been banishe d the court as the king said he would have no drunkards in his chamber . In December 1628 he was appointed keeper of Hampton Court, and 162 9 keeper of Bushey Park, and was said to have purchased the reversio n of the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer from Edward Barrett, Lo rd Newburgh. Christopher died on 3 April 1630 at Windsor, and was bur ied on 12 April in St George's Chapel. His widow married Benjamin West on in 1641. His only son, Charles (d. 1661), succeeded as second ear l of Anglesey and married Mary, widow of his cousin William Villiers , Viscount Grandison, and mother of Barbara Villiers in 1648. He die d childless and was buried at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, in 1661 . His honours became extinct, and the estates passed to his sister Ann e, widow of Thomas Savile, earl of Sussex who lived at Howley Hall i n West Yorkshire.