Gossip from a Muniment Room
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G O S S I P F R O M A M U N I M ENT ROOM BEING PASSAG ES IN THE LIVES OF ANNE AND M ARY FYTTON 1 574 TO 1 6 1 8 TRANSCRIBED AND EDITED BY LADY NEWDIGATE- NEWDEGATE L O N D O N : D A V I D N U T T I N T HE S T R A ND M DCCCXCVI I ’ ANTY NE HANSON 69 P rinted by BA LL , At t he Bana nt y ne P ress T 0 M Y H U S B A ND - LT. GE NE RA L W W I A - EW G Sm ED ARD NE D G TE N DE ATE, K.G. B . O F A R B U R Y AND GR EAT-GR EAT-ORE AT-GR EAT-GR E AT- GRA NDSON OF A NNE F Y TTON L A D Y NE W D I G A TE I N TR O D U C TI O N HE following passages in the lives of Anne and M ary Fy t t on have been chiefly gleaned from old letters and ' papers in the Muniment Room at Arbury . The task of putting them together in the form of a narrative was undertaken in the first instance for the of of who benefit the descendants the elder sister, have n hitherto k own little about her . It has since been suggested that so genuine and authentic a record of that distant period may have a Wider interest than for family only . of of one- The history Anne is necessity a sided tale , vn being I ntr oduction being drawn from the large correspondence she kept up with both men and women friends after her marriage , a and though she c refully preserved their letters, her own one or t wo not t o , with exceptions , are at hand make the narrative as complete as could be desired . t t on on not t o Mary Fy , the other hand , is unknown history, and some interest has been aroused in her of ’ t o her late years by Mr . Tyler s clever attempt identify ’ with the Dark Lady e of Shakspeare s one On point there is ample evidence. Both sisters se em to have been unusually gifted with physical and s t o mental charm , and have been admired and loved by s of per ons note in the era in which they lived . In order t o make this account more complete and not interesting , the letters will be given in their bald simplicity , but with explanatory connecting links and with short biographical and historical facts concerning the writers . The letters will follow each other as far as possible in their proper sequence, but where there are no dates it is only from internal evidence that they can be placed in their 3upposed order The ’ ’ See e r Sh aks eare s Sonn Nu r an e Dav S . Tyl s p ts . id tt, t d I ntr oduction of The spelling is preserved as written , though the s mo t varied character, even the proper names in signa ’ tures and addresses differi ng as the writer s phonetic sense dictates . It is unavoidable that occasional references and observations in these letters remain unexplained . As mentioned above , the clue which might be given by the of other side of the correspondence is absent . In spite t o e this drawback , we shall hope give a fairly cons cutive - history of some twenty two years in the lives of our. t heroines , inventing no hing and withholding neither of one or two of good nor evil , though the frankness the writers is somewhat startling t o modern ideas . C O N T E N T S CHAPTE R I ° Cour t {9 Country ’ — Anna s Ma r r i age Letter of Ar a bella St ewa r t ’ Ma ry mom ; Ma id cf Honour Si r Willi a m Knolly r — ’ t — Let t er J Anne f D a ugh er B or n Sir F{l ike Gr e ’ ’ l/e r t er y w Lot . CHA P TE R II ’ ° M a ry s Dow nfa ll {9 D i sgr a c e ’ Sir W Knol r Let t erJ— Tr ouoler at Cour t — Mar . b j — — in Ditgr a t e Di t miu a l fr om oar P ort Si r W ’ Knoll r Lot tery y . CHAPTER III Tb e L aw son Letter s ’ — ’ ’ Si r Ri t ba r d Lenn on s Lt tt en Szr Fa lke Gr aville r — Lot t er y Dea d (f Qa t ar: Eli z a oetb Si r 7 0672 ’ ’ N wdi ate Kni bt ed— Sz r R Levaron r ; e g g . Letter Hi: D a t a a nd M 11 . Con tent: CHAPTER IV ' Widow b ooa ’ — — Ma ry : Ma nner (J Li e Her Ma r r iage Si r Fa lke ’ — — ’ Gr evil/e : Let terr Hi : B ea to Ma ry : Wi dozob ood — ’ D ea tb of Si r Newdiga te Anne : P etiti on: for ’ W d:bz o b ar Son toe a r p f . CHAPTER V F r i end:b ip Lett er: f r om Fra nt i: B ea umont t o Anne CHAPTER VI Conr tsb ip — ’ C orya Sa under: and n; Sa it Fr a nri : B ea umont : ’ — —Ma r ; Let ter : Fi na 1 Dinni u a l of Coty n Sa underJ y d Ma r r i a e Seeon g . CHAPTER VII T‘ b e Va lley of Death — Lett er : fr om La dy Gr ey Anne? Ca r e: f or -a - — Cbildr en Her B eeli ni ng Hea ltb Her Dea tb C H A P T E R I 9 Cour t $3 Country NNE and Mary Phyton , Fitton or Fy t t on were the daughters of Sir F t t on Edward y Knight , of Gaws i n r a nd worth Cheshi e , of Alice, daughter and c o- heiress of Sir John of n Holcroft , Holcroft in La cashire . F tt ons of The y evidently thought much themselves , and of with reason . They were ancient lineage , had filled of o for posts hon ur in the State , and had been knighted more than one past generation . in 1 Anne , the elder daughter, was born October 5 74 , a nd her only sister Mary some three and a half years : a d later . They had two brothers the elder , Edw r , who afterwards a baronet ; and the younger, Richard , 1 died 9 Cour t $ Country Life 1 6 1 0 . a died unmarried in Sir Edward, the first b ronet , who had a daughter, Penelope , married Sir Charles o of Gerard . Their son , created L rd Gerard Brandon , M ac c lesfield and Earl of , succeeded to the Gawsworth ’ estates on the failure of issue to Penelope Fy tt on s brother, the second and last baronet . F t t on of Anne y , in accordance with the practice the for age, had a husband chosen her by her parents of when she was still a child . At twelve years age she was married in London to John Newdegate “ Newdi at e of or g f aged sixteen , the eldest son f o r . John Newdegate , Arbury in Wa wickshire The of ul was a mother the youthf bridegroom M rtha Cave , c o- n of Chic hel daughter and heiress of Antho y Cave , y , 1 a Bucks . She died in 5 75 , a few years fter the birth of her son . Arbury seems to have been securely settled on young John Newdegate . His father married twice after his ’ ac c umu first wife s death , had several more sons , and lated debts to such an extent that he ended his days a e of in the Fleet Prison , dying there at the g fifty . was who 1 8 6 Nevertheless , he it bought Arbury in 5 n from Sir Edmund Anderso , Chief Justice of the ’ Common Pleas in Queen Elizabeth s reign . The pre sent Th e name h as een e i n var ou w a Th e re en fa b sp lt i s ys . p s t mily e w an e c e n t h e ow ner of Ar ur w h o o e sp ll it ith i , x pti g b y, is blig d wi t o S e w a n e by ll p ll it ith . 2 Cour t Countr y Lfi e sent house had been built a few year s previously by on old E rdb urie Sir Edmund the ruins of the Priory . John Newdegate h ad to give up his old family manor of Harefield for , in Middlesex , in part payment Arbury , of n retaining only the messuage and farm Bracke bury , with the chapel of that name forming the south aisle — - in Harefield Church the burial place of his family for soon ar t e many generations . Sir Edmund Anderson p d with Har efield to Sir Thomas Egerton (afterwards n t o n Baro Ellesmere) , Lord Keeper Quee Elizabeth , who of married as his second wife Alice , widow n Harefield Ferdi ando , Earl of Derby . The manor of bought back from the heirs of this Lady Derby ’ Ne e ate s by John wd g grandson some ninety years later .