THC Science

Blanche Parry (1507/8–12 February 1590) of Newcourt in the parish of Bacton, Herefordshire, in the Welsh Marches, was a personal attendant of Queen Elizabeth I, who held the offices of Chief Gentlewoman of the Queen's Most Honourable Privy Chamber and Keeper of Her Majesty’s Jewels.

Origins

Blanche was born at Newcourt, Bacton, Herefordshire, one of the daughters of Henry Parry^[1](alias ap Miles^{[citation needed]}) of Newcourt, thrice Sheriff of Herefordshire, Steward of Ewyas Lacy and of Dore Abbey, a relative of the prominent Welsh family of Herbert, Earls of Pembroke, also a relative of the prominent Stradling family^[2] of St Donat's Castle in Glamorgan, Wales. Her mother was Alice Milborne,^[3] an Englishwoman, a daughter and co-heiress of Simon Milborne. Her paternal ancestors^[4] were of prominent border gentry stock and are referred to in nine surviving bardic poems, five by Guto’r Glyn and one each by Gwilym Tew, Howel Dafi, Huw Cae Llwyd and Lewys Morgannwg.

Early life

Although brought up in a Welsh cultural environment, Blanche was bilingual in Welsh and English. Strong indications exist of earlier family connections to the Lollards, not least her mother's family connection to Sir John Oldcastle. However, it appears that Blanche and her sisters were educated by the Augustinian nuns of Aconbury.

At the Royal Court

Blanche arrived at the Royal Court with her aunt, Blanche Milborne Lady Troy, who was the Lady Mistress to Edward VI and his half-sister Elizabeth I as children. From the age of about 25 or 26 until her death, Blanche was a servant of Queen Elizabeth, whom she served from her birth in 1533 onwards. Blanche herself wrote in her epitaph in Bacton Church that she was the servant of the Queen, "whose cradle saw I rocked", Thereafter she hardly left Elizabeth and almost certainly attended her during her imprisonment in the Tower of London before she came to the throne. After Elizabeth's accession in 1558, and Kat Ashley's death in 1565, Blanche was appointed the Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber, and was one of those who controlled access to the Queen. She was in charge of the Queen's jewels (a collection which grew in quantity, magnificence and value) from before Elizabeth's accession, and of the Great Seal of England for two years, also of the Queen’s personal papers, clothes, furs and books, many of which were presented to the Queen as New Year gifts. She received considerable sums of money on behalf of the Queen. She passed information to the Queen, including from John Vaughan, Blanche Parry's nephew, during the Northern Rebellion of 1569–1570, and from Sir Nicholas White, Master of the Rolls in Ireland, and she received presentations of Parliamentary bills for the Queen. She also wrote letters on the Queen's behalf. In addition, she supervised the Queen's linen "and other things belonging to her majesty"; this included "our musk cat", probably a ferret. Blanche was also associated with the publication of the Bible in Welsh.

Blanche Parry's position at the centre of the Royal Court was fully recognized at the time.^[5] She was friends with her cousin Sir William Cecil (Lord Burghley), the Queen's chief advisor, and worked with him. The Queen treated Blanche as a baroness. Amongst the material rewards she received from Elizabeth were two wardships and she acquired lands in Herefordshire, Yorkshire and Wales. A meticulous lady, Blanche commissioned the first known map of Llangorse Lake in 1584 to aid the deliberations in the court case in which she became involved. Lord Burghley supervised Blanche's two wills. His notes in his own handwriting survive for her first will dated 1578 and he was supervisor for her final will dated 1589.

Death & burial

Blanche died on 12 February 1590 (old style 1589), aged 82, as is recorded on her monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster. She died unmarried, "a maide" (a maiden), as the same monument states. Although Blanche had planned to retire to her paternal estate of Newcourt, she nevertheless remained until her death a servant to the queen. She was buried in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, the queen having paid all her funeral expenses. Two monuments in her memory survive, one in St Margaret's, Westminster, the other in St Faith's Church, Bacton.

Monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster

Her marble and alabaster mural monument survives on the south west wall of St Margaret's Church, Westminster, although this was not its original position, having been moved several times.^[2] It was formerly on the south side of the chancel.^[2] George Ballard saw her tomb in its original location in 1752.^[6] It shows a relief-sculpted and painted effigy of Blanche kneeling towards the left at a prayer desk, with hands now missing. Above are displayed in a lozenge (appropriate for a female armiger) her paternal arms of eight quarters. Payment for the monument is recorded as having been made by Mr Powell, her executor, in 1595/6. The inscription is as follows:^[2]

Hereunder is intombed Blanche Parrye daughter of Henry Parry of New Courte in the county of Herefd. Esquier, Gentlewoman of Queene Elizabethes most honourable bedchamber and keper of her Maties. juells, whome she faithfullie served from her Highnes birth. Beneficiall to her kinsfolke and countryemen charitable to the poor insomuch that she gave to the poore of Bacton and Newton in Herefordshire seaven score bushells of wheate and rye yearlie for ever wt. (i.e. with) divers somes of money to Westminster and other places for good uses. She died a maide in the eighte two yeers of her age the twelfe of February 1589.

Monument in Bacton Church

Having planned her retirement to her paternal estate of Newcourt, Blanche commissioned a monument to herself in the parish church of Bacton, showing sculpted effigies of herself and the queen. Dated to before November 1578, the monument is of great importance as it displays the earliest known depiction of Queen Elizabeth I as Gloriana. The inscription on this monument, composed by Blanche herself, is primary evidence for Queen Elizabeth having remained a virgin, namely in the line: "With maiden Queen a maid did end my life".^[7]

Tradition maintained that her monument in Bacton Church contained Blanche's bowels, or according to Bradford, her heart.^[8] However, evidence proves that Blanche's body was not dismembered and that the monument in Bacton Church is not her tomb and contains no part of her.

Bacton Altar Cloth

Lionel Cust first recognised and publishedthe importance of the embroidered altar cloth displayed at Bacton in his 1918 article, noting a similarity with dress designs shown in Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I.^[9]

Notes

^ Father's name as stated on her monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/blanche-parry
^ Or "Milbourne"
^ Bradford 1935 discovered some of the English sources but he did not know the Welsh sources
^ Borman 2009, p 346
^ Ballard 1752
^ Blanche was constantly with Elizabeth for 56 years and would have omitted this if it was untrue
^ Bradford 1933, p 163-165
^ Lionel Henry Cust, 'Queen Elizabeth's Kirtle', The Burlington Magazine, vol.33, no.189 (December 1918), pp. 196–201.

References

Ballard, George: Memoirs of several ladies of Great Britain..., 1752.
Lionel Henry Cust, 'Queen Elizabeth's Kirtle', The Burlington Magazine, vol.33, no.189 (December 1918), pp. 196–201, (altar cloth).
Borman, Tracy: Elizabeth's Women; The Hidden Story of the Virgin Queen, Jonathan Cape, London, 2009.
Bradford, Charles Angell: Heart Burial, Allen & Unwin, London, 1933
Bradford, Charles Angell: Blanche Parry, Queen Elizabeth's Gentlewoman, R.F. Hunger, London 1935.
Lynn, Eleri: Tudor Fashion, in association with Historic Royal Palaces, Yale University Press, 2017.

External links

Blanche Parry specifically named on TV

Dan Snow,"Armada: 12 Days to Save England". BBC. Retrieved 5 April 2016.

[1] Father's name as stated on her monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster

[Westminster_Abbey_»_Blanche_Parry-2] ttp://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/blanche-parry

[3] Or "Milbourne"

[4] Bradford 1935 discovered some of the English sources but he did not know the Welsh sources

[5] Borman 2009, p 346

[6] Ballard 1752

[7] Blanche was constantly with Elizabeth for 56 years and would have omitted this if it was untrue

[8] Bradford 1933, p 163-165

[9] Lionel Henry Cust, 'Queen Elizabeth's Kirtle', The Burlington Magazine, vol.33, no.189 (December 1918), pp. 196–201.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 [[File:Blanche Parry (1508–1590).jpg|thumb|maybe by [[Marcus Gheeraerts the younger]] c. 1590.]]
 [[Image:Blanche Parry.jpg|thumb|Effigy of Blanche Parry, detail from her monument in St Faith's church, Bacton]]
-'''Blanche Parry''' (1507/8–12 February 1590) of Newcourt in the parish of [[Bacton, Herefordshire|Bacton]], [[Herefordshire]], in the [[Welsh Marches]], was a personal attendant of Queen [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]],<ref>Richardson 2007, p 7, 133</ref> who held the offices of Chief Gentlewoman of the Queen's Most Honourable [[Privy Chamber]] and Keeper of Her Majesty’s Jewels.<ref>Richardson 2007, p 136</ref>
+'''Blanche Parry''' (1507/8–12 February 1590) of Newcourt in the parish of [[Bacton, Herefordshire|Bacton]], [[Herefordshire]], in the [[Welsh Marches]], was a personal attendant of Queen [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]], who held the offices of Chief Gentlewoman of the Queen's Most Honourable [[Privy Chamber]] and Keeper of Her Majesty’s Jewels.
 ==Origins==
-Blanche was born at Newcourt, [[Bacton, Herefordshire]], one of the daughters of Henry Parry<ref>Father's name as stated on her monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster</ref>(''alias'' ap Miles{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}) of Newcourt, thrice [[High Sheriff of Herefordshire|Sheriff of Herefordshire]], Steward of [[Ewyas Lacy]] and of [[Dore Abbey]], a relative of the prominent Welsh family of Herbert, [[Earls of Pembroke]], also a relative of the prominent Stradling family<ref name="Westminster Abbey » Blanche Parry">http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/blanche-parry</ref> of [[St Donat's Castle]] in [[Glamorgan]], Wales. Her mother was Alice Milborne,<ref>Or "Milbourne"</ref> an Englishwoman, a daughter and co-heiress of Simon Milborne. Her paternal ancestors<ref>Bradford 1935 discovered some of the English sources but he did not know the Welsh sources</ref> were of prominent [[Welsh Marches|border]] gentry stock and are referred to in nine surviving [[bardic]] poems, five by Guto’r Glyn and one each by [[Gwilym Tew]], Howel Dafi, Huw Cae Llwyd and [[Lewys Morgannwg]].<ref>Richardson 2007, p 15-17, 20, 40–41, 167; this Elegy is one of the Welsh bardic poems and Lewys Morgannwg is highly regarded</ref>
+Blanche was born at Newcourt, [[Bacton, Herefordshire]], one of the daughters of Henry Parry<ref>Father's name as stated on her monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster</ref>(''alias'' ap Miles{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}) of Newcourt, thrice [[High Sheriff of Herefordshire|Sheriff of Herefordshire]], Steward of [[Ewyas Lacy]] and of [[Dore Abbey]], a relative of the prominent Welsh family of Herbert, [[Earls of Pembroke]], also a relative of the prominent Stradling family<ref name="Westminster Abbey » Blanche Parry">http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/blanche-parry</ref> of [[St Donat's Castle]] in [[Glamorgan]], Wales. Her mother was Alice Milborne,<ref>Or "Milbourne"</ref> an Englishwoman, a daughter and co-heiress of Simon Milborne. Her paternal ancestors<ref>Bradford 1935 discovered some of the English sources but he did not know the Welsh sources</ref> were of prominent [[Welsh Marches|border]] gentry stock and are referred to in nine surviving [[bardic]] poems, five by Guto’r Glyn and one each by [[Gwilym Tew]], Howel Dafi, Huw Cae Llwyd and [[Lewys Morgannwg]].
 ==Early life==
-Although brought up in a Welsh cultural environment, Blanche was bilingual in Welsh and English. Strong indications exist of earlier family connections to the [[Lollards]], not least her mother's family connection to Sir [[John Oldcastle]]. However, it appears that Blanche and her sisters were educated by the [[Augustinian nuns]] of [[Aconbury]].<ref>Richardson 2007, p 32-34</ref>
+Although brought up in a Welsh cultural environment, Blanche was bilingual in Welsh and English. Strong indications exist of earlier family connections to the [[Lollards]], not least her mother's family connection to Sir [[John Oldcastle]]. However, it appears that Blanche and her sisters were educated by the [[Augustinian nuns]] of [[Aconbury]].
 ==At the Royal Court==
-Blanche arrived at the [[Noble court|Royal Court]] with her aunt, [[Blanche Milborne]] Lady Troy, who was the Lady Mistress to [[Edward VI]] and his half-sister Elizabeth I as children.<ref>Richardson 2007, p 39-46, 167</ref> From the age of about 25 or 26 until her death, Blanche was a servant of Queen Elizabeth, whom she served from her birth in 1533 onwards. Blanche herself wrote in her epitaph in Bacton Church that she was the servant of the Queen, ''"whose cradle saw I rocked"'', Thereafter she hardly left Elizabeth and almost certainly attended her during her imprisonment in the [[Tower of London]] before she came to the throne. After Elizabeth's accession in 1558, and [[Kat Ashley]]'s death in 1565, Blanche was appointed the [[Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber]], and was one of those who controlled access to the Queen. She was in charge of the Queen's jewels (a collection which grew in quantity, magnificence and value) from before Elizabeth's accession, and of the [[Great Seal of England]] for two years, also of the Queen’s personal papers, clothes, furs and books, many of which were presented to the Queen as New Year gifts. She received considerable sums of money on behalf of the Queen. She passed information to the Queen, including from John Vaughan, Blanche Parry's nephew, during the [[Northern Rebellion]] of 1569–1570, and from Sir Nicholas White, [[Master of the Rolls in Ireland]], and she received presentations of Parliamentary [[Act of Parliament|bills]] for the Queen. She also wrote letters on the Queen's behalf.<ref>Richardson 2007, p 75-78 as for instance on behalf of the husband of Elizabeth's wet-nurse</ref> In addition, she supervised the Queen's linen "and other things belonging to her majesty"; this included "our musk cat", probably a [[ferret]].<ref>Richardson 2007</ref> Blanche was also associated with the publication of the Bible in Welsh.<ref>Blanche Parry & Queen Elizabeth I, July, book-calendar, 2012</ref>
+Blanche arrived at the [[Noble court|Royal Court]] with her aunt, [[Blanche Milborne]] Lady Troy, who was the Lady Mistress to [[Edward VI]] and his half-sister Elizabeth I as children. From the age of about 25 or 26 until her death, Blanche was a servant of Queen Elizabeth, whom she served from her birth in 1533 onwards. Blanche herself wrote in her epitaph in Bacton Church that she was the servant of the Queen, ''"whose cradle saw I rocked"'', Thereafter she hardly left Elizabeth and almost certainly attended her during her imprisonment in the [[Tower of London]] before she came to the throne. After Elizabeth's accession in 1558, and [[Kat Ashley]]'s death in 1565, Blanche was appointed the [[Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber]], and was one of those who controlled access to the Queen. She was in charge of the Queen's jewels (a collection which grew in quantity, magnificence and value) from before Elizabeth's accession, and of the [[Great Seal of England]] for two years, also of the Queen’s personal papers, clothes, furs and books, many of which were presented to the Queen as New Year gifts. She received considerable sums of money on behalf of the Queen. She passed information to the Queen, including from John Vaughan, Blanche Parry's nephew, during the [[Northern Rebellion]] of 1569–1570, and from Sir Nicholas White, [[Master of the Rolls in Ireland]], and she received presentations of Parliamentary [[Act of Parliament|bills]] for the Queen. She also wrote letters on the Queen's behalf. In addition, she supervised the Queen's linen "and other things belonging to her majesty"; this included "our musk cat", probably a [[ferret]]. Blanche was also associated with the publication of the Bible in Welsh.
-Blanche Parry's position at the centre of the Royal Court was fully recognized at the time.<ref>Borman 2009, p 346</ref> She was friends with her cousin Sir [[William Cecil, Lord Burghley|William Cecil]] (Lord Burghley), the Queen's chief advisor, and worked with him. The Queen treated Blanche as a [[baroness]]. Amongst the material rewards she received from Elizabeth were two [[wardship]]s and she acquired lands in [[Herefordshire]], Yorkshire and [[Wales]]. A meticulous lady, Blanche commissioned the first known map of [[Llangorse Lake]] in 1584 to aid the deliberations in the court case in which she became involved.<ref>Richardson 2007, p 116-119 and Richardson 2012, August</ref> Lord Burghley supervised Blanche's two wills. His notes in his own handwriting survive for her first will dated 1578 <ref>Richardson 2007, p 151-165</ref> and he was supervisor for her final will dated 1589.
+Blanche Parry's position at the centre of the Royal Court was fully recognized at the time.<ref>Borman 2009, p 346</ref> She was friends with her cousin Sir [[William Cecil, Lord Burghley|William Cecil]] (Lord Burghley), the Queen's chief advisor, and worked with him. The Queen treated Blanche as a [[baroness]]. Amongst the material rewards she received from Elizabeth were two [[wardship]]s and she acquired lands in [[Herefordshire]], Yorkshire and [[Wales]]. A meticulous lady, Blanche commissioned the first known map of [[Llangorse Lake]] in 1584 to aid the deliberations in the court case in which she became involved. Lord Burghley supervised Blanche's two wills. His notes in his own handwriting survive for her first will dated 1578 and he was supervisor for her final will dated 1589.
 ==Death & burial==
-Blanche died on 12 February 1590 (old style 1589), aged 82, as is recorded on her monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster. She died unmarried, "a maide" (a maiden), as the same monument states. Although Blanche had planned to retire to her paternal estate of Newcourt,<ref name=":1">Richardson 2007 and Richardson 2012, May</ref> she nevertheless remained until her death a servant to the queen. She was buried in [[St. Margaret's, Westminster|St. Margaret's Church, Westminster]], the queen having paid all her funeral expenses. Two monuments in her memory survive, one in St Margaret's, Westminster, the other in St Faith's Church, Bacton.
+Blanche died on 12 February 1590 (old style 1589), aged 82, as is recorded on her monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster. She died unmarried, "a maide" (a maiden), as the same monument states. Although Blanche had planned to retire to her paternal estate of Newcourt, she nevertheless remained until her death a servant to the queen. She was buried in [[St. Margaret's, Westminster|St. Margaret's Church, Westminster]], the queen having paid all her funeral expenses. Two monuments in her memory survive, one in St Margaret's, Westminster, the other in St Faith's Church, Bacton.
 ===Monument in St Margaret's Church, Westminster===
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 [[File:The tomb of Blanche Parry, Bacton church - geograph.org.uk - 1192552.jpg|right|thumb|Monument and empty tomb of Blanche Parry, Bacton Church. The effigy of Blanche at left kneels before the earliest surviving [[The Faerie Queene|Gloriana]] of Queen Elizabeth I]]
 [[File:Epitaph BlancheParry Died1590 BactonChurch Herefordshire.png|thumb|Epitaph to Blanche Parry, Bacton Church]]
-Having planned her retirement to her paternal estate of Newcourt,<ref name=":1" /> Blanche commissioned a monument to herself in the parish church of Bacton, showing sculpted effigies of herself and the queen. Dated to before November 1578, the monument is of great importance as it displays the earliest known depiction of Queen Elizabeth I as [[The Faerie Queene|Gloriana]]. The inscription on this monument, composed by Blanche herself, is primary evidence for Queen Elizabeth having remained a virgin, namely in the line: ''"With maiden Queen a maid did end my life"''.<ref>Blanche was constantly with Elizabeth for 56 years and would have omitted this if it was untrue</ref>
+Having planned her retirement to her paternal estate of Newcourt, Blanche commissioned a monument to herself in the parish church of Bacton, showing sculpted effigies of herself and the queen. Dated to before November 1578, the monument is of great importance as it displays the earliest known depiction of Queen Elizabeth I as [[The Faerie Queene|Gloriana]]. The inscription on this monument, composed by Blanche herself, is primary evidence for Queen Elizabeth having remained a virgin, namely in the line: ''"With maiden Queen a maid did end my life"''.<ref>Blanche was constantly with Elizabeth for 56 years and would have omitted this if it was untrue</ref>
-Tradition maintained that her monument in [[Bacton, Herefordshire|Bacton]] Church contained Blanche's bowels, or according to Bradford, her heart.<ref>Bradford 1933, p 163-165</ref> However, evidence proves that Blanche's body was not dismembered and that the monument in Bacton Church is not her tomb and contains no part of her.<ref>Richardson, in ''Queen's Confidante: The Story of Blanche Parry BBC Radio Wales, 18:30 GMT on 25 January 2018'', stated she had examined the interior of the [[chest tomb]] and found no signs of human remains</ref>
+Tradition maintained that her monument in [[Bacton, Herefordshire|Bacton]] Church contained Blanche's bowels, or according to Bradford, her heart.<ref>Bradford 1933, p 163-165</ref> However, evidence proves that Blanche's body was not dismembered and that the monument in Bacton Church is not her tomb and contains no part of her.
 ==Bacton Altar Cloth==
-[[Lionel Cust]] first recognised and publishedthe importance of the embroidered altar cloth displayed at Bacton in his 1918 article, noting a similarity with dress designs shown in [[Portraiture of Elizabeth I of England|Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I]].<ref>Lionel Henry Cust, 'Queen Elizabeth's Kirtle', The Burlington Magazine, vol.33, no.189 (December 1918), pp. 196–201.</ref> More recently, Richardson recognized the importance of the [[Bacton Altar Cloth]] (or ''The Blanche Parry Embroidery'') which was still hanging in a display case in Bacton Church. In 2003 she noticed the similarity in the design to the dress worn by Queen Elizabeth I in the well-known ''Rainbow Portrait''. It was taken to [[Hampton Court Palace]] in 2015 for conservation work and has since been certified as very probably the only surviving piece of cloth from the wardrobe of [[Queen Elizabeth I]].<ref>'Blanche Parry & Queen Elizabeth I' calendar.</ref>
+[[Lionel Cust]] first recognised and publishedthe importance of the embroidered altar cloth displayed at Bacton in his 1918 article, noting a similarity with dress designs shown in [[Portraiture of Elizabeth I of England|Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I]].<ref>Lionel Henry Cust, 'Queen Elizabeth's Kirtle', The Burlington Magazine, vol.33, no.189 (December 1918), pp. 196–201.</ref>
 ==Notes==
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 *[[Charles Angell Bradford|Bradford, Charles Angell]]: ''Heart Burial'', Allen & Unwin, London, 1933
 *Bradford, Charles Angell: ''Blanche Parry, Queen Elizabeth's Gentlewoman'', R.F. Hunger,  London 1935.
-*Richardson, Ruth Elizabeth: ''Mistress Blanche, Queen Elizabeth I's Confidante'', Logaston Press, 2007.
-*Richardson, Ruth Elizabeth: [http://www.blancheparry.com ''Blanche Parry & Queen Elizabeth I'' book-calendar, 2012.]
 *Lynn, Eleri: ''Tudor Fashion'', in association with Historic Royal Palaces, Yale University Press, 2017.
-*Richardson, Ruth Elizabeth: ''Lady Troy and Blanche Parry: New Evidence about their Lives at the Tudor Court'', Paper in the BULLETIN of the SOCIETY FOR RENAISSANCE STUDIES, 1 October 2009; reprinted http://www.blancheparry.co.uk/articles/papers/ren_studies_article.pdf by kind permission of the editors.
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.blancheparry.com Blancheparry.com]
 *[http://images.hrp.org.uk/en/search/do_quick_search.html?q=Bacton Historic Royal Palaces: Blanche Parry Embroidery / Bacton Altar Cloth]
 *[https://stephenliddell.co.uk/2017/01/12/the-bacton-altar-cloth-revealed-to-be-the-only-surviving-gown-of-queen-elizabeth-i/ Article by Stephen Liddell]

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