Henry Norris (courtier)

Sir Henry Norreys or Norris (c.1482 - May 17,1536) was a groom of the stole in the privy chamber of King Henry VIII. While a close servant of the King he also supported the faction in court led by Queen Anne Boleyn, and when Anne fell out of favour he was among those implicated in the charges of adultery brought against her. He was found guilty of treason and executed. Most historical authorities argue that the accusations were untrue and part of a plot to get rid of Anne.

Family

Many references say that Henry was the second son of Sir Edward Norreys of Yattendon Castle, Berkshire, by his wife Frideswide, daughter of John Lovel, 8th Lord Lovel. Some of these also say that Edward Norreys died in 1487. So the birth date of 1482 for Henry would be consistent with this. However, Ives(2004), says that Henry was younger, born in the 1490s, and says that he was apparently the second son of Richard Norreys. Richard was Edward's younger brother.

Whichever version is correct, all souces agree that Henry's grandfather, Sir William Norreys, had taken part in the Battle of Stoke in 1487 at the conclusion of the Wars of the Roses.

Henry married Mary, daughter of Thomas Fiennes, Lord Dacre. She died before 1530. Their eldest son was Henry Norreys, 1st Baron Norreys of Rycote. Other children were: Edward, born in (1524 - July 16,1529 and Mary who married, firstly, Sir George Carew who died in the sinking of the Mary Rose in 1545. Secondly, Mary married Sir Arthur Champernowne.

Norreys or Norris?

At [http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/NORREYS.htm } it is noted The name Norreys has at least 2 potential derivations: one who came from the north or who lived in the north (there was a word "noreis" or "norreis" meaning a northerner), or from one who cared for others (the word "norrice" for nurse). There are also references to Noreis back in the 12° century and to a Robert le Noris in the 1297 Yorkshire Subsidy Roll.

The name spelt Norris was widespread in England the C16, but contemporary records dealing with this family consistently use the spelling Norreys, and so that is the version preferred by many modern authors. However, in recent times some book editors (e.g. Ives 2005) have chosen to use the more common version Norris.

Trim (2004) says speaking of Henry's grandson, John Norreys, "Although his surname is usually rendered Norris, he himself, his mother, and at least one brother always spelt it Norreys." So this spelling certainly persited for some generations.

Life in Court

Henry Norreys had come to Court during his youth, and became a close friend with King Henry VIII who appointed him a Gentleman of the Bed Chamber. He was granted many offices by the King, the first in 1515 being keeper of Foliejon Park in Winkfield. He was serving in the king's privy chamber by 1517. In 1518 he became weigher at the common beam at Southampton, then the great mart of the Italian merchants. on 28 January 1518/19 he was appointed bailiff of Ewelme. In 1519 he was awarded an annuity of 50 marks (about £33).

He was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. In 1523 he received the keepership of Langley New Park, Buckinghamshire, and was made bailiff of Watlington.

He worked his way up and in 1526 took over the post of Groom of the Stole (or stool) and was in charge of the gentleman of the king's privy chamber. According to Ives (2004) in this position he was not only the king's confidant but also perhaps the nearest friend the king had.

Norreys helped the King engineer the fall of Thomas Wolsey, and was present when Wolsey resigned the Great Seal. On 24 October 1529 he was the King's only attendant, when Henry went with Anne and her mother to inspect Wolsey's property. He was the bearer of Henry's kind message to Wolsey at Putney about the same time, and it seems he was affected by Wolsey's fallen condition.

Also in 1529 he received a grant of £100 a year from the revenues of the see of Winchester. In 1531 he was made chamberlain of North Wales. In 1534 he was appointed constable of Beaumaris Castle. In 1535 he received various manors which Sir Thomas More had held. He was present at the execution of the Charterhouse monks on 4 May 1535, and Henry granted him the important constableship of Wallingford Castle (29 Nov. 1535), and he was generally regarded as the king's agent in the promotion of the new marriage with Lady Jane Seymour.

Norreys had helped Anne Boleyn while she was gaining her position at Court and became one of her close friends and a leader of the faction that supported her attempts to wield political power. This brought him into conflict with Thomas Cromwell, a leader in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

At the time of his death his gross annual income from royal appointments was about £1000 per annum.

The Case, the Trial and the Execution

This section mainly follows Ives (2005).

In the backgound to the case against Norreys were the negotiatons which were being carried out with the French ambassador at Greenwich on April 18,1536. It was clear to Thomas Cromwell, that Anne Boleyn stood in the way of what he sought to achieve. With the King's approval he started to investigate and to secure evidence for charges of treason to be laid against Anne, Norreys, and four other courtiers.

Norreys was accused of being solicited by Anne at Westminster on October 6,1533, and of adultery on October 12 and again at Greenwich in November. The prosecution's choice of these dates, appears now particularly improbable and therefore careless. At that time Anne was in Greenwich not Westminster and recovering from the birth of Elizabeth on September 7 and was thus probably still in purda. As well as specific charges, there was a catch all charge of committing adultery at diverse times and places. Most historians nowadays think that all the charges were fabrications.

A grand jury was assembled at Westminster Hall on May 9 and decided there was a case to answer for the offences which had occurred at Whitehall. John Baldwin, a chief justice, presided with six of his judicial colleagues. On May 10, Baldwin with 3 assistants went to Deptford, where a Kent jury decided there was a case to answer on the events that had taken place at Greenwich.

With the committals in hand, Cromwell proceeded to arrange the trial for the four commoners, Norreys, William Brereton, Marc Smeaton and Francis Weston, which was held in Westmister hall on May 12. The jury was packed with people who had reason to be hostile to Anne Boleyn's cause or have a personal enmity with one of the accused. Sir William Paulet, controller of the King's household was one of the judges. All four pleaded not guilty to all the charges with the exception of Smeaton, who plead guilty to one charge of adultery. The accused had to improvise their defences on the spot, with no help from defence consels and no advance warning of the evidence. The hostile prosecutors duely secured a guilty verdict. All four were sentenced to be drawn, hanged and quartered. Becuase all were in sevice of the court, this sentence was commuted to the less terrifying one of beheading by the executioner's axe.

The execution was duly carried out on May 17 on Tower Hill. Unlike the other accused, who with carefully chosen words indicated their innocence, Norris did not risk reimposition of the harsher method of execution and so said little on the scaffold. However, an indication of his wife's continued trust in her husband, is provided by the her bequest to her son nine years later, "one bracelet of gold, the which was the last token his father sent me."