Gabriel Pleydell

Arms of the Pleydell family of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire^{[nb 1]}

Gabriel Pleydell (fl. 1519 – c.1591) was an English landowner and politician who served as Member for the Wootton Bassett and Marlborough constituencies in the English Parliament. Pleydell was born before 1519 into a large, landowning family in Wiltshire. Coming of age by 1540, his entrance into politics in 1553 was secured by his residence at Midgehall, near Wootton Bassett, giving him a valid claim to the market town's seat in Parliament. Similarly, his election to the Marlborough constituency two years later may have been made possible by his father's influential connections. Pleydell returned to the Wootton Bassett seat at the request of Sir John Thynne in 1563; he had supported Thynne in a dispute over the Knighthood of the Shire in 1559.

Pleydell's political and personal life is marked by legal controversy. Almost always a defendant in court, known allegations include the forced expulsion of residents from a country manor, forcible entry into and seizure of goods from a private property, unlawfully protecting convicts from justice, forging documents for his own benefit, and illegal hunting. He was alleged to be one of the ringleaders of a plot to exile Queen Mary I of England, and is perhaps best known for his contentious claim of parliamentary privilege after he was found guilty of this offence in 1555, an action which caused serious disagreement between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Legal accusations for most of his political career and imprisonment in Fleet Prison and the Tower of London helped "confirm for Gabriel Pleydell a niche in parliamentary history", according to a contemporary biographer. He died between 19 December 1590 and 3 February 1591.

Early life and family

Plaque dedicated to Sir Charles Pleydell, Gabriel's grandson, in St Mary's Church, Lydiard Tregoze

Pleydell was born by 1519 at his family's estate of Midgehall in Lydiard Tregoze. The sixth of nine children, he was the fourth son of wealthy landowner William Pleydell of Coleshill, Berkshire—now Oxfordshire—and Agnes Reason (daughter of Robert Reason of Corfe Castle, Dorset).^{[2][3][nb 2]} His younger brother was John Pleydell, Member of Parliament for Cricklade in 1593.^[5] The Pleydell family were thought to descend from Thomas de Coleshill, a knight who was awarded lordship of the eponymous parish on 2 March 1275 by King Edward I.^[3]

Pleydell came of age by 1540, holding land once owned by Sir Anthony Hungerford at Eisey (near the parish of Cricklade).^[2] A 1545 record, ordering him to pay 26 shillings and 8 pence in benevolence to the crown under King Henry VIII, indicates that he was managing the financial affairs of the Midgehall estate.^{[nb 3]} In 1549, William Pleydell bequeathed Gabriel the manor house of West Ilsley, Berkshire; Gabriel would also inherit Midgehall after his father's death in 1555.^[3] The inheritance was not immediate, since his mother and two older brothers (Tobias and Virgil) were listed ahead of Gabriel in the ownership succession. When his mother and Virgil died, Gabriel received the remainder of Midgehall's 95-year lease; Tobias relinquished his inheritance, having been settled in Chipping Faringdon for 11 years.^[2]

He married Anne, daughter of Henry Stockes of Sussex.^{[nb 4]} They had two surviving children, a son, Oliver, and a daughter, Agnes. Oliver first married the daughter of a Mr. Palmer from Gloucestershire. They had one son—Sir Charles Pleydell—who married Katharine (daughter of Thomas Bouchier of Barnsley, Gloucestershire) and had nine children, including John and William.^[8] Oliver's second marriage was to Jane, daughter of four-time Member for Bedfordshire Sir John St. John;^[9] they had ten children.^[7] His younger sister, Agnes (1541–1623), was the wife of William Bayly (Member for Chippenham from 1572 to 1583 and undersheriff of Wiltshire from 1579 to 1580).^{[10][nb 5]} They had two sons, including Henry Bayly (Member for Malmesbury in 1586 and 1589).^[11]

Parliamentary career

Victorian depiction of the 16th-century Palace of Westminster, where Parliament meets

Pleydell's initial entrance to the Parliament of England in March 1553 as a Member for the market town of Wootton Bassett was, at least in part, made possible by his status as a wealthy landowner. Although he had not yet inherited the family estate of Midgehall, his purchases of land and property surrounding the manor (one mile from the constituency) in 1561 and 1562 suggest that his assets facilitated a seat in the House of Commons.^{[4][nb 6]} The constituency was eventually abolished by the Reform Act 1832.^{[nb 7]} Surviving records note Pleydell's returning to Parliament solely by his Christian name, deemed sufficiently unusual to identify him outright.^[2] Succeeding Members John Seymour and Robert Huick from the 1547–52 session, Pleydell served with William Garrard until October 1553.^{[nb 8]} They were replaced in 1554 by Henry Poole and John Throckmorton.^[15]

His 1555 election from the Marlborough constituency was similar, but more dependent on influential connections. Pleydell's father had once held the lands of Thomas Seymour in the nearby parish of Eastrop (and possibly Preshute), establishing a relationship of trust between the families.^[2] After Seymour's brother Edward was executed in 1552, his widow Anne inherited the responsibility of maintaining the vast estates.^[16] The duchess appointed Pleydell as chief ranger of Savernake Forest (then under her ownership) before 1554 and as her receiver general that year.^[2][17] His position as ranger probably led to the acquisition of property in Chippenham and Preshute (a permissible distance from Marlborough), qualifying him for the borough's seat in Parliament.^[4] Pleydell, serving with Sir Andrew Baynton, replaced Peter Taylor alias Perce and John Broke of the 1554 session; they were succeeded by William Daniell and William Fleetwood in 1558 after a parliamentary hiatus following the death of Queen Mary I.^[18]

Pleydell returned as a Member for Wootton Bassett in 1563. His appointment was made possible by the patronage of former Member for Marlborough Sir John Thynne, an eminent figure in Wiltshire politics who was the county's custos rotulorum for at least 20 years.^[19][20] Pleydell had supported Thynne in a contest over the Knighthood of the Shire in 1559, which doubtless assisted his bid for parliamentary selection.^[4] Wootton Bassett's other seat was occupied by Matthew Poyntz, with whom Pleydell served until 1567.^{[nb 9]} Replacing Christopher Dysmars and Humphrey Moseley from the 1559 session, they were succeeded by Henry Knyvet and John Winchcombe.^[21]

Legal affairs

Plaintiff and early defendant

King Henry VII receiving clerics in the Tudor Star Chamber

Pleydell's parliamentary tenure was plagued by legal controversy. Usually a defendant in the courts, he was the plaintiff in at least two cases. Toward the end of the reign of King Edward VI, he brought a charge in the Star Chamber against several men who forced his expulsion from the manor house at Withington, Gloucestershire that he was leasing.^[2] The second was a case brought to the Court of Chancery between 1558 and 1579, with Gabriel accusing his brother Tobias (known in the court documents as "Toby") in a dispute over the Midgehall estate.^[22]

The first serious allegation against Pleydell in the Star Chamber concerned the forced expulsion of an occupant of the manor house at East Grafton, Somerset in the autumn of 1553. Then Member for Wootton Bassett, he was accused of assisting John Berwick in the original infringement and composing an amenable jury in Marlborough to avoid conviction. Both were found innocent of breaching the peace and claimed to have acted at the reasonable request of their employer, Anne Seymour; undue interference with judicial proceedings was ruled out.^[2] Around the same time, Pleydell was sued for forcible entry and illegal seizure of property at Little Bedwyn (with similar offences at Collingbourne Ducis) but claimed to be acting on the failure of the plaintiff to punctually pay rent.^[2]

Involvement in the Dudley conspiracy

Described by P. W. Hasler as "a religious and political radical" under Queen Mary I, Pleydell voted against a government bill in 1555 while a Member for Marlborough.^[4] This, combined with his previous offences, may have been the reason for his internment at the notorious Fleet Prison at the dissolution of Parliament that year.^[2][4] The Star Chamber also accused Pleydell of inciting riots abroad opposing the monarchy.^[4] A fervent supporter of Sir Anthony Kingston in the House of Commons, Pleydell came to be associated with Sir Henry Dudley's plot to exile Mary and ensure the succession of Queen Elizabeth I to the throne (a foiled venture which led to Kingston's unexplained death and Dudley's voluntary exile to France, where he was welcomed by King Henry II of Navarre).^[23][24] "[R]egarded as a ringleader", he claimed parliamentary privilege when the Star Chamber found him guilty during the Michaelmas term of the 1555 session.^[2] The charges were supported by a £500 bond and a writ ordered by the court, possibly a crown action to intimidate future opposition in Parliament.^[2][25] Claiming that his privilege was infringed, the Commons sided with Pleydell and sent a delegation led by Sir Robert Rochester on 6 December to the House of Lords in support of his immunity.^[2]

Lawyers David Lewis and Thomas Martin,^[26][27] witnessed by Rochester, Sir William Petre and four unnamed Members, declared the opinion of all chief justices, serjeants-at-law and Master of the Rolls Sir Nicholas Hare that Pleydell's privilege had not been infringed and the charges would persist.^[2][25] The Commons, dissatisfied with the ruling, took no further action on the matter and may have blocked further suits against him until its dissolution three days later.^[2] Pleydell was released from prison on 28 December 1555, after paying an additional bond of £500 to the crown. His freedom was conditional on returning to the Star Chamber to pay another £45 on the first day of its next term, which he did.^[2] At his release Pleydell told the Privy Council that he was punished for "speaking his conscience ... in a bill concerning the commonwealth", an opinion he subsequently echoed abroad.^[4] Although the Star Chamber considered his comments slanderous, it took little judicial action against them.^[28]

Protection of felons

In 1557 Pleydell was returned to the chamber by former accomplice John Berwick, who accused him of protecting two felons from punishment. The men (one convicted of murder and the other of abetting a theft) were Pleydell's servants in his capacity as chief ranger and keeper of Savernake Forest.^[28] Berwick, assumed by Stanley Thomas Bindoff to be acting out of jealousy, was the previous holder of the titles and involved in a dispute with Pleydell over the rights to property near the forest.^[28] Pleydell enlisted the aid of serving and former Members of Parliament, including William Button, Henry Clifford, Griffith Curteys and John Hooper, in July. Their duty was to examine witnesses and evidence on both sides of the argument, and they presented a list of 240 articles concerning the servants' activities. Pleydell's efforts were seen as an attempt to undermine the integrity of the Queen's justices and, perhaps, to incite rebellion among his supporters.^[28] This, in addition to breaching a commitment to meet regularly with the Privy Council after his imprisonment, led to his indictment by attorney-general Edward Griffin during the Michaelmas term. Pleydell was incarcerated in the Tower of London, forfeiting his two £500 bonds. He was released for good behaviour on 19 December, and left for the home of cloth merchant Thomas Garrard (a kinsman of William Garrard, with whom Pleydell served as Member for Wootton Bassett)^[29] after posting a £1,000 bond.^[28]

Forgery

Sir William Cordell (probably pictured) expressed "great and vehement suspicion" of Pleydell.

Multiple allegations of forgery were brought against Pleydell in the Court of Chancery. Although the circumstances of many are unknown, a significant suit was initiated by Member for Chippenham Francis Newdigate at the start of the 1563 parliamentary session. Newdigate, second husband of Anne Seymour (Pleydell's employer), accused Pleydell of forgery with regard to the manor of Monkton in his constituency.^[4][30] Details are unclear but Newdigate introduced the case to the House of Commons between 11 and 27 February 1563, probably in light of discussion surrounding the proposed Forgery Act 1563 (5 Eliz.1 c.14).^[31] On 22 March, the Commons assembled a committee made up of Recorder of London Richard Onslow, Sir Nicholas Arnold, Walter Haddon, Thomas Norton and Master of the Rolls Sir William Cordell to investigate Newdigate's suspicions. Cordell's involvement as an official of the judiciary may indicate that Pleydell had again claimed parliamentary privilege against Newdigate's allegations, since the case was heard in the Court of Chancery while he was a sitting Member for Wootton Bassett.^[4] The committee described "great and vehement suspicion" of Pleydell in a report which he read and answered. On 10 April the House ordered that copies of committee documents should be given to Pleydell and Newdigate and that Pleydell's evidence would be kept by the Commons, and no further mention of the affair is evident.^[4]

The later career of Sir Andrew Baynton, with whom Pleydell had served as Member for Marlborough, was overshadowed by financial difficulty. In a perceived attempt to gain court favour and reduce his debts, Baynton entrusted Thomas Seymour with his lands (presumably temporarily). When Seymour was executed for treason in 1549, the lands fell into the possession of the crown. Queen Mary I negotiated their sale to several Members of the Wiltshire gentry, including Nicholas Snell and Pleydell.^[32] Pleydell is thought to have gone further in the pursuit of Baynton's estates; he and Henry Sharington were to be the executors of his will upon his death in 1564. Assigning themselves his properties in Chippenham, the couple (described by Alison Wall in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as "scoundrels") directed Baynton's money and estates to themselves^[33] and Pleydell acquired the manor houses of the Bremhill and Bromham parishes.^[4] Sharington has been described by Wall as "corrupt" and Pleydell as "notorious";^{[nb 10]} according to Bindoff, the action "confirm[s] for Gabriel Pleydell a niche in parliamentary history, detract[ing] still further from his reputation".^[28] However, Pleydell released any titles inherited from the concerned estates to Edward Baynton (Andrew's son) by 1566 and the Privy Council therefore rejected allegations of forgery against him.^[33]

He, his patron Sir John Thynne and others were indicted in 1564 and he returned to Fleet Prison charged with illegal hunting in Selwood Forest. Pleydell was given leave under escort to attend impending "great suits" against him (probably related to the Baynton family's forgery litigation). He was again accused of similar offences years later, and the prosecution called Pleydell and his accomplices "persons of long time acquainted with such lewd devices and practices".^[4]

Later controversy

Other suits were brought against Pleydell in later life. In 1587 he was to appear before the Privy Council for mediation in an unclear suit initiated by his successor to the Wootton Bassett seat, Sir Henry Knyvet.^[4][21] Listed as living in Towcester, Northamptonshire for the Kynvet proceedings, in July 1590 a clerk registered Pleydell as having returned to the family estate in Midgehall.^[4]

Death and bequests

Pleydell, "sick in body", wrote his will on 19 December 1590; the document, furnished by creditor Oliver Frye on 3 February 1591, places his death between the two dates. His wife received ten cows and 100 sheep (then valued at about £60) and half of his personal possessions and household goods at the Midgehall estate.^{[nb 11]} Each of his servants and St Mary's Church in Lydiard Tregoze were to receive 10 shillings, and the combined poor of the parish 20 shillings. The profits from Pleydell's lands were entrusted to political associates Sir John Danvers, Sir Charles Danvers and Sir Edward Baynton, now knighted 26 years after the family's litigation; it was hoped that Pleydell's grandson Charles (then a minor) would inherit a considerable fortune. The remainder was gifted to Agnes, his only daughter and sole executrix; she paid the document's overseers, Richard Danvers and Robert Wells, 20 shillings for their services.^[4]

References

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography