Queen Elizabeth I--Henry Middlemore | Autograph letter signed, investigating conspiracies, 1585

Queen Elizabeth I--Henry Middlemore

Autograph letter signed ("Hey: Middelmore"), to Sir Christopher Hatton

reporting the results of a search of the lodgings of Charles Tilney, a Catholic suspected on conspiring with the Earl of Arundel in his attempt to flee from England ("...Mr Tylneye dothe constantlye affyrme that he did knowe nothings of the earle of Arondales departure: and yet confesseth that the sayd earle was with him, on Easter even at fyve of the clocke in the afternoone..."), noting that his study contained no correspondence of a recent date ("...I thowghte he had eyther some other closett [...] or els that he had of porrepose conveyed them away...") and with the names of the Earl's "greatest dealers", three passages underlined and a marginal note on an unidentified hand ("All lrs of any late date removed out of his study"), integral address leaf endorsed by Christopher Hatton, 1 page, folio, Saint John's, 23 April 1585, trace of guard, small stain, neat repair to address leaf

A RARE LETTER OF THE ELIZABETHAN SECRET SERVICE ABOUT THE CATHOLIC MARTYR PHILIP HOWARD, EARL OF ARUNDEL. Arundel (1557-95), the son and heir of the 4th Duke of Norfolk (ex. 1572), was a committed Catholic who attempted to flee England in 1585, unable to reconcile his faith with his duty to his Queen. His ship was intercepted in the Channel and two days after this letter was written Arundel entered the Tower of London, where he was to remain for the rest of his life.

Henry Middlemore, a trusted courtier and minor diplomat, was evidently employed by Sir Christopher Hatton to investigate Arundel's network of friends and fellow Catholics to uncover evidence of treasonous conspiracy. His target, Charles Tilney (1561–1586), was a pensioner of the court. The following year Tilney was drawn into Anthony Babington's plot to conspire with Mary, Queen of Scots, to rebel against Queen Elizabeth. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered on 20 September 1586. 

PROVENANCE:

Robert Beale (1541-1601), the Yelverton Collection; Sir Thomas Phillipps (MS 12115); Sotheby's, London, 18 December 1986, lot 228