Edward Vaux, 4th Baron Vaux of Harrowden
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Edward Vaux, 4th Baron Vaux of Harrowden (13 September 1588 – 8 September 1661) was an English peer. He was the son of George Vaux (1564–1594) and his wife Elizabeth Vaux (née Roper, born about 1564), and the grandson and heir of William Vaux, 3rd Baron Vaux of Harrowden
. He succeeded his grandfather as Baron Vaux of Harrowden
in August 1595, just before his seventh birthday.
s, and the third Baron Vaux was convicted of recusancy
several times during the reign of Elizabeth I
. As a minor heir to a barony, Edward Vaux became a ward of the queen on his grandfather's death. His widowed mother, known as the "Dowager of Harrowden" or (incorrectly, as her husband was never Lord Vaux) as the "Dowager Lady Vaux", devastated by the loss of her beloved husband, vowed to never remarry and devoted the rest of her life to religion. During a remodelling of the family estate at Great Harrowden
in young Edward's name, she incorporated hidden rooms
for the harbouring of Catholic priests including her confessor, the dashing Jesuit John Gerard. Her activities were closely watched by the authorities, and both Edward and his mother were investigated in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot
of 1605.
For refusing to take the 1606 Oath of Allegiance to James I
, entailing a denial of the pope
's authority over the king, Edward was committed to the Fleet prison
. He was sentenced in the Kings Bench to perpetual imprisonment and loss of property on 1 March 1612, but he was transferred to the custody of the Dean of Westminster and had a grant of his forfeited lands in October 1612. He was later released on surety of £1000.
which James reluctantly called to raise funds for the military assistance of his son-on-law Frederick V, Elector Palatine
. When Parliament instead demanded abandonment of the planned Spanish Match
for Charles, Prince of Wales
and war with Spain, James dissolved Parliament and pursued the Spanish bride for his son with renewed vigor. The king supported a request by the Spanish ambassador to allow volunteers to be recruited for service in the Spanish Army of Flanders
, which relied heavily on foreign mercenaries, and suspended the statute that required volunteers in foreign service to take the Oath of Allegiance before leaving the country. In 1622 Edward Vaux was licensed to raise a regiment of English Catholics for the Spanish service, but at the Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, he was dismayed to find his regiment facing English Protestant troops despite Spanish promises to the contrary, and many of his men deserted rather than engage their fellow-countrymen.
Vaux paid £300 to purge his personal attendance on Charles I at York in March 1639 for the military expedition into Scotland known as the First Bishops’ War.
, but the marriage negotiations were abandoned as hopeless in the wake of the Gunpowder Plot, and Elizabeth was married to William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury
who was some 40 years her senior on 23 December 1605. Nevertheless, Edward and Elizabeth Howard seem to have fallen in love, for they were married in June 1632 within five weeks of her first husband's death. The marriage produced no children, but Elizabeth's two sons, Edward (1627–1645) and Nicolas (1631–1645), born in the life-time of her elderly first husband, were widely presumed to be the illegitimate sons of Edward Vaux. Neither son is mentioned in the earl's will, but in 1641 the law courts decided that Edward was Earl of Banbury
, and when he was slain in an argument aged 18 (before June 1645), his brother Nicholas, who had used the surname "Vaux", took the title. On 19 October 1646, Edward Vaux settled the whole of his estates on Nicholas, speaking of him as "now Earl of Banbury, heretofore called Nicholas Vaux" to the total exclusion of his own lawful heirs. However, in the Convention Parliament of 1660 the House of Lords
questioned Nicolas's right to the title and through Nicholas and his descendants arose a long contest for the Banbury peerage (see Knollys family
).
Edward Vaux's wife Elizabeth died 17 April 1658, aged 71. Vaux died 8 September 1661, aged 74. Both were buried at Dorking, Surrey.
On Edward's death without legitimate issue, the Barony of Vaux of Harrowden
was inherited by his brother Henry who died without issue in 1663.
William Vaux, 3rd Baron Vaux of Harrowden
William Vaux, 3rd Baron Vaux of Harrowden was an English peer, the son of Thomas Vaux, 2nd Baron Vaux of Harrowden. He succeeded his father as Baron Vaux of Harrowden in October 1556....
. He succeeded his grandfather as Baron Vaux of Harrowden
Baron Vaux of Harrowden
Baron Vaux of Harrowden is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1523 for Sir Nicholas Vaux. The barony was created by writ, which means that it can pass through both male and female lines. Vaux was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He was a poet and member of the courts of...
in August 1595, just before his seventh birthday.
Early life and religion
The Vaux and Roper families were CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
s, and the third Baron Vaux was convicted of recusancy
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
several times during the reign of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. As a minor heir to a barony, Edward Vaux became a ward of the queen on his grandfather's death. His widowed mother, known as the "Dowager of Harrowden" or (incorrectly, as her husband was never Lord Vaux) as the "Dowager Lady Vaux", devastated by the loss of her beloved husband, vowed to never remarry and devoted the rest of her life to religion. During a remodelling of the family estate at Great Harrowden
Great Harrowden
Great Harrowden is a village in Northamptonshire, near the town of Wellingborough - the population is approximately 70. The village sits astride the busy A509 running between Kettering and Wellingborough - although a bypass is due to be built shortly...
in young Edward's name, she incorporated hidden rooms
Priest hole
"Priest hole" is the term given to hiding places for priests built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law in England, from the beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558....
for the harbouring of Catholic priests including her confessor, the dashing Jesuit John Gerard. Her activities were closely watched by the authorities, and both Edward and his mother were investigated in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
of 1605.
For refusing to take the 1606 Oath of Allegiance to James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, entailing a denial of the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
's authority over the king, Edward was committed to the Fleet prison
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...
. He was sentenced in the Kings Bench to perpetual imprisonment and loss of property on 1 March 1612, but he was transferred to the custody of the Dean of Westminster and had a grant of his forfeited lands in October 1612. He was later released on surety of £1000.
Military career
On 3 January 1621, Vaux was summoned to the ParliamentParliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
which James reluctantly called to raise funds for the military assistance of his son-on-law Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....
. When Parliament instead demanded abandonment of the planned Spanish Match
Spanish Match
The Spanish Match was a proposed marriage between Prince Charles, the son of King James I of England, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain...
for Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and war with Spain, James dissolved Parliament and pursued the Spanish bride for his son with renewed vigor. The king supported a request by the Spanish ambassador to allow volunteers to be recruited for service in the Spanish Army of Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
, which relied heavily on foreign mercenaries, and suspended the statute that required volunteers in foreign service to take the Oath of Allegiance before leaving the country. In 1622 Edward Vaux was licensed to raise a regiment of English Catholics for the Spanish service, but at the Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, he was dismayed to find his regiment facing English Protestant troops despite Spanish promises to the contrary, and many of his men deserted rather than engage their fellow-countrymen.
Vaux paid £300 to purge his personal attendance on Charles I at York in March 1639 for the military expedition into Scotland known as the First Bishops’ War.
Marriage and estate
When Edward was seventeen, his mother sought to arrange his marriage to Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of SuffolkThomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG, PC was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, the daughter and heiress of the 1st Baron Audley of Walden....
, but the marriage negotiations were abandoned as hopeless in the wake of the Gunpowder Plot, and Elizabeth was married to William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury
William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury
Sir William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury, KG, PC was an English nobleman at the court of Queen Elizabeth I and King James...
who was some 40 years her senior on 23 December 1605. Nevertheless, Edward and Elizabeth Howard seem to have fallen in love, for they were married in June 1632 within five weeks of her first husband's death. The marriage produced no children, but Elizabeth's two sons, Edward (1627–1645) and Nicolas (1631–1645), born in the life-time of her elderly first husband, were widely presumed to be the illegitimate sons of Edward Vaux. Neither son is mentioned in the earl's will, but in 1641 the law courts decided that Edward was Earl of Banbury
Earl of Banbury
Earl of Banbury was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1626 for William Knollys. He had already been created Baron Knollys in 1603 and Viscount Wallingford in 1616, both in the Peerage of England. The titles are considered to have become extinct on his death in 1632. However, the...
, and when he was slain in an argument aged 18 (before June 1645), his brother Nicholas, who had used the surname "Vaux", took the title. On 19 October 1646, Edward Vaux settled the whole of his estates on Nicholas, speaking of him as "now Earl of Banbury, heretofore called Nicholas Vaux" to the total exclusion of his own lawful heirs. However, in the Convention Parliament of 1660 the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
questioned Nicolas's right to the title and through Nicholas and his descendants arose a long contest for the Banbury peerage (see Knollys family
Knollys (family)
Knollys, the name of an English family descended from Sir Thomas Knollys , Lord Mayor of London. The first distinguished member of the family was Sir Francis Knollys , English statesman, son of Sir Robert Knollys, or Knolles , a courtier in the service and favour of Henry VII and Henry VIII...
).
Edward Vaux's wife Elizabeth died 17 April 1658, aged 71. Vaux died 8 September 1661, aged 74. Both were buried at Dorking, Surrey.
On Edward's death without legitimate issue, the Barony of Vaux of Harrowden
Baron Vaux of Harrowden
Baron Vaux of Harrowden is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1523 for Sir Nicholas Vaux. The barony was created by writ, which means that it can pass through both male and female lines. Vaux was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He was a poet and member of the courts of...
was inherited by his brother Henry who died without issue in 1663.