William Sharington
Encyclopedia
Sir
William Sharington (born about 1495, died before 6 July 1553) was an English
courtier
of the time of Henry VIII
, master and embezzler
of the Bristol
Mint
, member of parliament
, conspirator, and High Sheriff of Wiltshire
.
of Cranworth
in Norfolk
, by his wife Katherine, daughter and heiress of William Pyrton of Little Bentley
, Essex
. In early life, Sharington is known to have made a visit to Italy
, during which he developed an interest in art. Sharington's father left him the manor
of Swathing's at Fransham
in the Launditch hundred
of Norfolk by a Will
dated 15 October 1519, and Sharington sold it in 1532. The manor had come to Sharington's great-grandfather Henry Sharington, who was steward
to the Bishop of Ely
, when he married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Edmund de Swathing.
daughter of John Bourchier, Lord Berners
, who had served as Chancellor of the Exchequer
, and he was a friend of Berners. By 1538, he was in the service of a brother-in-law of Berners, Sir Francis Bryan
, who was a soldier and diplomat, thus becoming a friend of Thomas Seymour
, who was also in Bryan's service. Seymour was one of the brothers of Jane Seymour
, who in 1536 became King Henry VIII
's third queen consort. By 1539, Sharington had been appointed a page
of the king's robes
, and in 1540 was promoted to Groom of the Robes
. The king trusted him, and in 1541 he was made a page of the Privy chamber
and in 1542 a Groom of the Chamber
. Also in 1542, he was appointed steward
and constable
of Castle Rising
, in his home county of Norfolk. In 1544, he joined the household of Queen Catherine Parr
.
In 1540, following the dissolution of the Monasteries
, Sharington paid £
783 for Lacock Abbey
in Wiltshire
, soon beginning to convert it into a private residence, in which he demonstrated good taste. He retained much of the medieval fabric of the house, adding a three-storey octagonal tower, tall Renaissance chimneys, and a stable courtyard, while demolishing a church. Hutton, in his Highways and Byways in Wiltshire, comments:
At about the same time, for his friend John Dudley
, later Duke of Northumberland
, Sharington designed a range of new buildings at Dudley Castle
which were erected within the old castle's walls and which have been called the Sharrington Range.
In June 1541 he lease
d the manor of Heytesbury
from the Crown
, making him the most powerful man in those parts for the next seven years. He began to buy land on a large scale. In 1543 he spent more than £1,000, and in 1548 over £2,800, by which time he owned fourteen manors in Wiltshire and others in the neighbouring counties of Somerset
, Dorset
, and Gloucestershire
. He served as member of parliament
for Heytesbury
in 1545 and for Bramber
in 1547. He was knighted at the coronation
of King Edward VI
on 20 February 1547. In 1547, he became one of the two knights of the shire
for Wiltshire
.
Apart from his interests in land, Sharington was also a merchant
and owned several ships trading out of Bristol. He is known to have bought wool
from all parts of Wiltshire and was also active as a moneylender
.
In 1546, in a development which ultimately led to his downfall, Sharington became 'under-treasurer' of a newly re-established mint
at Bristol Castle
. Despite its title, this position was in effect that of the master of the mint, and it carried a salary of 200 marks (or £133, 6s, 8d) a year. With a staff of six men, including an engraver
, Bristol was the only mint outside London to make gold coins, and also the only one apart from that at the Tower of London
to have its own engraver. As well as English coins, it also produced the coinage of Ireland.
In 1547, Sharington was appointed to commissions
to report on the king's mints and on the Admiralty
, as a chantry commissioner for Gloucestershire
, Gloucester
, and the city of Bristol
, and as a Justice of the Peace
for Wiltshire.
By 1548, Sharington had begun to defraud the Bristol mint by making coins too light and also by minting more coins than had been ordered, keeping false records to fend off discovery. According to his later confession, he had been afraid that his minting activity would leave him out of pocket. He may also have been anxious about the costs of his development at Lacock. As a result, Sharington became involved in a plot by Thomas, Lord Seymour
, to launch an armed uprising, overthrow the government of Seymour's brother Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
, and capture the boy king Edward VI
. Sharington had sought the protection of Seymour in the event of the discovery that he was profiting dishonestly
from his office at the mint, and Seymour persuaded Sharington to supply funds for his plot. He asked Sharington whether he could make £10,000, enough money to keep ten thousand armed men in action for a month, and Sharington had said he could and that Seymour "should lack no money". However, the plot was discovered and in January 1549, both men were arrested, Sharington on charges of coining base money, clipping, and other frauds. Sharington confessed, blaming Seymour, and suffered an attainder
, forfeiting his landed estates and being ejected from his seat in parliament, while Seymour was beheaded
. The reason stated for Sharington's attainder was that he had coined testoons for personal gain. However, all testoons of the period struck in quantity by all English mints were produced in base silver.
The Articles of High Treason
laid against Thomas Seymour included the following: In saving his neck, Sharington had successfully sought the help of Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury
, and of Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton
, and had pleaded with Somerset himself. Without Thomas Seymour, they saw Sharington as no political threat to them, and he was also helped by Hugh Latimer
, who referred to him in a sermon
preached before the king during Lent
of 1549, calling him "an honest gentleman, and one that God loveth... a chosen man of God, and one of his elected". In November 1549 Sharington was pardon
ed, and on the payment of £12,867, he even recovered his estates.
In April 1550, Sharington was appointed to travel to France
with Sir Maurice Dennis to bring back two hundred thousand crowns
, part of the payment for the sale of Boulogne
to Henry II of France
. He continued to serve as a magistrate
, and when in October 1551 his Wiltshire neighbour Sir William Herbert was created Earl of Pembroke
, Sharington was returned to the House of Commons
at a by-election
as one of the members of parliament for Wiltshire
. In 1552, he was appointed as Sheriff of Wiltshire
.
After the death of his first wife, Ursula Bourchier, Sharington married secondly Eleanor, a daughter of William Walsingham, and thirdly Grace Farrington, the widow of Robert Paget, an alderman
of London
, but he left no children behind him. He died on an unknown date before 6 July 1553 and was succeeded in his estates by his brother Henry Sharington. In July 1553, both Lady Jane Grey
and Mary I
signed bills for the appointment of a new Sheriff of Wiltshire "in the room of Sir William Sharington, Knight, deceased".
was acquired by King Charles II
in 1675 and is still in the Royal Collection
at Windsor Castle
. Inscribed at the foot 'William Sharinton', this drawing is in black and coloured chalks on pink-primed paper.
of Henry VIII, bear the mint mark
of the letters "W. S." combined into a monogram
, for 'William Sharington'.
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
William Sharington (born about 1495, died before 6 July 1553) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
of the time of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, master and embezzler
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
of the Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
, member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, conspirator, and High Sheriff of Wiltshire
High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...
.
Early life
Sharington was the eldest son of Thomas Sharington, a gentlemanGentleman
The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus...
of Cranworth
Cranworth
Cranworth is a village in the Breckland district of mid-Norfolk, East Anglia, England in the United Kingdom.It has an area of with an estimated population of 415 as of 2007.It has a church, St.Marys in the Benefice of Reymerston....
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, by his wife Katherine, daughter and heiress of William Pyrton of Little Bentley
Little Bentley
Little Bentley is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex. It sits on rising ground just to the west of the Holland Brook.The church is dedicated to Saint Mary...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. In early life, Sharington is known to have made a visit to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, during which he developed an interest in art. Sharington's father left him the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Swathing's at Fransham
Fransham
Fransham is situated in the Breckland District of Norfolk and covers an area of , consisting the villages of Great and Little Fransham, has an estimated population of 430 as of 2007. It lies 6 miles east from Swaffham and 6.5 miles west of Dereham....
in the Launditch hundred
Mitford and Launditch
Mitford and Launditch Hundred was an old grouping of parishes for administrative purposes in the County of Norfolk, England. It is located around East Dereham and is bordered by Walsingham Hundred, Aylsham Hundred, Horsham St...
of Norfolk by a Will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
dated 15 October 1519, and Sharington sold it in 1532. The manor had come to Sharington's great-grandfather Henry Sharington, who was steward
Stewardship
Stewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The concept of stewardship has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to environment, economics, health, property, information, and religion, and is linked to the concept of sustainability...
to the Bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
, when he married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Edmund de Swathing.
Career
Sharington's early career is obscure. He married Ursula, a naturalLegitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
daughter of John Bourchier, Lord Berners
John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners
John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners was a statesman and translator, born at Sherfield, Hertfordshire, England, to Sir Humphrey Bourchier and Elizabeth Tilney, and educated at Oxford University. He held various Offices of State, including that of Chancellor of the Exchequer to King Henry VIII, and...
, who had served as Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, and he was a friend of Berners. By 1538, he was in the service of a brother-in-law of Berners, Sir Francis Bryan
Francis Bryan
Sir Francis Bryan was an English courtier and diplomat during the reign of Henry VIII. He was Chief Gentleman of the Privy chamber and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bryan always retained Henry's favour, achieving this by altering his opinions to conform to the...
, who was a soldier and diplomat, thus becoming a friend of Thomas Seymour
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG was an English politician.Thomas spent his childhood in Wulfhall, outside Savernake Forest, in Wiltshire. Historian David Starkey describes Thomas thus: 'tall, well-built and with a dashing beard and auburn hair, he was irresistible to women'...
, who was also in Bryan's service. Seymour was one of the brothers of Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
, who in 1536 became King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's third queen consort. By 1539, Sharington had been appointed a page
Page (servant)
A page or page boy is a traditionally young male servant, a messenger at the service of a nobleman or royal.-The medieval page:In medieval times, a page was an attendant to a knight; an apprentice squire...
of the king's robes
Wardrobe (government)
The wardrobe, along with the chamber, made up the personal part of medieval English government known as the king's household. Its chief officer went under the title of Master or Keeper of the Great Wardrobe. As a result, the wardrobe often appropriated large funds from the exchequer, the main...
, and in 1540 was promoted to Groom of the Robes
Groom of the Robes
Groom of the Robes is an obsolete office in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England, later Great Britain, ultimately the United Kingdom. It is equivalent to a Lady-in-Waiting for Queens Regnant.-List of Grooms of the Robes:...
. The king trusted him, and in 1541 he was made a page of the Privy chamber
Privy chamber
A Privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The gentlemen of the Privy chamber were servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King and Queen at court during their various activities, functions and entertainments....
and in 1542 a Groom of the Chamber
Groom of the Chamber
Groom of the Chamber and Groom of the Privy Chamber were positions in the Royal Household of the English monarchy, the latter considerably more elevated. Other Ancien Régime royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles...
. Also in 1542, he was appointed steward
Stewardship
Stewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The concept of stewardship has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to environment, economics, health, property, information, and religion, and is linked to the concept of sustainability...
and constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
of Castle Rising
Castle Rising (castle)
Castle Rising Castle is a ruined castle situated in the village of Castle Rising in the English county of Norfolk. It was built in about 1138 by William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel, who also owned Arundel Castle. Much of its square keep, surrounded by a defensive mount, is intact...
, in his home county of Norfolk. In 1544, he joined the household of Queen Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
.
In 1540, following the dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, Sharington paid £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
783 for Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England, was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order.- History :...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, soon beginning to convert it into a private residence, in which he demonstrated good taste. He retained much of the medieval fabric of the house, adding a three-storey octagonal tower, tall Renaissance chimneys, and a stable courtyard, while demolishing a church. Hutton, in his Highways and Byways in Wiltshire, comments:
At about the same time, for his friend John Dudley
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
, later Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland
The Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
, Sharington designed a range of new buildings at Dudley Castle
Dudley Castle
Dudley Castle is a ruined castle in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Dudley Zoo is located in its grounds. The location, Castle Hill, is an outcrop of Wenlock Group limestone that was extensively quarried during the Industrial Revolution, and which now along with Wren's Nest Hill is a...
which were erected within the old castle's walls and which have been called the Sharrington Range.
In June 1541 he lease
Lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...
d the manor of Heytesbury
Heytesbury
Heytesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England, in the Wylye Valley, about three miles south of Warminster.-History:...
from the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
, making him the most powerful man in those parts for the next seven years. He began to buy land on a large scale. In 1543 he spent more than £1,000, and in 1548 over £2,800, by which time he owned fourteen manors in Wiltshire and others in the neighbouring counties of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, and Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. He served as member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Heytesbury
Heytesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Heytesbury was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire which elected two Members of Parliament. From 1449 until 1707 it was represented in the House of Commons of England, and then in the British House of Commons until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Reform Act 1832.-History:The borough...
in 1545 and for Bramber
Bramber (UK Parliament constituency)
Bramber was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in 1295, and again from 1472 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:The borough consisted of...
in 1547. He was knighted at the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of King Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
on 20 February 1547. In 1547, he became one of the two knights of the shire
Knights of the Shire
From the creation of the Parliament of England in mediaeval times until 1826 each county of England and Wales sent two Knights of the Shire as members of Parliament to represent the interests of the county, when the number of knights from Yorkshire was increased to four...
for Wiltshire
Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Wiltshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of England from 1290 to 1707, of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote...
.
Apart from his interests in land, Sharington was also a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and owned several ships trading out of Bristol. He is known to have bought wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
from all parts of Wiltshire and was also active as a moneylender
Moneylender
A moneylender is a person or group who offers small personal loans at high rates of interest.-See also:* Microfinance - provision of financial services to low-income individuals....
.
In 1546, in a development which ultimately led to his downfall, Sharington became 'under-treasurer' of a newly re-established mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
at Bristol Castle
Bristol Castle
Bristol Castle was a Norman castle built for the defence of Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port.-History:...
. Despite its title, this position was in effect that of the master of the mint, and it carried a salary of 200 marks (or £133, 6s, 8d) a year. With a staff of six men, including an engraver
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
, Bristol was the only mint outside London to make gold coins, and also the only one apart from that at the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
to have its own engraver. As well as English coins, it also produced the coinage of Ireland.
In 1547, Sharington was appointed to commissions
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
to report on the king's mints and on the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, as a chantry commissioner for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
, and the city of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, and as a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Wiltshire.
By 1548, Sharington had begun to defraud the Bristol mint by making coins too light and also by minting more coins than had been ordered, keeping false records to fend off discovery. According to his later confession, he had been afraid that his minting activity would leave him out of pocket. He may also have been anxious about the costs of his development at Lacock. As a result, Sharington became involved in a plot by Thomas, Lord Seymour
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG was an English politician.Thomas spent his childhood in Wulfhall, outside Savernake Forest, in Wiltshire. Historian David Starkey describes Thomas thus: 'tall, well-built and with a dashing beard and auburn hair, he was irresistible to women'...
, to launch an armed uprising, overthrow the government of Seymour's brother Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
, and capture the boy king Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
. Sharington had sought the protection of Seymour in the event of the discovery that he was profiting dishonestly
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
from his office at the mint, and Seymour persuaded Sharington to supply funds for his plot. He asked Sharington whether he could make £10,000, enough money to keep ten thousand armed men in action for a month, and Sharington had said he could and that Seymour "should lack no money". However, the plot was discovered and in January 1549, both men were arrested, Sharington on charges of coining base money, clipping, and other frauds. Sharington confessed, blaming Seymour, and suffered an attainder
Attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
, forfeiting his landed estates and being ejected from his seat in parliament, while Seymour was beheaded
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. The reason stated for Sharington's attainder was that he had coined testoons for personal gain. However, all testoons of the period struck in quantity by all English mints were produced in base silver.
The Articles of High Treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
laid against Thomas Seymour included the following: In saving his neck, Sharington had successfully sought the help of Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury
Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury
Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, 5th Earl of Waterford, 11th Baron Talbot KG was the son of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury and Anne Hastings....
, and of Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, KG , known as The Lord Wriothesley between 1544 and 1547, was a politician of the Tudor period born in London to William Wrythe and Agnes Drayton....
, and had pleaded with Somerset himself. Without Thomas Seymour, they saw Sharington as no political threat to them, and he was also helped by Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer
Hugh Latimer was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, Bishop of Worcester before the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555, under Queen Mary, he was burnt at the stake, becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism.-Life:Latimer was born into a...
, who referred to him in a sermon
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
preached before the king during Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
of 1549, calling him "an honest gentleman, and one that God loveth... a chosen man of God, and one of his elected". In November 1549 Sharington was pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
ed, and on the payment of £12,867, he even recovered his estates.
In April 1550, Sharington was appointed to travel to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with Sir Maurice Dennis to bring back two hundred thousand crowns
ECU
ECU may refer to:Automotive terms* Electronic control unit, a generic term for any embedded system that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a motor vehicle...
, part of the payment for the sale of Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
to Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
. He continued to serve as a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
, and when in October 1551 his Wiltshire neighbour Sir William Herbert was created Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
, Sharington was returned to the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
at a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
as one of the members of parliament for Wiltshire
Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Wiltshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of England from 1290 to 1707, of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote...
. In 1552, he was appointed as Sheriff of Wiltshire
High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...
.
After the death of his first wife, Ursula Bourchier, Sharington married secondly Eleanor, a daughter of William Walsingham, and thirdly Grace Farrington, the widow of Robert Paget, an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, but he left no children behind him. He died on an unknown date before 6 July 1553 and was succeeded in his estates by his brother Henry Sharington. In July 1553, both Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
and Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
signed bills for the appointment of a new Sheriff of Wiltshire "in the room of Sir William Sharington, Knight, deceased".
Portrait
A sketch of Sharington by Hans Holbein the YoungerHans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
was acquired by King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in 1675 and is still in the Royal Collection
Royal Collection
The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family. It is property of the monarch as sovereign, but is held in trust for her successors and the nation. It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical...
at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. Inscribed at the foot 'William Sharinton', this drawing is in black and coloured chalks on pink-primed paper.
Mint mark
Some coins of the Bristol mint during Sharington's control of it, including gold sovereignsSovereign (English coin)
The English gold sovereign was a gold coin of the Kingdom of England first issued in 1489 under King Henry VII. While the coin typically had a nominal value of one pound sterling, or twenty shillings, the sovereign was primarily an official piece of bullion and had no mark of value on its face...
of Henry VIII, bear the mint mark
Mint mark
A mint mark is an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced.-History:Mint marks were first developed to locate a problem. If a coin was underweight, or overweight, the mint mark would immediately tell where the coin was minted, and the problem could be located and fixed...
of the letters "W. S." combined into a monogram
Monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...
, for 'William Sharington'.