Egremont Radcliffe facts for kids
Egremont Radcliffe (or Radclyffe), who lived from about 1540 to 1578, was an English nobleman. He took part in a big protest against Queen Elizabeth I called the Rising of the North in 1569. After spending time in other countries, he tried to make peace with the English government. However, his efforts were not successful, and he was sent to the Tower of London.
Early Life and a Royal Challenge
Egremont Radcliffe was the son of Henry Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Sussex, and his mother was Anne Calthorpe. When he was a young man, he joined a group of Catholic nobles in 1569. This group tried to remove Queen Elizabeth I from her throne. This event was known as the Rising of the North.
Egremont was very active in this rebellion. When the protest was stopped, special orders were given to capture him. However, he managed to escape across the border into Scotland. For some time, he stayed with other rebels as a guest of the Scotts of Buccleuch family.
Life Abroad and Seeking Forgiveness
A ship was arranged to take Egremont and his group to Flanders. But because they heard the English government was trying to catch them, they sailed by way of Orkney instead. Once he arrived in Antwerp, Radcliffe received money from the King of Spain.
In 1572, he traveled to Madrid. Later, in 1574, he returned to the Low Countries and then went to France. He stopped receiving money from the King of Spain. Egremont wrote many letters to Queen Elizabeth's advisor, William Cecil, and others. He hoped to receive a pardon for his actions. In 1575, he moved to Calais, still hoping to be forgiven.
Imprisonment and Final Days
In November 1575, Egremont Radcliffe came back to London. But when he appeared at the royal court, he was immediately sent to the Tower of London. Around April 1577, he asked if he could exercise in the small garden outside his prison cell and have a servant.
He was held in the Beauchamp Tower. While there, he carved his name, the year 1576, and the motto "pour parvenir" (which means "to succeed" or "to achieve") into the wall of one of the cells.
On May 10, 1578, he was secretly released from prison and sent away from England. He went to Flanders. There, he was suspected of being involved in a secret plan. Because of this suspicion, he was executed in the market-place of Namur.
Bernardino de Mendoza, who was the Spanish ambassador in England, described Egremont Radcliffe as "a rash and daring young man, ready for anything." Radcliffe also wrote a book called Politique Discourses translated out of French (London, 1578). He wrote this book while he was imprisoned in the Beauchamp Tower and dedicated it to Sir Francis Walsingham.
