Geoffrey Chamber facts for kids

Geoffrey Chamber was an important person in England during the time of King Henry VIII. He was a lawyer and worked closely with Thomas Cromwell, who was a powerful advisor to the King. Geoffrey also held a big job in the government, helping to manage the lands and money that came from closing down monasteries across England. He was also involved in the discovery of the moving parts inside a famous religious statue called the Rood of Grace at Boxley Abbey.

Life of Geoffrey Chamber

Early Life and Adventures

We don't know much about Geoffrey Chamber's early life. He first became known around 1517 because of his work with a special group called the Gild of Our Lady in St Botolph's church in Boston, Lincolnshire. This group had special "Pardons" which were like permissions from the Pope in Rome. These pardons allowed members to eat certain foods during Lent (a religious fasting period) and had other religious benefits.

The Boston Pardons Story

To renew these important pardons, Geoffrey Chamber, who was the Secretary of the Gild, had to travel all the way to Rome. He made two trips, one in 1517 and another in 1518.

A famous writer named John Foxe wrote about one of these trips. He said that Chamber met Thomas Cromwell in Antwerp and asked him to come along to Italy. Records show that Cromwell did join Chamber on his second trip, traveling through Calais. Foxe also wrote that when they got to Rome, Cromwell cleverly met the Pope, Leo X, after he returned from a hunting trip. Cromwell gave the Pope some delicious sweets, which pleased him so much that he quickly approved the pardons. The records from Boston show that Cromwell returned home fairly quickly, but Chamber stayed in Rome for another 16 weeks to finish all the details.

These trips had two other important results for Geoffrey. While in Italy, he was given his own special family crest, known as heraldry, by Archbishop Cesare Riario. He also chose a special gift for King Henry: a beautiful handwritten book with amazing pictures. This book, which included a dedication letter to the King, is now kept in the British Library.

Working for the King

Geoffrey Chamber married Alice, who was one of three daughters of Nicolas Burgh. Geoffrey's daughter, Elizabeth, was married by 1533 and lived until at least 1602.

In 1522, Geoffrey was given an important job as the Steward of all the lands belonging to St Bartholomew's priory in West Smithfield. He received a yearly payment for this work. In 1525, he joined the Inner Temple, which was a place where lawyers trained. He was also named as an executor for a rich merchant's will, which helped the Boston Gild.

The Dissolution of Monasteries

In 1535, a new law was passed to close down many monasteries in England. This was called the Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535. To manage all the lands and money from these monasteries, a new government department called the Court of Augmentations was created. Richard Rich was in charge of it.

Geoffrey Chamber was given a very important role in this court. He became the Surveyor and Receiver-General of the King's newly acquired lands. This meant he was responsible for checking and collecting money from these properties. He held this job until 1544. He surveyed lands that belonged to powerful nobles and also surveyed several abbeys, including Boxley Abbey, Stratford Langthorne, and Warden.

The Rood of Grace Mystery

In early 1538, Boxley Abbey in Kent was closed down. Geoffrey Chamber went there with the job of removing its religious images. The most famous image was a statue of Jesus on the cross, known as the Rood of Grace.

When the statue was taken down, people found hidden mechanisms inside it. There were wires and wooden sticks that could make the figure bow, its eyes move, and its lower lip open and close, as if it were speaking! These parts were old and broken, but people saw this as proof that the monks had tried to trick people into believing the statue's movements were miracles.

Chamber questioned the abbot, who said he didn't know the statue had been used to deceive anyone. But this discovery was a great chance to make the monks look bad. Chamber took the statue to the nearby town of Maidstone on market day and showed it to everyone, making them angry at the supposed trickery.

Geoffrey Chamber wrote to Thomas Cromwell about what he found. He then took the statue to London, where it was shown to the King's court. Later, it was displayed in front of Paul's Cross (a famous outdoor pulpit) before being broken into pieces and burned. The story of the Rood of Grace spread quickly and was used as strong evidence that monks and the Pope were deceiving people. This helped the King's reforms a lot. However, there is little proof that the monks actually used it to trick people; it might have been given to the abbey as a clever novelty rather than something miraculous.

Later Challenges

After Thomas Cromwell died in 1540, Geoffrey Chamber faced some difficulties. His son, Edward, later told a story about his father's troubles. He said his father was put in prison for a debt to the King, even though the King owed his father money. Geoffrey's wife, Alice, helped him get out of prison, but his enemies managed to put him back in jail.

Troubles with the Law

Records show that in 1538, Geoffrey leased the manor of Great Stanmore for 15 years. This manor included a house, a cottage, gardens, and other lands.

In 1541, Geoffrey Chamber and several others had to promise to pay large sums of money to the King's treasury to ensure that a customs officer would keep his accounts properly. It wasn't until 1550 that this promise was finally cleared. It seems that Richard Rich, who was in charge of the Court of Augmentations, took strong action to distance himself from any issues.

In 1542, the King bought the Stanmore property from Geoffrey and Alice Chamber. This also included their home in London. In 1544, George Wright took over Geoffrey Chamber's job as Surveyor and Receiver of exchanged and purchased lands.

In 1546, Sir Francis Ascugh had to sell lands to the King because his father owed money as a guarantee for Chamber. Another person, John Shelton, also owed money for the same reason. Lists of Chamber's belongings at Stanmore and in London were made in 1546–1547. The manor of Stanmore was taken by the King in 1547 because of a large debt of £2,200. The King then gave the Stanmore property to Sir Peter de Gamboa for his service in the King's wars.

St Sepulchre's Property

In 1550, Sir Peter Gamboa died, and his properties went back to the Crown. Some of these properties in St Sepulchre's, which had belonged to Geoffrey Chamber, were later leased back to Geoffrey and his wife Alice in 1550. This shows that Geoffrey might have still been alive in 1550.

The Victoria County History says Geoffrey died in 1544, but other records suggest he was still alive in 1550 or 1551. He was mentioned as "deceased" when his son Thomas joined the Middle Temple in 1552.

Family Life

Geoffrey Chamber married Alice Burgh, and she outlived him.

Their children included:

• Elizabeth Chamber: She was their daughter and heir. She married four times.
  • First, by 1533, she married Sir Walter Stonor. He died in 1551 and left most of his property to Elizabeth.
  • Second, she married Reginald Coniers. They had a daughter named Lucy Conyers.
  • Third, she married Edward Griffin, who was a very important lawyer for the King. They had a son named Ryce Griffin.
  • Fourth, by 1572, she married Oliver St John, 1st Baron St John of Bletso. Elizabeth was still alive in 1602.
• Thomas Chamber: He was admitted to the Middle Temple in 1552. He may have studied at Oxford and obtained a special permission from Rome for Princess Elizabeth to eat certain foods during Lent.
• Edward Chamber: He was a Catholic priest who did not agree with the King's new church rules. He tried to get the Stanmore property back for his family but was not successful. He was later imprisoned for his beliefs and worked to support his faith from abroad.
• (?John) Chamber: He was the youngest son. He also tried to get the Stanmore property back for his family when Queen Elizabeth became queen, but he died soon after.