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RC Chrift, Thomas, by the Title of St. Cecile beyond Tiber, of the Holy See of Rome, Cardinal Priest, "Archbishop of York, Chancellor of England; and

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kept in a certain Bag of white Leather, fealed fix "Times with white Wax and the Seal of the fame "Cardinal, was delivered by the Cardinal in Perfon, "in Obedience to the Lord the King's Orders, to "the illuftrious Princes, Thomas Duke of Norfolk, "Treasurer of England, and Charles Duke of Suffolk, "Earl Marshal of England, at the House of the said "Cardinal at Westminster, and in an upper Appartment near the faid Cardinal's walking Place, about "fix of the Clock in the Evening of the fame Day, "in the Prefence of William Fitz Williams, Knignt, "Trea

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MEMOIRS of the LORD CHANCELLORS, &c.

ty came into Ufe; for, upon the Seal being taken from Sir Thomas More,

May the 20th, his Ma1533, jesty committed the Cuftody of it to Sir Thomas Audley, and commanded him to be called Lord Keeper; and, Sept. the 6th, a new Seal was made and delivered to him; foon after which he was made Lord Chancellor, and created a Peer; who being taken ill, Thomas Lord Wriothefly was, by fpecial Commiffion, (as appears in Rymer, Tom. XIV. fo. 446.) appointed to keep and exercife the Great Seal during his Illness. Lord Audley was Chancellor of England above 12 Years, and was a Man of confummate Parts and uncommon Prudence, and, by his wary Management, weathered King Henry's boisterous Humour; died, crowned with much Honour, April the 30th, 1545, and was buried in the Church of Saffron

Walden, in Effex, leaving a great Eftate to his Daughter, afterwards married to Thomas Duke of Norfolk, from whom is lineally defcended the prefent Earl of Suffolk.

May the 30th, the Lord Wriothefley, who had been 1545, created Earl of Southampton, was conftituted Lord high Chancellor, who held the Seal to the 6th of March, 1 Edw. VI. when it was taken from him, on his fealing a fpecial Commiffion for hearing Caufes in Chancery, without Warrant from the Council. From this Nobleman his Grace John Duke of Bedford, by the Mother's Side, is defcended; whofe Brother, the late Duke, was baptized Wriothefley, in order to perpetuate the Memory of this noble Lord.

June the 29th, it was committed to William 1547. Paulet, Lord St. John, with the Title of Lord Keeper, who held

it

"Treasurer of the Lord the King's Houfhold; John "Taylor Prieft, Master of the Rolls; and Stephen Gar

diner, Prieft, of the faid Lord the King's Privy "Council; in whofe Prefence, the faid Dukes put the Seal fo inclofed into another Bag of Crimson Velvet, adorn'd with the Arms and Enfigns of "England; and which they had fealed with red "Wax by the faid Stephen Gardiner; and thus fealed "they put it into a certain Box bound with Iron and locked, the Key whereof the faid Stephen kept

66 in MEMOIRS of the LORD CHANCELLORS, &c.

it no longer than from the 29th of June to the 30th of Nov. following, 3 Edw. VI. he was created Earl of Wiltshire, and the next Year conftituted Lord Treafurer of England. In the 5th Year of the fame Reign he was honoured with the Title of Mar

quis of Winchester, and fat as High Steward upon the Trial of the Duke of Somerset. He was Lord Treasurer 21 Years, and died 14 Eliz. in the 97th Year of his Age, having lived to fee 103 of his own Generation. On being asked, How he did to bear up in the dangerous Times he pafed through, wherein great Alterations were made both in Church and State? he replied, By being a Willow, and not an Oak. His Grace, the prefent Duke of Bolton, is lineally defcended from this great and worthy Peer.

Nov. the 30th, in the 1547 fame Year, fucceeded Sir Richard Rich, with the Title of Lord Chancellor, from whom the prefent Right Hon. Edward Rich, Earlof Warwick and Holland, is defended.

Richard Goodrick, Bi1551 fhop of Ely, on the 19th

of June, fucceeded Sir Richard: But our Author tells us, that he could find nothing memorable concerning him, only that he was the firft Clergyman who had the Cuftody of the Great Seal fince Cardinal Wolfey.

Stephen Gardiner, Bifhop of Winchester, on the 1553. 21ft of Sept. (whose Character we have already given in the foregoing Part of this Work) fucceeded Goodrick.

Nicholas Heath, Archbishop of York, on the 1555. 1ft of Jan. followed Gardiner; his Grace was a wife and learned Man, and of great Integrity, being more devoted to pursue the Dictates of his own Confcience, than to perfecute others.

1559.

Sir Nicholas Bacon, on the 4th of April, was made Keeper of the Great Seal, 1 Eliz. who was doubtful whether he could act with the fame Authority as if he was Chancellor. To obviate this Doubt an Act paffed, 5 Eliz. declaring,

That the Authority of the 'Keeper of the Great Seal was the fame with that of the Chancellor." So that the Ju

dicial

in his own Custody, and delivered the Box to the * before-named Mr. John Taylor to be carried to the "Lord the King: Which John Taylor did afterwards, ¿6 on Wednesday the 20th Day of October, in the "aforefaid Year, prefent the Seal, locked in a Box

as above set forth, to his Majefty, in one of the in'ડ ner Apartments, near the Oratory of the faid Lord "the King, in the Caftle of Windfor, about the Noon "of the fame Day. The Lord the King then and "there immediately had the Box opened, and the "Great

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from CARDINAL WOLSEY'S Time.

dicial Authority of both thof: Offices, if they were before diftinct, were here united in one. His Lordship was educated in Bennet's College, Cambridge; and, having applied himself to the Study of the Common Law, he proved, fays the Author of the Lives of the Lord Chancellors, Not only a good Lawyer, but a • Man of great Wifdom and Underftanding in all Sorts of Af fairs; he had an admirable Memory to recollect all the Circumftances of any Business before him, and as great Pa⚫tience to confider them; his ufual Saying was, Let us fay a little, and we shall have done the fooner. Grandeur he never affected, as appeared from the Anfwer he made Queen Eliizabeth, when the paid him a Vifit at a neat Houfe he had in Hertfordshire, who faid, Your Houfe feems too little for your Lordship. No, Madam, your Highness has made me too big for my House.

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cellor, and held the Seal about eight Years; from whom we are informed the late famous William Bromley, Efq; Member for the Univerfity of Oxford, who made fo confiderable a Figure in the World, was lineally defcended.

April the 29th, the Seal was delivered to Sir. 1587. Chriftopher Hatton, with the Title of Lord Chancellor, who held it till his Death. He had a large Share of Abilities, which with his extraordinary Prudence made him fhine greatly. He was fo exactly juft, yet affable, that he was chofen to keep the Queen's Confcience as Chancel. lor, and to exprefs her Senfe as Speaker. His Difpatch was quick yet weighty, and his Orders many, yet confiftent, being very feldom reverfed, and his Advice in Council much prevailed. From this great Man the prefent Right Hon. the Lord Vifcount Hatton is defcended.

was

May the 29th, the Seal delivered to Sir John 1592: Puckering, with the Title of Lord Keeper, who alfo held it to the Time of his Death: But how he NA

15.79
April the 25th, Thomas
Bromley, Efq; Sollicitor
General, was made Lord Chan-
VOL. IV.

behaved

"Great Seal, inclofed and fealed in the faid Bags, "taken out, and caused fome Briefs and a Procla"mation, against the Exportation of Corn out of the

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Kingdom, to be fealed in his Prefence, the faid "Mellieurs John Taylor and Stephen Gardiner, as like"wife Henry Norris, Thomas Henneage, and others of "the Lord the King's fecret Chamber; Radolph "Paxfall, Clerk of the Crown of England; John Croke, "Comptroller of the Hanaper; John Judd, Deputy; "and Thomas Hall, Clerk of the faid Hanaper, being "then prefent. "Mat+

MEMOIRS of the LORD CHANCELLORS, &c.

behaved during the four Years
he had the Great Seal no way
appears upon Record.
No fooner did this
1596.
Gentleman make his Ex-
it, but the Lord Treasurer, Bur-
leigh, and others received and
kept the Seal for fome little
Time, without any particular Ti-
tle. His Lordship's Character is,
That he was a Perfon of great
Learning, fingular Judgment,
admirable Moderation, and
comely Gravity, who became
the chiefelt Statefman of the
Age wherein he lived; unto
whofe Prudence in Council
much is attributed, for the
Bleffings enjoyed by that prof-
perous and happy Govern-
ment, throughout the long
Reign of Queen Elizabeth of
happy Memory;" and from
whom are defcended the prefent
Right Hon. James Cecil, Earl
of Salisbury, and Brownlow Cecil,
Earl of Exeter.

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May the 6th, it was 1596. delivered to Sir Thomas Egerton, Mafter of the Rolls, with the Title of Lord Keeper, till the Death of Queen Eliza

beth: When King James, by Bill figned the 5th of April, 1603, appointed the Great Seal of England fo to continue, until, on the 29th of June next following, the Seal being broken, the King delivered another Seal, with the Image, Arms, and Title of himself, to the faid Sir Tho mas; and on the 24th of July made Sir Thomas (then created Peer, by the Title of Lord Ellef mere,) Lord High Chancellor, who carried himself with much Caution and Prudence in this great Poft, and made feveral good Regulations, for the Benefit of the Suitors, many of which are in ufe at this Day. During this Lord's Chancellorship there were two Indictments for Premunire preferred against him in the King's Bench, on Account of Decrees made by him in Chancery af terJudgment in the Common Laws [See the Articles exhibited against Cardinal Wolley.] the one by Richard Granville, and the or ther by William Allen, which were by the Grand Jury, confitting of very fubftantial Perfons, returned Ignoramus, though, they

were

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"Matters being thus tranfacted, the fame Lord the King caufed the Great Seal aforefaid to be returned "into the fame white Bag, and to be fealed with his "own fealing Ring on white Wax, and with the Seals "of the faid Mafters John Taylor and Stephen Gardiner, which, when he faw done, his Majefty kept "the Great Seal in his own Cuftody till Monday the "28th Day of the fame Month of October; on which "Day, about three in the Afternoon, the aforefaid "Lord the King being at his Mannor of Plaifance, "other

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from CARDINAL WOLSEY'S Time.

were twice fent out; and Sir Francis Bacon, in a Letter to King James the Ift, fays, If they were fet on that preferred them, they were the worst • Markfmen that ever were that fet them on, for there could not have been chofen two fuch 'Causes for the Honour and Advantage of the Chancery, for the Juftness of the Decrees, and the Foulnefs and Scandal of the Fact and Perfon in those that impeached the Decrees.' This Attack on the Chancery Sir Francis imputes principally to the Lord Chief Juftice Coke. After this King James, upon a folemn Hearing, on the Objection against the High Court of Chancery's Interpofing in Suits after Judgment in the Common Law, was pleafed to give Judgment, That the Statutes of 27 Edw. III. cap. 1. and of 4 Hen. IV. cap. 23. did not extend to the Court of Chancery: And fince that, the Decrees made by this Court, in order to restrain the Rigour of the Common Law after Judgment have not been queftioned, but on the contrary much encouraged. From Lord Ellesmere

his Grace the prefent Duke of Bridgewater is defcended.

1616.

March the 7th, it was given to Sir Francis Bacon, with the Title of Lord Keeper, who was foon after created Viscount Verulam, and, on the 14th of Jan. 1617, was made Lord High Chancellor. He was indeed allowed to be one of the greateft Men of the Age; his generous and affable Difpofition procured him the Efteem and Admiration of all People: He infilled the wholesome Precept of Prudence and Honour into the Nobility; found Principles, Arts, and Sciences, he communicated to the Learned; noble Maxims of Government to Princes, and excellent Rules of Life to the People: But notwithstanding this Character, this moit learned Nobleman was, the 3d of May, 1621, removed for Corruption, &c. Wilson the Hiftorian fpeaks thus of his Lordfhip; That he was a fit Jewel 6 to have beautified and adorn

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ed a flourishing Kingdom, if his Flaws had not disgraced the Luttre that fhould have fet him off. One Fault he had,

fays

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