The Jewel House: An Account of the Many Romances Connected with the Royal Regalia / Together with Sir Gilbert Talbot's Account of Colonel Blood's Plot

by G. J. Younghusband

For forty years Sir Henry Mildmay had grown fat and prosperous on the proceeds of his office; indeed, he became a very rich man with great estates and much ready cash to spend. But in 1660 Charles II was restored to the throne, and Sir Henry Mildmay was immediately pounced upon to produce the crowns and robes, sceptres, and jewels belonging to the kingly dignity, of which he was the reputed guardian. At the time the general impression was that Sir Henry had appropriated these to his own purposes and sold them to his own advantage; he was in consequence dubbed “the Knave of Diamonds.” As however has since become clear the royal emblems, or such as remained, were disposed of under the orders of Parliament. It may, however, be conjectured that Sir Henry, in accordance with the usages of the age and the rights of his office, secured a goodly percentage on the sale prices. His detractors averred that he had himself valued and bought in the Crown Jewels at the exceedingly low prices they fetched, and at his leisure disposed of them at great profit. There is, however, no recorded proof of this.

But Sir Henry Mildmay, whether he had a guilty conscience or not, thought discretion the better part of valour, and attempted to escape abroad. He was, however, caught by Lord Winchelsea at Rye in Essex and sent back to London. He was tried in 1661 at the Bar of the House of Commons, and sentenced to be degraded from all his honours and titles. Furthermore, he was sentenced to be annually drawn on a hurdle through the streets of London from the Tower to Tyburn, then passed under the gallows, and again dragged back to the Tower. This penalty was to be exacted on each anniversary of the day on which sentence had been passed on Charles I, that is January 27th. Whether Sir Henry ever took this ride is not clear, but probably he did more than once, for it was only in 1664 that the Lords in mitigation ordered him to be transported to Tangiers. On the way to his exile, however, he died at the town of Antwerp. His vast accumulations of wealth were forfeited to the Crown, his estate at Wanstead being of sufficient importance to be assigned to James, Duke of York.

There was a strong rumour at the time that Sir Henry Mildmay had been either hanged or beheaded, which rumour caused his relations and descendants great annoyance. As proof to the contrary they produced a painting of the dead knight, which still exists, showing him lying on his back on his death-bed. The clothes have been drawn down and his neck bared, so as to clearly show that no trace of cord or axe was upon it, and that he died no felon’s death. Naturally a picture of this sort is no proof in a court of law, for the artist might with ease omit all signs of violence; but history bears out the contention that Sir Henry Mildmay died a natural death.

Whatever the merits or demerits of Sir Henry Mildmay may have been, Charles II had too many Royalists with claims on his generosity to retain in office one who had evidently been hand-in-glove with those who had kept the King from his father’s throne, and in exile for so long. Amongst those with such a claim was Sir Gilbert Talbot, who had followed the King’s fortunes in France, and was now back in England in impoverished circumstances. On his application for an appointment the King made him Keeper, or as he was then styled, Master and Treasurer of the Jewel House. We are indebted to a very interesting manuscript dictated in 1680 by Sir Gilbert Talbot for a detailed account of the ancient rights and perquisites belonging to the office. These he obtained from Sir Henry Mildmay, and it is expressly stated that they were the same as enjoyed by Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, in the reign of Henry VIII. Facsimiles of some of the pages of the manuscript are given, but it is of historic interest that they should be recorded in full, and these will be found in the Appendix. Sir Gilbert Talbot held the office for thirty-one years, and as is duly related elsewhere, was in office when Colonel Blood made his attempt to steal the Crown and other portions of the Regalia. Sir Gilbert and his connection with his office enters so much into other parts of this book that it is not necessary here to say more about him.

When Sir Gilbert Talbot died in 1691 the office of Master and Treasurer of the Jewel House fell in succession to persons of various degrees and ranks, of whom little can be gathered from modern books of reference.

Sir Francis Lawley, doubtless an ancestor of the present Lawleys, was next in charge of the Crown Jewels for six years, and was succeeded by Heneage Montague, probably a cadet of the family of Montagu, who a few years later became Duke of Manchester.

Montague was followed by Charles Godfrey, who was Keeper through parts of three reigns, those of William and Mary, Anne, and George I. Then came the Hon. James Brudenell, a son of Lord Brudenell, a title now merged into that of the Marquis of Ailesbury, who held the office for fourteen years during the reigns of George I and George II. The Hon. James Brudenell was succeeded by Charles Townshend, Lord Lynn, who was nine years Keeper in the reign of George II.

The next in succession was William Neville, Lord Abergavenny, an ancestor of the present Marquis of Abergavenny, though the family now spells the name Nevill without the final “e.” This Keeper was in office for six years in the reign of George II.

He was succeeded by John Campbell, Lord Glenorchie,[^[17]] a son of the Earl of Breadalbane, who had custody of the Crown Jewels for eleven years in the reign of George III. Next in succession came Sir Richard Lyttleton, who held sway for thirteen years and through parts of two reigns. Next came Henry Vane, Earl of Darlington, who retained the post for close on twenty years. Whether this nobleman was inefficient, or eventually suffered from senile decay, is not recorded, but evidently a Keeper was deemed a superfluous person, for on his death came a break in the ancient office which had then existed for seven hundred years, and even through so unfavourable a period for Royal offices as the Commonwealth.

When Lord Darlington died in 1782 the office of Keeper of the Regalia was suppressed under an Act of Parliament, known as Stat. 22 Geo. III, c. 82, and his duties were transferred to the Lord Chamberlain. It is reasonable to conjecture that the pay and perquisites also went to the Lord Chamberlain.