About Sir Henry Wyatt, Kt.

Also reported as Wiat.

Knighted in 1509 by King Henry VIII, later made Earl of Norfolk.

Fed and preserved in his imprisonment by a cat.

Served as Privy Councillor to King Henry VII.

www.wikipedia.org

Sir Henry Wyatt Born Allington Castle.

Appointed guardian by King Henry VII, for his son Prince Henry, Who became King Henry VIII.

Knighted on July 23rd 1509.

Became member of Henry VIII's Privy Counsel with residence in the Royal Castle.

of the Court of King Henry VII

From Wikipedia:

Sir Henry Wyatt was born in 1460 the son of Richard Wyatt and Margaret or Jane Clarke.

Henry Wyatt was a young cadet of the Lancastrian house, the youngest son of a Yorkshire squire of Southange in Yorkshire. In 1483 he became involved, as a stout Lancastrian in the Duke of Buckingham's unsuccessful revolt in the West Country in favour of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who was then in Brittany awaiting possible developments. In consequence Henry Wyatt was imprisoned in the Tower during the two years of the reign of Richard III, on whose orders he is said to have been tortured. He was released only on the death of King Richard and the accession of Henry VII. When the Standard of the fugitive Earl floated on the field of Bosworth, Wyatt found means to join it. When the Usurper had fallen on Bosworth field, one of the first acts of Henry VII was to liberate Henry and raise him from the private gentleman to the highest honours at Court. In 1485 he was rewarded by grant of “Keeper”, later to “Constable” for life of Norwich Castle. 1490 Master of the King’s Jewels for 34 years. 1488 Controller of the Mint, assisted with the reorganisation of the Mint and Coinage.

He married Anne Skinner, late in life, in 1502.

Henry VII had died at the age of 52. He was succeeded by Prince Henry (VIII) to who Henry Wyatt had been guardian for some years. Henry Wyatt created Knight of the Bath at the Coronation 23 Jul 1509. Was one of the signatories for England of the Treaty of Scotland.

In 1512 he was appointed joint constable of Norwich Castle with Sir Thomas Boleyn, (father of Anne Boleyn). In 1513 Wyatt conducted Suffolk from France to the Tower where he was executed by Henry VIII. Sir Henry was made Knight Banneret for his services at the Battle of Spurs in 1515, and was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

Sir Henry Wyatt was born in 1460 the son of Richard Wyatt and Margaret or Jane Clarke.

Henry Wyatt was a young cadet of the Lancastrian house, the youngest son of a Yorkshire squire of Southange in Yorkshire. In 1483 he became involved, as a stout Lancastrian in the Duke of Buckingham's unsuccessful revolt in the West Country in favour of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who was then in Brittany awaiting possible developments. In consequence Henry Wyatt was imprisoned in the Tower during the two years of the reign of Richard III, on whose orders he is said to have been tortured. He was released only on the death of King Richard and the accession of Henry VII. When the Standard of the fugitive Earl floated on the field of Bosworth, Wyatt found means to join it. When the Usurper had fallen on Bosworth field, one of the first acts of Henry VII was to liberate Henry and raise him from the private gentleman to the highest honours at Court. In 1485 he was rewarded by grant of “Keeper”, later to “Constable” for life of Norwich Castle. 1490 Master of the King’s Jewels for 34 years. 1488 Controller of the Mint, assisted with the reorganisation of the Mint and Coinage.

He married Anne Skinner, late in life, in 1502. He bought Allington Castle from the trustees of Robert Gainsford in 1492. The castle was in bad repair, and Henry Wyatt and his son made extensive alterations. They put in large Tudor windows, erected a fine porch, a ladies bower, a new fire place , a long gallery, a new kitchen and a new staircase. Camden ascribes the credit of these alterations to Thomas Wyatt, but most of them seem to have been carried out by his father.

1492 Esquire-of-the-Body, King’s select Bodyguard. He sold Hall in the village Solhange (South Haigh or Upper Haigh) which he had acquired through his marriage to Margaret, daughter and heiress of Richard Bailiff of Barnsley, and purchased Allington Castle and restored it. Henry VIII visited him there in 1527, as did Cardinal Wolsey.

1491 Joint Executor of Henry VII’s will. 1494 Governor of the Castle of Carlisle to hold the border against the Scots 1513 -1515, then ransomed. 1500 Commissioner of the Peace for South East England. 1504 Was one of four who formed committee of the Privy Council to raise money for the King by the sale of offices, privileges and pardons.

Henry VII had died at the age of 52. He was succeeded by Prince Henry (VIII) to who Henry Wyatt had been guardian for some years. Henry Wyatt created Knight of the Bath at the Coronation 23 Jul 1509. Was one of the signatories for England of the Treaty of Scotland.

Henry applied for a new grant of Arms in Jan 1507/8. The grant by Garter was made on the grounds simply that he was descended form the House of Blood and name of the Wyatts' He was a privy councillor and may not have been called upon by Garter to produce a pedigree any more than his acquaintances Cardinal Wolsey or Thomas Cromwell when they applied for Armorial Bearings which they had not inherited. In the Rolls of Roger Twysden the pedigree shows five generations back to an Adam Wyot, who lived in the middle of the 14 Century in Yorkshire.

In 1512 he was appointed joint constable of Norwich Castle with Sir Thomas Boleyn, (father of Anne Boleyn). In 1513 Wyatt conducted Suffolk from France to the Tower where he was executed by Henry VIII. Sir Henry was made Knight Banneret for his services at the Battle of Spurs in 1515, and was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

As Treasurer of the King’s Chamber raised and sent £20,000 to King’s Army on the Scottish Border in 1522. About 1526, Henry Wyatt had official lodgings in the Royal Palace as member of the Select Body of the Privy Council to hear complaints of the King’s subjects.

When lesser monasteries were dissolved Wyatt obtained lands and tenements in Essex and land in Milton (near Faversham in Kent) where he established the “Henry Wyatt Chantry”

Resigned posts of Treasurer of the King’s Chamber and the Royal Mint in 1528.

Henry Wyatt died at Allington Castle in Nov 1536 nearly 80 years old and was buried at Milton, Gravesend.

Also reported as Wiat.

Knighted in 1509 by King Henry VIII, later made Earl of Norfolk.

Served as Privy Councillor to King Henry VII.

www.wikipedia.org

Sir Henry Wyatt Born Allington Castle.

Appointed guardian by King Henry VII, for his son Prince Henry, Who became King Henry VIII.

Knighted on July 23rd 1509.

Became member of Henry VIII's Privy Counsel with residence in the Royal Castle.

of the Court of King Henry VII

From Wikipedia:

Sir Henry Wyatt was born in 1460 the son of Richard Wyatt and Margaret or Jane Clarke.

Henry Wyatt was a young cadet of the Lancastrian house, the youngest son of a Yorkshire squire of Southange in Yorkshire. In 1483 he became involved, as a stout Lancastrian in the Duke of Buckingham's unsuccessful revolt in the West Country in favour of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who was then in Brittany awaiting possible developments. In consequence Henry Wyatt was imprisoned in the Tower during the two years of the reign of Richard III, on whose orders he is said to have been tortured. He was released only on the death of King Richard and the accession of Henry VII. When the Standard of the fugitive Earl floated on the field of Bosworth, Wyatt found means to join it. When the Usurper had fallen on Bosworth field, one of the first acts of Henry VII was to liberate Henry and raise him from the private gentleman to the highest honours at Court. In 1485 he was rewarded by grant of “Keeper”, later to “Constable” for life of Norwich Castle. 1490 Master of the King’s Jewels for 34 years. 1488 Controller of the Mint, assisted with the reorganisation of the Mint and Coinage.

He married Anne Skinner, late in life, in 1502.

Henry VII had died at the age of 52. He was succeeded by Prince Henry (VIII) to who Henry Wyatt had been guardian for some years. Henry Wyatt created Knight of the Bath at the Coronation 23 Jul 1509. Was one of the signatories for England of the Treaty of Scotland.

In 1512 he was appointed joint constable of Norwich Castle with Sir Thomas Boleyn, (father of Anne Boleyn). In 1513 Wyatt conducted Suffolk from France to the Tower where he was executed by Henry VIII. Sir Henry was made Knight Banneret for his services at the Battle of Spurs in 1515, and was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

Sir Henry Wyatt was born in 1460 the son of Richard Wyatt and Margaret or Jane Clarke.

Henry Wyatt was a young cadet of the Lancastrian house, the youngest son of a Yorkshire squire of Southange in Yorkshire. In 1483 he became involved, as a stout Lancastrian in the Duke of Buckingham's unsuccessful revolt in the West Country in favour of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who was then in Brittany awaiting possible developments. In consequence Henry Wyatt was imprisoned in the Tower during the two years of the reign of Richard III, on whose orders he is said to have been tortured. He was released only on the death of King Richard and the accession of Henry VII. When the Standard of the fugitive Earl floated on the field of Bosworth, Wyatt found means to join it. When the Usurper had fallen on Bosworth field, one of the first acts of Henry VII was to liberate Henry and raise him from the private gentleman to the highest honours at Court. In 1485 he was rewarded by grant of “Keeper”, later to “Constable” for life of Norwich Castle. 1490 Master of the King’s Jewels for 34 years. 1488 Controller of the Mint, assisted with the reorganisation of the Mint and Coinage.

He married Anne Skinner, late in life, in 1502. He bought Allington Castle from the trustees of Robert Gainsford in 1492. The castle was in bad repair, and Henry Wyatt and his son made extensive alterations. They put in large Tudor windows, erected a fine porch, a ladies bower, a new fire place , a long gallery, a new kitchen and a new staircase. Camden ascribes the credit of these alterations to Thomas Wyatt, but most of them seem to have been carried out by his father.

1492 Esquire-of-the-Body, King’s select Bodyguard. He sold Hall in the village Solhange (South Haigh or Upper Haigh) which he had acquired through his marriage to Margaret, daughter and heiress of Richard Bailiff of Barnsley, and purchased Allington Castle and restored it. Henry VIII visited him there in 1527, as did Cardinal Wolsey.

1491 Joint Executor of Henry VII’s will. 1494 Governor of the Castle of Carlisle to hold the border against the Scots 1513 -1515, then ransomed. 1500 Commissioner of the Peace for South East England. 1504 Was one of four who formed committee of the Privy Council to raise money for the King by the sale of offices, privileges and pardons.

Henry VII had died at the age of 52. He was succeeded by Prince Henry (VIII) to who Henry Wyatt had been guardian for some years. Henry Wyatt created Knight of the Bath at the Coronation 23 Jul 1509. Was one of the signatories for England of the Treaty of Scotland.

Henry applied for a new grant of Arms in Jan 1507/8. The grant by Garter was made on the grounds simply that he was descended form the House of Blood and name of the Wyatts' He was a privy councillor and may not have been called upon by Garter to produce a pedigree any more than his acquaintances Cardinal Wolsey or Thomas Cromwell when they applied for Armorial Bearings which they had not inherited. In the Rolls of Roger Twysden the pedigree shows five generations back to an Adam Wyot, who lived in the middle of the 14 Century in Yorkshire.

In 1512 he was appointed joint constable of Norwich Castle with Sir Thomas Boleyn, (father of Anne Boleyn). In 1513 Wyatt conducted Suffolk from France to the Tower where he was executed by Henry VIII. Sir Henry was made Knight Banneret for his services at the Battle of Spurs in 1515, and was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

As Treasurer of the King’s Chamber raised and sent £20,000 to King’s Army on the Scottish Border in 1522. About 1526, Henry Wyatt had official lodgings in the Royal Palace as member of the Select Body of the Privy Council to hear complaints of the King’s subjects.

When lesser monasteries were dissolved Wyatt obtained lands and tenements in Essex and land in Milton (near Faversham in Kent) where he established the “Henry Wyatt Chantry”

Resigned posts of Treasurer of the King’s Chamber and the Royal Mint in 1528.

Henry Wyatt died at Allington Castle in Nov 1536 nearly 80 years old and was buried at Milton, Gravesend

Long ago in medieval England, there lived a young knight born of wealth and privilege named Sir Henry Wyatt. Wyatt was born in Yorkshire about the year 1460, the fourth son of Richard Wiat of Southange. Wyatt had attended college at Eton with the heir to the throne, Henry Tudor, and they had become friends. King Richard III felt threatened by the possible support Wyatt could provide to the legal heir. Unable to justify killing him outright, the King imprisoned Wyatt often for his opinions, at least once in the Tower of London.

The Tower of LondonIn a cold and narrow tower (there are no ‘dungeons’ at the Tower; people were imprisoned in a variety of locations, including the towers, assorted houses, stables and cellars), Sir Henry, then in his mid-20’s, suffered numerous tortures, possibly including the rack and an instrument called barnacles; vinegar and mustard were forced down his throat. He slept on a thin straw mat in a damp, unheated room; his clothing was in tatters and insufficient to keep him warm; and he was given very little food.

One day, a “cat came into the dungeon with him, and, as it were, offered herself unto him. He was glad of her, laid her in his bosom to warm him, and by making much of her won her love. After this she would come every day unto him in diverse times, and when she could get him one, bring him a pigeon.” The cat came to be known as Sir Henry’s “acater” [caterer]. The pigeons were dressed out and cooked for Sir Henry by a friendly gaoler.

Boxley ChurchWyatt MemorialIn the Church of St. Mary the Virgin & All Saints (the Boxley Church) in Maidstone, Kent on the north wall of the chancel above the choirstalls, near the altar, is a large stone memorial. It was put up by Edwin Wiat and reads, in part: "To the memory of Sir Henry Wiat, of Alington Castle, Knight banneret, descended of that ancient family, who was imprisoned and tortured in the Tower, in the reign of King Richard the third, kept in the dungeon, where fed and preserved by a cat. ..." (see below for full text of the memorial).

Nothing is known of what became of the cat, but Sir Henry was freed from prison shortly after Henry Tudor ascended the throne in 1485. The historian for the Boxley Church wrote me that "The surname has been variously spelt 'Wiat' and 'Wyatt'. Also 'Knight banneret' would today be spelt 'Knight baronet'. Part of the family emigrated to Virginia in the 1600's and many Wyatt descendants return to Boxley Church to visit their roots -- and read about the cat! Some local people here claim to have seen the ghost of a cat wandering around an old farmhouse, now a restaurant."

The Wyatt papers, drawn up in 1727, relate that “Sir Henry in his prosperity would ever make much of a cat and perhaps you will never find a picture of him anywhere, but … with a cat beside him." (See the full passage below.) As a token of gratitude, Sir Henry introduced to the dovecotes of Allington castle a strain of brown pigeons from Venice.

The Earl of Romney, who is directly descended in the female line from the Wyatts and is the present representative of the Wyatt family, has a half-length portrait of Sir Henry seated in a prison cell with a cat drawing towards him a pigeon through the grating of a window. Lord Romney also possesses a second picture of 'the cat that fed Sir Henry Wyatt’. Both paintings represent Sir Henry in advanced years, and were painted many years after the fact by unknown artists.

Allington Castle On the day of his coronation, King Henry VII granted Sir Henry Wyatt his coat of arms as Knight Banneret, and Sir Henry remained in royal favor and received the highest honors throughout his lifetime. He obtained a castle and estate named Allington near Maidstone in Kent, and cats were welcome. Sir Henry Wyatt died at nearly 80 years of age (Oct. 11, 1537), having been married twice. His son Thomas ("The Elder") Wyatt was a noted poet.

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Much of the information above comes from an article written for the Boxley Church magazine by Richard Cooke titled "The Hero of the Cat," and information provided to me by Robin Ambrose, the Boxley Church historian.

Additional documentation is available in the ninth 'Meet Your Wyat Cousins' letter from "Wiat Manuscript" in the possession of Lord Romney and credited in the book, "The Wiatt Family of Virginia,"published in 1980. The full passage is below:

"He was imprisoned often; once in a cold narrow tower, where he had neither a bed to lie on, nor cloaths sufficient to warm him, nor meat for his mouth; he starved there had not God, who sent a Crow to feed his prophet; sent this his country's master, a Cat, both to feed him and to warm him ---- it was his own relation from whom I had it ---- A cat came one day down into the dungeon unto him, and, as it were, offered herself unto him, he was glad of her, laid her in his bosome to warm him, and making much of her, won her love. After this she would come every day unto him in diverse times, and when she could get him one, bring him a pigeon; he complained to the keeper of his cold and short fare; the answer was, he durst not better it; but said Sir Henry, 'If I can provide any, will you promise to dress it for me?'. 'I may well enough' said the Keeper, 'are you safe for that matter' and for him from time to time such pigeons as his Acater (caterer) the cat, provided for him. Sir Henry in his prosperity would ever make much of a cat, and perhaps you will never find a picture of him anywhere, but with a cat beside him."

Tudor Statesman. He was an opponent of Richard III. He was the younger son of a Yorkshire Squire and, as a young cadet of the house of Lancaster; he became involved with the Duke of Buckingham's failed revolt against Richard III in1483. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for the entire reign of Richard III and was tortured on the king's orders. Legend has it that he survived his imprisonment because a cat brought him birds to eat and kept him warm by sleeping on him. When Richard III was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field he was released by Henry VII who awarded him high honours at his court. He was made a Knight of the Bath in 1509 and Treasurer of the King's Chamber in 1524. He was also Controller of the Mint, and in this role helped reorganize the Royal Mint and coinage. He was one of the executors of Henry VII's will, and continued to hold much influence under Henry VIII, being made a Knight of the Order of the Bath and acting as a signatory of the Treaty of Scotland. He bought and modernized Allington Castle and Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey were his guests there. In 1513 he conducted Suffolk from France to the Tower of London for execution, and he took part in the Battle of the Spurs in 1515. He was also present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and as Treasurer of the King's Chamber, raised £20,000 for the King's army on the Scottish border in 1522. After the dissolution of the monasteries he obtained lands and tenements in Essex and at Milton in Kent, where he established a chantry. He resigned his position in 1528 and died at Allington Castle aged almost eighty.

Find a Grave Memorial # 39752127