The Jacobean Royal Itinerary: Tradition and Innovation
The accession of James I to the throne of England in 1603 represented, as far as the court calendar is concerned, a moment of enormous change. For decades, court and country had known a monarch who was based largely at royal palaces in the London area (predominantly Greenwich and Whitehall).1 On the whole, and especially in her final years, Queen Elizabeth spent weeks at a time in one place. Her summer progresses were notable, and have been much studied, but became irregular during the second half of her reign.2
The reign of King James was characterised by continuous movement. Not since the fifteenth century had England seen a monarch so mobile and restless, and the country was never to see the like again. A certain amount of removal had long been considered necessary for the sake of hygiene and prevention of disease; the removal from a palace meant that it could be thoroughly cleaned and aired. However, James took itinerancy to new extremes. By the end of 1603 alone, the King had undertaken a progress from Scotland to London, had made visits to palaces and houses including Greenwich, Nonsuch, Syon and Hampton Court, had made his first summer progress, and had spent around three months at (or in the vicinity of) Winchester and Wilton House (see Appendix 2 and Figs 1 and 2). Admittedly, in this case, there was a direct reason for the continual peregrination: the plague was raging in both London and the provinces. However, the picture remained largely the same for the rest of James I‟s reign; only in special circumstances would the King remain more than three weeks in one place.3 It is worth noting that this fact has been almost entirely overlooked by historians; the research carried out for this thesis,
including the preparation of Appendix 2, has illuminated James‟s full itinerary for
1 The Queen also made regular visits to Richmond, Hampton Court, Oatlands, Windsor and Nonsuch. Only one attempt has been made at outlining Elizabeth‟s itinerary: Chambers 1922, vol. 4, pp. 75-116. This source was used in the compilation of Mary Hill Cole‟s tables, charting the Queen‟s travels when away from London: Cole 1999, pp. 179-206 (Appendix 2)
2 Elizabeth made only six progresses between 1582 and her death 21 years later (i.e. in 1582, 1591, 1592, 1597, 1601 and 1602); see the itinerary in Chambers 1922, vol. 4, pp. 75-116, and Cole 1999, p. 206
3 For instance, the birth of his daughters Mary and Sophia in 1605 and 1606 meant that the King stayed at Greenwich for unusually long periods of time.
the very first time, and sheds important light on his preferences and approach as King, and – in particular – the significance of the country (and the country house) to his way of life.
Within a few years of his accession, James I‟s itinerary had settled into a definite pattern, though factors such as weather, illness and important
government business often resulted in minor changes. This routine seems to have been dictated by the needs and fancies of James himself, though there would clearly have been discussion with councillors, officials and courtiers on some occasions.4 The King is portrayed as being strong-minded by
contemporaries, and was not easily swayed by the threat of such worries as disease, poor weather or cost. In 1605, for instance, James refused to give way to the Queen‟s concerns about his safety while hunting, resolving „to rely on the divine mercy and to place his pleasure above his peril‟.5 Once decided upon, the King‟s proposed itinerary was made known to at least the royal household and court; information was also passed, as appropriate, to others involved in state business, and was quickly disseminated.
The most marked characteristic of James I‟s annual itinerary is the large amount of time he spent away from London. The King apparently found no pleasure in being in the city, and limited his stays to as short a duration as possible.6 This is said to have been a result of his dislike of crowds, and his discomfort in public, formal situations, a presumption which is challenged below
4 Evidence that the King was often moved by personal preference comes with his visit to Beaulieu in 1606; James was said to be „so well pleased with his hunting here as he seems to have a purpose to visit it often‟: HMC Salisbury, vol. 18, p. 270 (1 Sep. 1606). Later, in 1617, he was said to have fallen in love with Lincoln, and „meanes henceforward to spend the best part of the winter there‟ (though he never did so): Chamberlain Letters, vol. 2, p. 70 (19 April 1617)
5 Cal. SP Ven., vol. 10, p. 300 (8 December 1605). For another example, see: ibid, vol. 14, p.
309 (30 September 1616). The King showed the same disregard for potential illness. In January 1623, he was warned that the Newmarket area was rife with smallpox, but it did not hinder his going (Chamberlain Letters, vol. 2, p. 474), and in November of the same year he was warned to avoid the „sharp and subtill‟ air of Newmarket „yf he will preserve his health‟; James went anyway, being „so desirous to see certain new hawkes flie that he could not be stayed‟
(Chamberlain Letters, vol. 2, p. 525 and p. 539).
6 John Chamberlain often refers to James coming to the capital „halfe against his will‟:
Chamberlain Letters, vol. 2, p. 535 (20 December 1623), and see: Cal. SP Ven., vol. 15, p. 420 (relation of England of Piero Contarini, late 1618)
(see pp. 11-12).7 Instead, the King‟s routine was dominated by his love of country pursuits (a passion he shared with numerous other royals). James had been dedicated to hunting and hawking from his youth and, very soon after acceding to the English throne, the King emphasised the importance of this pastime within his life and reign; he told the Privy Council that it was „the only meanes to maintain his health‟, which – „being the health and welfare of us all‟ – meant that it should be supported and encouraged by his government and court.8 The general populace quickly became aware of the King‟s liking for country sports, and in 1609 James issued a proclamation acknowledging how
„notorious‟ his love of hunting had become.9
Throughout the course of his reign, the King would allocate certain blocks of time to country pursuits; the primary season for the hunt was from June to September, but there were no major limitations, and hawking was possible all year round.10 James was usually at one of his favourite hunting bases –
Royston, Newmarket, Theobalds and Thetford – in mid- to late January, a large part of February, mid-March, part of April, October, November, and early to mid- December (see Appendix 2). In addition, the King regularly made a series of visits in June and mid-September, usually to places including Windsor Castle,
7 Thomas Wilson, an associate of Sir Robert Cecil, wrote that James „naturally did not love to be looked on, and formalities of State were but so many burdens to him … especially in his sports, the access of people made him so impatient that he often dispersed them with frowns, that we may not say with curses‟: Willson 1956, p. 165, and see: Cal. SP Ven., vol. 10, p. 513 (report on England by Nicolo Molin, 1607). For another such comment on the King‟s character, see:
Oglander 1936, pp. 196-7. Additionally, James is said to have had a great fear of assassination (see, for instance, Oglander 1936, p. 193). It is, however, almost impossible to reconcile this supposed truth with the King‟s regular journeying, which provided the perfect opportunity for attempts on his life.
8 Chamberlain Letters, vol. 1, p. 201 (26 January 1605). Slightly later, the Venetian Ambassador reported that the King found „the sedentary life‟ of London „very prejudicial to his health‟, and that in future he meant to pass „most of his time in the country in the chase‟: Cal. SP Ven., vol.
10, p. 218 (10 February 1605). In advice to the future Charles II, the Duke of Newcastle drew upon the experiences of James I and Charles I to set out the benefits of making trips to country palaces for hunting and hawking: „this woulde nott onlye refreshe your Matie with the Sweet Ayre & wholsome Exercise, butt unbende your more serius thoughtes frome the wayte off busines thatt you woulde have att London, though busines will followe your Matie whersoever you are, butt nott such Thronges off Itt. This will mentayne health & longe life better than Phisick‟: Newcastle on Government, p. 223
9 Proclamations 1973, p. 227 (9 September 1609). See also: Cal. SP Ven., vol. 10, p. 195 (1 December 1604); this speaks of the people accusing „the King of attending to nothing but his pleasures, especially to the Chase, as though he had come to the throne for nothing else than to go a-hunting‟.
10 Manning 1993, p. 23
Theobalds, Havering, Richmond and Oatlands.11 Especially popular was Wanstead, which seems to have been the private house that James I visited most frequently; he went there over 40 times, always in June, July and
September.12 Meanwhile, in winter (usually in October or November), the King very often visited Hinchingbrooke, Sir Oliver Cromwell‟s house near
Huntingdon. With the addition of his annual summer progress (Figs 2 to 23), which generally took place from late July until early September, this meant that James was absent from London for at least half of the year, and probably more like two-thirds.13
The King‟s mania for hunting, and his long absences from London, were a point of concern to the royal household and Parliament, and were often an
exasperation to courtiers and ambassadors. The unpopular system of purveyance – by which the monarch could purchase provisions and other necessaries for use by the royal household at around half their commercial price – meant that James‟s frequent presence in the country was also a concern to those lower down the social scale.14 The King was clearly aware of such financial issues; early in his reign, he stated that on hunting parties made outside of summer progresses he would pay for carts at his own expense, though the problem continued.15
It has frequently been assumed that the King‟s love of hunting and regular absence from London meant that he avoided affairs of state, and that James
11 In 1619, John Chamberlain referred to the King‟s June visits as a „pettie progresse‟:
Chamberlain Letters, vol. 2, p. 249 (26 June 1619)
12 According to my itinerary (see Appendix 2), the King was at Wanstead on 43 occasions in 18 different years. Wanstead, a former residence of two favourites of Queen Elizabeth – the Earls of Leicester and Essex – was during this period the home, successively, of: Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy; his son, Sir Mountjoy Blount, later 1st Earl of Newport; George Villiers, Earl (then Marquess) of Buckingham; and Sir Henry Mildmay, later to serve as Master of the King‟s Jewel House. It was demolished in the early eighteenth century to make way for a new, classical house.
13 In 1618, the Venetian Ambassador noted that the King „spends his time in almost constant progresses and exercises … He spends at least ten months of the year in the country‟: Cal. SP Ven., vol. 15, pp. 388-9
14 For more information about purveyance, see: Bray 1787. There were constant complaints about purveyance during the reign of James I; early in the 1600s, Sir Francis Bacon stated that
„there was no grievance in his kingdom so general, so continual, so sensible, and so bitter to the common subject, as that which he was then speaking of [i.e. purveyors]‟: Nichols James, vol. 1, p. xii
15 Nichols James, vol. 1, p. xv
was accompanied on his journeys to the country by only a choice few.16
Certainly, the retinue would have been far smaller than that of a full court or that which accompanied the King on summer progress.17 However, the King could in fact be accompanied by a substantial train on his removals to the country,
especially in autumn.18 Moreover, whilst sports may have remained a vital attraction for James, there is no evidence that they wholly ruled out more serious affairs. The King frequently issued royal proclamations from his country palaces, and for a period in 1612 served as his own Secretary.19 In 1607, the Venetian Ambassador reported that though the King was far away, „he is daily informed of the sittings of Council, and despatches by letter such business as cannot be delayed‟.20 In April 1609, James took advantage of valued and much-loved solitude at Theobalds to work on his Apologie for the Oath of Allegiance.21 Although ambassadors were kept at a distance as much as possible, there are many instances of their being received at Theobalds, Royston and
Newmarket.22 It is clear that, for much of his reign, these three palaces were more home to James than Whitehall, Windsor or Hampton Court, and were regarded as far more significant than mere „hunting lodges‟ or „houses of abode‟. They had become, in effect, the King‟s „standing houses‟, and would have been kept furnished and supplied with provisions for much (if not all) the year round, a point which has never before been fully recognised.
16 This view has been reinforced by references such as that Dudley Carleton made in
September 1604 to the King‟s going to Royston with „only his hunting crew‟: Carleton Letters, p.
64 (21 September 1604)
17 In January 1613, a letter refers to the King going to Royston „with a small train of forty persons‟, and in September 1622 – on a visit to Buckingham‟s new house of New Hall, Essex – James „confined his number to fiftie for overcharging the owner‟: Cal. SP Dom, vol. 9, p. 167 (14 January 1613); Chamberlain Letters, vol. 2, p. 452 (25 September 1622)
18 On 29 November 1607, Sir George Chaworth wrote from Newmarket, „I seldom or never, except uppon an extraordinary Cause, have knowne a greater court of Gentlemen then nowe is‟: Nichols James, vol. 2, p. 160. In winter 1616, the King apparently went to Newmarket with
„twenty earls and barons attending, and such a number of principal gentlemen‟ that it caused wonder how they could all lodge „in that poor village‟: Parkes 1925, p. 226
19 Proclamations 1973; Chamberlain Letters, vol. 1, p. 359 (17 June 1612). In this letter, Chamberlain notes that „for all his [the King‟s] pleasure he forgets not business‟ (p. 357), while the following year the Venetian Ambassador stated that „the King always sees the letters of his ambassadors, punctually dictates the replies, and completely controls all the affairs of State‟:
Cal. SP Ven., vol. 13, p. 33 (27 August 1613)
20 Cal. SP Ven., vol. 10, p. 464 (8 February 1607). In 1618, the Venetian Ambassador similarly noted that, when in the country, the King received „daily information from the Council, which meets generally in London, of what is taking place‟: ibid, vol. 15, pp. 388-9
21 Chamberlain Letters, vol. 1, pp. 290-1 (26 April 1609)
22 Indeed, the document authorising the transfer of Theobalds to the King in 1607 described it as „a place … so comodious for the residence of his highnes Court, & entertainement of forraine princes, or there Ambassadors upon all occasions‟: TNA C89/10/55
Still, while James may have preferred to be away from the capital, he was very much aware of the importance of his presence in London and the south-east.
For a large amount of May to July he was at Greenwich with Queen and court, and was almost always at Windsor and Hampton Court in September. He almost invariably returned to Whitehall (or at least to the south-east) for certain key points in the calendar: New Year, Epiphany (6 January), Candlemas (2 February), Shrovetide, Accession, Coronation or „King‟s‟ Day (24 March), Easter, St George‟s Day (23 April), Whitsuntide, his birthday (19 June), the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (after 1605), and Christmas (see Appendix 2). In addition, the King returned for important state business, such as the opening of Parliament, the visits of foreign princes or important ambassadors and officials, and for private, civic and court ceremonies and entertainments.
Indeed, the traditional image of James I as a king nervous of crowded public occasions is rarely borne out by events.23 For instance, in May 1603 the
Venetian Ambassador found the King at Greenwich thronged with „such a crowd that I never saw the like even at Constantinople in time of peace. There were upwards of ten or twelve thousand persons about‟.24 Similarly, of his visit to Oxford in 1605, it was said that, „The Nobility attending the King was very great‟;
for three days, James was entertained with orations, speeches and other entertainments, involving great crowds.25 Some years later, on his return from his Scottish progress in September 1617, the King made a dramatic entry into London, and in May 1619 he staged a royal entry into the capital in celebration
23 I think it is important to challenge the traditional view of James as a king who did not like to be seen by his people. There is a tendency to see James‟s progresses in such a light: if the King was not comfortable in being viewed by the public, then his regular travels must have been characterised by informality and made for private reasons – most obviously, enjoyment of the hunt. For instance, Alan Stewart, one of James VI/I‟s most recent biographers, has written that
„whereas Elizabeth on her lengthy summer processes [sic] had been followed … by her entire court including the Privy Council, James took off for the fields with only what one observer contemptuously dismissed as “his hunting crew” in tow‟. Stewart, having emphasised James‟s informality, goes so far as to state that he „was at heart a sixteenth-century King of Scots, ill-equipped to be a seventeenth-century King of England‟: Stewart 2003, p. 176 and p. 184.
However, the evidence shows that, whilst James may have preferred to live in private with a few favourites, he was well aware of his duty as King and in many instances found great enjoyment in occasions such as formal entries and ceremonies. This is borne out above all by the itinerary of the King‟s reign (see Appendix 2), which includes many such events.
24 Cal. SP Ven., vol. 10, p. 39 (28 May 1603)
25 Nichols James, vol. 1, p. 542. Apparently, this level of ceremony was instituted at the King‟s request: Cal. SP Ven., vol. 10, p. 265 (10 August 1605)
of his return to health; John Chamberlain commented that „yt seemes his only coming hither was to receve these applauses and gratulations‟.26 In 1624, Chamberlain wrote of James going to Parliament „with greater shew and
pompe, then I have seen to my remembrance‟.27 The King was a great lover of masques and plays, and was equally (perhaps even more) at home with
exhibitions of scholarship; at Stirling in 1617, during a three-hour disputation argued by representatives of the University of Edinburgh, the King „not only sat with great patience during the whole time, but was highly delighted with the performance‟.28
For much of the year, King James and Queen Anne moved in different spheres.
There are no known instances of the Queen spending significant periods at Newmarket, Royston or Thetford, though she often visited Theobalds.29 Generally, the Queen – together with her household and court – remained based in the London area: usually at Greenwich, Hampton Court or Somerset House, though sometimes at Whitehall. At certain key points in the court calendar – for instance, Easter and Christmas – King and Queen would be reunited at Whitehall, and were almost always joined by the royal children. In addition, the royal couple usually spent May and June together at Greenwich.
Prince Henry and Prince Charles seem similarly to have been based predominantly in the London area, usually at St James‟s, Richmond and
Nonsuch. However, in his later years as Prince, Charles was frequently present on his father‟s stays in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, and – as shall be seen – both Queen and Prince regularly accompanied the King on summer progresses.30
26 Chamberlain Letters, vol. 2, p. 243 (5 June 1619)
27 Ibid, vol. 2, p. 546 (21 February 1624)
28 RPCS, vol. 11, p. 196 note
29 Theobalds was nominally a palace of Queen Anne. This was because it was exchanged with Sir Robert Cecil for Hatfield, which formed part of the Queen‟s jointure. See: TNA C89/10/55
29 Theobalds was nominally a palace of Queen Anne. This was because it was exchanged with Sir Robert Cecil for Hatfield, which formed part of the Queen‟s jointure. See: TNA C89/10/55