Sir Henry Hardwick Cavendish (1550–1616) was the eldest son of the Tudor courtier Sir William Cavendish, and Elizabeth Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1527–1608), known as "Bess of Hardwick". A Knight of the Shire for Derbyshire, he offered military service to Queen Elizabeth in the Netherlands as a captain in 1578; conducted several trade expeditions across Europe and into the Islamic Near East (Constantinople); served as High Sheriff of Derbyshire twice (1582 and 1608) and was elected as Member of Parliament for Derbyshire five times.
Though eldest son, Cavendish was disinherited by his mother after a complete breakdown in their relationship due to his friendship with Mary, Queen of Scots, and support for his niece, Arbella Stuart.
After his mother's death in 1608, Cavendish inherited Chatsworth from his father's estate, though not its contents. He sold the house intact to his younger brother William, who later that year became the 1st Earl of Devonshire.
Sir Henry and his wife, Lady Grace Talbot Cavendish, daughter of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife Gertrude Manners, had no surviving children.
They are associated with and lived at Tutbury Castle, Chatsworth, and the Doveridge Estate.
Sir Henry was the father of over 8 illegitimate children. His eldest son, Henry Cavendish II (born 1576, of mother unknown) was acknowledged, educated, and married to Bridget Willoughby, daughter of Sir Percival Willoughby and Lady Bridget Willoughby. Among their direct descendants are the Barons Cavendish of Dove; later the Barons Waterpark.
Early life
Henry Cavendish was born 27 December 1550, the eldest son of the politician and courtier Sir William Cavendish and Lady Bess of Hardwick. Henry was christened in December 1550. His godparents included Lady Elizabeth Tudor, half-sister to the King (she became Queen Elizabeth I); also, Henry Grey, Marquess of Dorset (soon to be Duke of Suffolk, father of Lady Jane Grey), and John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, Duke of Northumberland.
Henry's father died 25 October 1557. Henry was raised with his younger siblings William, Charles, Elizabeth, and Mary at Chatsworth House, which was completed by his mother in the 1560s, and where she lived from time to time with her third husband Sir William St Loe (1518–1565) Captain of the Queens Guard, and fourth husband, George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.
Henry's childhood was described by his brother William as mutually golden and full of festivity in spite of the loss of their father when young. Their Grandmother, Elizabeth Leake, provided stability and oversight to the four young Cavendish children during their mother's frequent absences at court. Their mother loved to be home with them, making every effort and investing much in travel to and from Chatsworth and London. Lady Bess, originally a country lass from Derbyshire, made sure all of the seasonal and religious celebrations brought cheer to their home. She supported her children well through their education, travel, and careers while also negotiating highly strategic marriages for each.
On 9 February 1568, Henry (aged 17) married Lady Grace Talbot (aged 8) at St Peter's, Sheffield as a double ceremony. His sister, Mary Cavendish (aged 12) married Shrewsbury's eldest son Gilbert Talbot (aged 16). Both couples were matched as part of the prenuptial agreement and condition upon which Henry's mother, Lady Bess, would agree to marry George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Grace's widowed father. After the wedding, Henry was sent abroad with his brother-in-law and step-brother and lifelong friend, Gilbert Talbot.
He returned to England and entered politics. He commenced family life by 1574 when Grace was 14.
See Portrait of Grace: Lady Grace Talbot, Mrs. Henry Cavendish (b.1562 – after 1625) 1129101 | National Trust Collections
Upon attaining his majority, Cavendish received the income from lands settled upon him by his father, income which had, until then, gone to his mother who was formerly granted his wardship. This income would not prove sufficient to cover Henry's lifestyle or debts.His eldest son was born in 1576 (of Mother unknown. Not Henry's young bride.)
Henry and Grace's marriage is said to have been an unhappy one, but Grace's letters to Lady Bess seem to indicate otherwise; expressing an affection for her husband, though she is frank to admit the suffering of their perpetual state of financial insecurity. The couple had no surviving children.
Education Henry Cavendish, at 10 years old, had attended Eton in 1560, four years after his father death.
He also received private tutoring and entered Gray's Inn by 1566–67, age 16-17..
To complete his education Cavendish was sent abroad in 1568, age 18 (immediately following marriage to his stepfather's eight-year-old daughter). He travelled to Germany, Padua, and Venice with his brother-in-law Gilbert Talbot, later 7th Earl of Shrewsbury.
The diary of his journey still survives among the Hardwick manuscripts. Among other colourful descriptions he described the city of Venice as, "a most foul stinking sink".
Career
Military service
As a young man, perhaps under the guidance of his stepfather Sir William St Loe (Captain of the Guard for Elizabeth I), Cavendish had trained to proficiency in arms and later "won repute as a soldier". A man of passion, adventure, and courage (if not managerial skill) Henry eschewed the dandified life at court, as well as a settled home life, and registered for military service in 1574, age 24, to serve his country as a Volunteer Captain in the Netherlands in 1578, during the Dutch Revolt. Cavendish led a force of around 500 men, mostly from his family estates, and successfully fought off an attack by Spanish tercios led by Don Juan of Austria during the Battle of Rijmenam.Fissell, Mark Charles, English Warfare, 1511-1642 Retrieved 23 January 2019 War, however, was costly, and the expense of campaigning in the Netherlands, particularly to supply and transport his men, was likely the initial cause of his considerable debts, which amounted to £3,000 by 1584.
Politics
Cavendish entered politics in his early twenties, becoming the Member of Parliament for the County of Derbyshire for almost 20 years. He was returned to office over five successive elections, in 1575, 1584, 1586, 1589 and 1593. This remarkable record of success may have been supported by the influence of his stepfather, the Earl of Shrewsbury. Record of his contribution in the Parliamentary journals is limited, raising the question of his actual interest in politics and government.Henry Cavendish at the History of Parliament retrieved 7 August 2018 However, as a Member of the British Parliament- Knight of the Shire- he did sit on a committee of the house in March 1575, Journals of the House of Commons, i, p. 110. and again in December 1584.Simonds D'Ewes, Journals of all the parliaments during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, p. 340. He was subsequently appointed to subsidy committees on 24 February 1585, 11 February 1589 and 26 February 1593, and to a legal committee 9 March 1593.
Shrievalty Henry took up occupation as the High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1582–3. His brother William was also later appointed High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1595. Henry again took on the work of Sheriff the year his mother died in 1608–9. The role involved duties as a ceremonial county or city official.
Travels in the East and European Trade Expeditions Inspired by the travels of his youth, as well as recognising the potential for trade, Henry had embarked on a journey to Portugal in 1579. As this trip occurred between the early active years of his political career as a Member of Parliament, and immediately following his campaign in the Netherlands, it is worth considering if he may have been tasked also with government interests or official business.
Ten years later, in 1589, he was commissioned by his mother and father-in-law, to conduct a trade expedition to Constantinople. This trip took place just as Queen Elizabeth desperately sought to strengthen foreign policy and trade ventures across the Ottoman Empire and beyond. The Protestant Queen was at war with Catholic Portugal and Spain and no longer had access to their nations as trading partners, or to their allies. Instead, she had been fostering trade agreements with the wider Islamic world since the 1560s but her influence and relationships were weakening toward the end of her life. Edward Barton was the Queens trade ambassador, resident in Constantinople in 1589; someone Henry is likely to have met. Much of England's trade aims would have likely been brokered by Jewish mediators who regularly acted in the region as trade and political intermediaries between the sultans and Anglo-merchants. Also, highly influential and someone Henry may have met, Safiye Sultan, queen mother of the royal harem and her kiva, the Jewish Esperanza Malchi.
There was much fascination with the Islamic world in England at the time of Henry's adventurous journey. The wealthy of England could not get enough of their "oriental" rugs, fabrics, baubles (jewellery), sweet wines, sugar and spice while the Sultans were keenly interested in British arms. Protestantism and Islam were also theologically aligned in their abolition of idolatry and resistance to Catholic domination.
Henry's servant-companion Mr. Fox, kept an account of this journey now published as Mr. Harrie Cavendish, his Journey To and From Constantinople, 1589 Fox, His Servant
Henry's trade ventures proved successful to forward the Earl of Shrewsbury's extensive mineral trade interests. Lady Elizabeth (also called "Building Bess") was also supplied with some of the finest furnishings in England for the magnificent homes she designed. Henry is said to have had an eye for high quality design and returned with many Chinese silks, Persian or Anatolian carpets, and Gujarati embroidered bed-covers, as well as extensive networks across the Far East and Europe to arrange further import.
By 1601, it is said that his mother had amassed a collection of imported goods that included 46 Turkish carpets and a commissioned set of three large, Belgian embroidered wall hangings depicting the cardinal virtues: Hope, Faith, Love for her homes at Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall. The Elizabethan era of Islamic trade would end, however, soon after Henry's trip to Constantinople with the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603 and the ascension of James 1 who had no interest in pursuing further alliance of this nature.
Personal life Embarking upon marriage proper in 1574, Henry and Grace had moved into Tutbury Castle, one of the more derelict of Graces fathers' properties, and set to work with renovations and the establishment of their own household. The management of such an estate, however, proved tumultuous for the young couple.
It appears that soon after their arrival two servants, who had been with the family for a long time and for whom Henry had a strong affection, fought an unexpected dual wherein one of them was killed. The two servants were named Swenerton and Langeford; it was Swenerton who won the duel and killed Langeford. The day after, Henry Cavendish wrote a letter to his mother Bess of Hardwick to break the news.
To my Lady.
To my lorde of some affecte
to my Lady