Tony Tuckwell: Queen Mary's Association with New Hall

Today we heard from Tony Tuckwell who gave us a fascinating talk about Queen Mary’s association with New Hall.

Henry VIII built Beaulieu Palace, now New Hall School, for his wife Katherine of Aragon and their daughter, Princess Mary, as a safe refuge away from the diseases in London. It became Mary’s favourite place because of the association with her mother.

In 1533 Henry tried to get Mary to accept his divorce from Katherine and summoned her back to London. Princess Mary wouldn’t be persuaded to return so Henry stripped her of her royal title and she became Lady Mary. At the same time Henry reduced her household to a mere 160.

Anne Boleyn didn’t like Beaulieu, partly because of the stained glass window celebrating the wedding of Henry and Katherine, so it ceased to be a royal palace.

Lady Mary lived at Hatfield House for a while with her half-sister Elizabeth but was back at Beaulieu by the time Edward VI came to the throne in 1547. Henry, conscious of the line of succession, had reinstated Mary as a Princess before he died.

The Privy Council governing the country on behalf of the nine year-old Edward, orchestrated the Protestant revolution. Mary’s observance of her Catholic faith would be tolerated as long as it was low key however Mary allowed masses in the Royal Chapel in the presence of her entire household together with prominent local Catholic families such as the Petres of Ingatestone Hall and the Ratcliff family of Woodham Walter. Aristocratic families would even send their daughters to be part of Mary’s household.

In 1550 there was a failed attempt to smuggle Mary to the Low Countries to be with her cousin Charles V. William Petre was sent to persuade Mary to be amenable to quell the rumours that she’d been trying to escape and she was allowed to remain at Beaulieu.

When the Protestant Lady Jane Grey was declared Queen after Edward VI’s death in 1553 it was evident that the Princess Mary, as the rightful heir, would be a threat. Mary initially fled north but within nine days had returned to be Queen. She never lived at New Hall again.