PEMBROKE, William Herbert, 1st earl of (1506-1570). Soldier and magnate.
Letter Signed ('Penroke') to Giles Gore and another (illegible), 1 page folio with adress on the reverse and remains of seal (a little creased and with one hole). Dated at St James's, 12 April 1554 and endorsed in an early hand on the address. A demand to muster soldiers with all haste, evidently written in the immediate aftermath of (Sir Thomas) Wyatt's rebellion.

Sir Thomas Wyatt and his rebels, who opposed the proposed marriage of Mary to Philip of Spain, had left Hyde Park on the morning of 7 February this year. The account of what followed is given by Ian W. Archer in Oxford DNB:

'The queen's troops were commanded by William Herbert, earl of Pembroke, the foremost military commander in England, whose cavalry had been placed on Holborn, with two battalions of infantry lower down by Charing Cross. Some observers doubted the loyalty of the queen's commanders, as they apparently let Wyatt advance unmolested. There was undoubtedly some disarray among the government forces. An attack by the lord chamberlain, Sir John Gage, on Wyatt's forces at Charing Cross was repulsed, and the detachment of rebels under Cuthbert Vaughan who turned down towards Westminster caused considerable panic at court, where it was rumoured that Pembroke, a prominent Edwardian himself, had betrayed the queen. But it is unlikely that Pembroke's loyalty wavered at this stage of a disintegrating rebellion; Wyatt was being lured into a trap. The main body of the rebels moved along Fleet Street claiming loyalty to the queen, to the amazement of citizens who stood staring in their doorways. But Ludgate was barred against Wyatt by Lord William Howard, and he was forced to turn back towards Temple Bar to face Pembroke's cavalry. After some resistance, a herald appeared and asked Wyatt to surrender rather than cause further unnecessary bloodshed, and he complied, delivering himself into the custody of Sir Maurice Berkeley.'

There was some delay in bringing Wyatt to justice but he was beheaded on 11 April 1554, the day before the present letter was signed. It is thus not certain why Pembroke required so much military readiness at this moment, although the country was in considerable unease in the early years of Mary's reign.

'... being commaunded by ye Quens Ma[jes]tie to muster all my s[er]vaunts tenaunts & others w[i]thin my rules and offices. And to have the same in a p[er]fect readynes furnyshed w[i]th horsse Armo[ur] and weapon w[i]thall ye force they are hable to make uppon one howers warnynge. I have thought good herebye to will & requyer yowe to muster and put yo[ur] selfe and all you[ur] s[er]vants Tenaunts frends and others w[i]thin yo[ur] rules and offices in a readyness to marche forwards uppon one howers warnynge to suche place as yow shalbe by me appoyntted. And having so mustered theym forthw[i]th to make me p[er]fect c[er]tificatt how many ye are hable to make - whatt horsemen - what foote men - and how the[y] are apparrelled to s[er]ve and ww[i]th what weapons ...'

[No: 24256]