Born Herefordshire. Related via the Boleyn family to Queen Elizabeth I. Married a daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham. Became a favourite of the Queen. However he performed badly as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and on his return he was tried and lost his place at court and his income. Desperate, he fortified his town mansion, Essex House and in February 1661 he led a mini rebellion. This failed and Essex was beheaded on Tower Green. His was the last head to roll at that venue. Father of the 3rd Earl.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Commemorated ati
Tower of London execution site
Catling wrote the poem as well as creating the sculpture. Doesn't that cushio...
Other Subjects
William Greenwood
Lay brother at London Charterhouse. Taken to Newgate Prison, chained and left to starve to death.
Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford
Born Chancery Lane. An unpopular Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Supported Charles I against Parliament and so the Long Parliament impeached him and he was beheaded on Tower Hill.
James Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater
Jacobite. Either 'Radcliffe' or 'Radclyffe'. Illegitimate grandson of Charles II on his mother's side. A very wealthy Northumbrian nobleman, brought up in France. Captured at the Battle of Preston...
Stephen Harwood
Burnt at the stake in Stratford for his Protestant beliefs. A brewer, associated with Fust. Condemned by Bishop Bonner.
Sir William Stanley
Soldier who fought in the Wars of the Roses. Born Lancashire. Originally a Yorkist, he switched sides and in 1485 fought at Bosworth Field for Tudor Henry VII, for which he was appointed Lord Cha...