George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury

Name and Titles: George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury,  13th Baron Strange of Blackmere and 9th Baron Furnivall.

Born: c 1468, Shifnal, Shropshire

Died: 26 July 1538, Wingfield Manor, Derbyshire

Buried: The Shrewsbury Chapel, Sheffield Cathedral, Sheffield

George Talbot was the eldest child of John Talbot, the 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, and Lady Catherine, the daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham. 

He succeeded his father to the title of ‘Earl of Shrewsbury’ in 1473, aged just five years old. 

Throughout his long life, George Talbot was fiercely loyal to the Crown and distinguished himself in military service. Firstly, to Henry VII at the Battle of Stoke Field (16 June 1487) against the pretender to the Tudor throne, Lambert Simnel.

He continued to demonstrate unswerving loyalty to Henry VIII after the young king ascended to the throne in 1509. Talbot was present at the Battle of the Spurs (1513), where the English famously routed the French forces and captured Thérouanne. During the 1520s-1530s, the Earl supported the King’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon, petitioning the Pope to grant Henry VIII his annulment. 

In 1529, he signed the articles that accused Cardinal Wolsey of praemunire and, following the Cardinal’s arrest at Cawood Castle in November 1531, Talbot hosted the fallen prelate for 18 days at his home: Sheffield Manor Lodge. It was while at the Lodge that Thomas Wolsey succumbed to an illness that would result in his death at Leicester Abbey not long after on 29 November 1531.

Finally, towards the end of his life, the Earl was one of the key players in suppressing the rising of the North in what became known as ‘The Pilgrimage of Grace.’ Talbot negotiated peace with the rebel leader, Robert Aske, at Doncaster, alongside another prominent nobleman of the Henrician court, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.

As a result of his unfailing commitment to the Crown, honours followed. Talbot was appointed Lord Steward of the King’s Household and a Chamberlain of the Exchequer from 1509 to 1538, a Privy Counsellor in 1512 and Lieutenant-General of the North in 1522.

He died, aged 70, at one of the family’s magnificent properties in Derbyshire: Wingfield Manor. 

During his life, Shrewsbury had built a fine chapel intended as a monument to himself and his descendants. Underneath the Shrewsbury Chapel (as it is called today), the Earl was laid to rest in the newly constructed family vault A glorious tomb was erected above ground. This shows the Earl in his armour and garter robes, with both his wives lying on either side.

The following description of the tomb is taken from the Sheffield Cathedral website.

‘His first wife, Anne, who died around 1520 is on his right and his second, Elizabeth (died 1567 and not buried in this chapel), is on his left. The figures are alabaster and rest on a marble tomb. The detail on each figure is extraordinary; the Earl is dressed as a Knight of the Garter and his feet rest on a Talbot dog. There is even a tiny Talbot dog on the ring he is wearing. The two Countesses wear their coronets and robes, and the effigies would originally have been brightly coloured.’

Visitor Information:

The funerary monument to the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury and his two wives is located in the Shrewsbury Chapel within Sheffield Cathedral. 

The cathedral is a building of three distinct phases: a medieval part, which dates from the 1400s and includes the chancel, the sanctuary at the east end, the tower, spire and the Shrewsbury Chapel; a central Victorian nave and a modern section at the cathedral’s west end. 

To find the cathedral, you must head to Sheffield city centre. It is a 12-minute walk from the main railway station and, if you are arriving by car, there are two car parks within a 5-minute walk: ‘NCP Campo Lane’ and ‘NCP Harsthead Square’.

From the outside, the cathedral is uninspiring and could be easily mistaken as only possessing a blend of Victorian and modern architecture. However, the inside is delightfully attractive, not only because it feels warm and welcoming but because of its quirky layout and the Tudor chapel mentioned above. 

Other Links and Places of Interest Nearby:

• Tomb of the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury: Also in the Shrewsbury Chapel in Sheffield Cathedral.
• Sheffield Manor Lodge: (3 Miles) Once one of the principal homes of the Earls of Shrewsbury. Was also one of the locations in which Mary, Queen of Scots was held as a prisoner and also the place in which Thomas Wolsey was taken ill following his arrest at Cawood Castle. If you want to find out more about the Lodge and in particualr, Wolsey’s stay there, check out my blog: Sheffield Manor: Wolsey and the Spectre of Death.
• Hardwick Hall: (26 Miles) One of England’s finest and most celebrated prodigy houses built the formidable Bess of Hardwick. You can read about Bess’ tomb here or if you are a Road Trip Traveller member of this site, you can read about it as part of my itinerary for a long weekend away in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire
• Haddon Hall: (19 Miles) Largely abandoned as a home by the Dukes of Rutland in the seventeenth century, Haddon Hall has been preserved as shining example of largely untouched late medieval and Tudor architecture. Its medieval kitchens, hall, and Long Gallery are among the highlights. In fact, the latter is my favourite Long Gallery in England. you will no doubt recognise it as it has featured in many a period drama. If you are a Road Trip Traveller member of this site, you can read about it as part of my itinerary for a long weekend away in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire.