Henry Marney, 1st Baron Marney

Name and Title: Lord Henry Marney, 1st Baron Marney and Lord Privy Seal.

Born: c. 1447 at Layer Marney.

Died: 24 May 1523, St Swithun’s, the City of London.

Buried: St Mary the Virgin, Layer Marney, Essex.

Henry Marney: Loyal Tudor Courtier

Henry Marney was the son of Sir John Marney and his wife, Joan Throgmorton of Coughton Court in Warwickshire. He was born sometime around 1447 at Layer Marney, Essex and would eventually serve both the founder of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII, and his son and heir, Henry VIII.

Around 18, he married his first wife, Thomasine Arundell, daughter of Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, Cornwall, and his wife Katherine Chideocke. They had three children: Catherine, John and Thomas. The latter died young, while John would inherit his patrimony following his father’s death in 1525. Then, sometime shortly before 2 July 1491, Henry married again. On this occasion, his wife was Elizabeth, or Isabel Wilford, daughter of Nicholas Wyfold, Lord Mayor of London. The couple had one daughter together, a child they named Grace.

Henry’s court career seems to have emerged following a period of service in Margaret Beaufort’s household. In 1485, when Henry Marney was 38, he fought for the Lancastrian cause at Bosworth. His service and commitment to the fledging Tudor dynasty were noted and rewarded with an appointment to the Privy Council during the first year of Henry VII’s reign.

Henry Marney was described as a man of ‘great wisdom, gravity and singular loyalty to his king’, Henry VII. This loyalty was demonstrated once more in 1487 when he commanded troops against John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln, at the Battle of Stoke Field. He also fought against Lord Audley and the Cornish rebels at Blackheath in 1497.

When the Prince of Wales became King Henry VIII in 1509, Sir Henry, having attained the grand old age of 62, continued to serve as a Privy Councillor. More honours would follow. The following year, his service was rewarded when he was created a Knight of the Garter, England’s most prestigious order of chivalry. At this time, he was also appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. This was the first of several offices conferred upon Sir Henry during Henry VIII’s reign. They would include Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, Warden of the Stannaries and Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard.

In 1523, shortly before his death, Sir Henry replaced Thomas Ruthall as Lord Privy Seal and rose from the ranks of the gentry to become the 1st Baron Marney. This was the pinnacle of his court career, which sadly was all too fleeting. Lord Marney died just weeks later, on 24 May 1523.

Layer Marney Tower: An Unfinished Masterpiece

In line with Henry Marney’s burgeoning ambitions and success at court, at the beginning of the 1520s, he began transforming his ancestral lands by commencing an ambitious building project at Layer Marney. The aim was to replace an earlier medieval house with a sizeable double-courtyard manor house built from fashionable red brick and Italianate terracotta. The project got underway in 1521. By 1522, enough of the house had been built to host a visit from the King. This was part of a royal progress through Hertfordshire and Essex, with the King heading towards the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham in Norfolk. Katherine of Aragon was by his side.

According to Anthony Musson of Historic Royal Palaces, ‘In light of the incomplete nature of Marney’s ambitious building project, it is not clear where everyone was accommodated. The King and Queen may have slept in Henry’s private apartments and leading members of the household in other guest rooms. Others of lesser status were probably relegated to temporary lodgings, either constructed from timber or canvas, some of which tents may have seen action recently when pitched at the Field of Cloth of Gold.’

The gatehouse at Layer Marney aped the one that Cardinal Wolsey had recently constructed at Hampton Court. The three-storey, eight-staged quadruple-turreted octagonal Tower dominated the skyline and afforded a view stretching out to the coast. At 80 ft high, it must have been imposing, even when first built. Today, its octagonal towers, replete with innumerable windows, still stand in all their glory, and it remains one of the most remarkable gatehouses in England. It is undoubtedly the tallest, boasting a unique blend of early Renaissance ornamentation and all the features characteristic of an early Tudor building.

Unfortunately, just two years after starting construction of Lord Marney’s grand new manor house, Henry Marney died, leaving the building incomplete. While his son, John, inherited the property, sadly, he also died two years later, in 1525. John Marney left no male heir to complete the project, and his father’s grand ambition for his majestic country house was tragically left unfinished.

The Tomb of Henry Marney

Henry Marney died on 24 May 1523, probably in the parish of St Swithun’s in the City of London. He was 76 years old. Royal Heralds organised and recorded his funeral procession. The account survives and is kept at the College of Arms in London. The sixteenth-century document is summarised in the fabulous blog by Anthony Musson (the link to the entire article is at the end of this text). It is part of the recent Henry on Tour Project undertaken by Historic Royal Palaces. The following description is drawn from this article, and I am grateful to Anthony for his work.

On 1 June 1523, one week after Marney’s death, the funeral cortege left St Swithun’s following a Mass in the parish church led by the Bishop of St Asaph. The cortege was headed by Henry’s son and heir, John Marney, ‘who led the group of mourners riding behind the hearse’, which was ‘draped in black velvet,’ and ‘drawn by six horses…’ Atop the hearse was the effigy of Lord Marney together with ‘his sword and military achievements; the penons, banners and shields with his own and his wives’ families’ coats of arms.’

The route from London back to Layer Marney, where Henry had been born during the reign of Henry VI, stretched northeastward for around 50 miles, first passing out of Aldgate on the northeast side of the City of London via Stepney Green. As an aside, 10 years or so after this event, Stepney would become a much-loved home for Thomas Cromwell. The house he took possession of was called ‘Great Place‘; it would become infamous as the location where Mark Smeaton would be interrogated as part of the plot to annihilate the Boleyn faction at court in May 1536.

Back to our story…From Stepney, the funeral cortege ‘continued to the busy market town of Brentwood…where his body rested the night (under close watch) in a small chapel, possibly the one dedicated to St Thomas the Martyr, the ruins of which survive in the High Street.’

The second day began with another Requiem Mass before the cortege and its mourners processed to the next venue; this was most likely the town of Chelmsford. Here, Marney’s body again rested overnight ‘under the watchful eyes of the black friars of the town and the white friars of Maldon, while the mourners and officers at arms settled into rooms in the Lion and the Bell, respectively.’

The final leg of the journey, on the third day, brought Marney’s body home to St Mary the Virgin Church. This chapel still stands on the grounds of Layer Marney Tower. Although its core is medieval, the building was remodelled at the same time that the main house was rebuilt, giving the church its unusual and distinctive Tudor appearance.

Lord Marney had stipulated in this will that he wished ‘to be buried in a marble tomb set in the wall between the chancel and a new chapel’. And so it was done, with ‘the abbot of St Osyth conducting the funeral ceremonies, comprising masses and prayers and the final commendation at the graveside.’

Today, Marney’s splendid tomb can still be seen under an arch between the chapel and the chancel. His black marble effigy, exquisitely carved, sits atop a tomb chest and, overhead, is spanned by a rare canopy of decorative terracotta. Henry’s recumbent effigy is bare-headed; he is dressed in the armour of the period, over which he wears a long mantle with a tabard of the arms of Marney quartering Sergeaux and Venables. Note the garter on his left leg (the insignia of the Order of the Garter) while his feet rest upon a lion.

To hear more about Lord Henry Marney and the story of Layer Marney Tower, you can tune into an episode recorded on location at Layer Marney in the summer of 2024 for my podcast, The Tudor History & Travel Show.

The show notes page associated with that podcast can be found here.

Visitor Information

To learn more about visiting Layer Marney Tower and the tomb of Lord Henry Marney, check out the Layer Marney Tower website here.

Other Locations Nearby

Paycockes House (9 miles)
Newhall School (Beaulieu Palace) (17 miles)
The tomb of Sir Richard Rich in Holy Cross Church, Felsted (22 miles)
Leez Priory (23 miles)
Ingatestone Hall (29 miles)

Sources of Interest:

Sir Henry Marney, KG, 1st Baron Marney of Leyre-Marney. Geni People.

Layer Marney: An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 3, North East. Originally published by His Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1922.

Ambition in Brick–Layer Marney Gatehouse, circa 1520, by Exploring Building History. 2019.

Henry Marney’s Final Progress, by Anthony Musson, 2023