Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick

The Early Years of Ambrose Dudley

Ambrose Dudley was the fourth son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Jane Guildford, daughter of Sir Edward Guildford of Halden, Kent. He was born in 1530, making him just a couple of years older than his brother, Robert Dudley, who later became the 1st Earl of Leicester and favourite of Elizabeth I.

The two brothers were close, unsurprising as they literally risked life and limb at each other’s side – and on more than one occasion. Referring to his close relationship with his younger brother, Ambrose is known to have said that ‘there is no man [that] knoweth his doings better than I myself’.

In 1553, alongside three of his other brothers, Ambrose was thrown into the Tower, accused, tried and convicted of High Treason following the failed coup led by his father, the Duke of Northumberland, the aim of which had been to place the Protestant Lady Jane Grey on the throne of England following the death of Edward VI.

Although condemned to death, only Ambrose’s father and younger brother, Guildford, by then the husband of Lady Jane Grey, were executed. Eventually, following mediation by their mother and in-laws, who petitioned the Spanish contingent in England, the three surviving brothers, Henry, Ambrose and Robert, were released. All three would later fight for the Spanish forces at the Battle of St Quentin.

However, by this time, Ambrose had been married twice. On the first occasion, his bride was Anne Whorwood, daughter of the deceased attorney general, William Whorwood. Anne had become a ward of John Dudley and, just like his father had been before him, Ambrose was married to his father’s ward. The marriage took place in 1549, when Ambrose was 19. Although the couple had a daughter in 1552, the infant died shortly afterwards and was soon followed by her mother, who succumbed to the Sweat later that year.

In 1553, Ambrose married for a second time. This time, his bride was an older woman, the 32-year-old Elizabeth Tailboys, 4th Baroness Tailboys of Kyme. She was the younger half-sister to the long-dead Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, the acknowledged illegitimate son of Henry VIII.

Thus, Elizabeth was married to Ambrose when the Succession Crisis gripped southeast England during the summer of 1553. When John Dudley’s plot failed to secure Jane Grey as its new queen, there must have been anxious months of waiting for Elizabeth as she watched her husband condemned as a traitor and his father, brother, and sister-in-law go to their deaths over the ensuing months.

However, as we have heard, Ambrose was eventually released, partly thanks to a petition by his wife in late 1554. However, he was the last Dudley brother to regain his freedom.

The next few years were tricky ones for the surviving brothers. However, their participation in the Spanish-led forces, which met their French counterparts at the Battle of St Quentin in August 1557, won them Mary I’s forgiveness. The brothers were soon restored in blood by an Act of Parliament, although the action cost Henry Dudley his life, as he was killed during the battle.

Brother to the Queen’s Favourite

Everything changed with the accession of Elizabeth. The Dudleys were committed Protestants, and Robert was a close personal friend of the new Queen. Just as Robert was raised high with new appointments, lands and titles, so was Ambrose. The latter was created ‘Baron Lisle’, ‘ 3rd Earl of Warwick’ and ‘Master of the Ordinance’. The following year, 1562, he received a large portion of the lands previously confiscated from his father, the Duke of Northumberland. Warwick Castle became the new Earl’s principal residence, while Kenilworth was granted to Robert.

In 1563, Ambrose was dispatched to France to hold the port of Le Havre against bombardment by French forces, who were laying siege to the town. While there, the Earl of Warwick was shot in the leg. The wound would never completely heal and afflicted Ambrose for the rest of his life. In fact, it would ultimately be responsible for his death in 1590, to which we will return shortly.

Sadly, while away in France, another tragedy struck; Elizabeth Tailboys died. Their union had been childless, and Ambrose remained without an heir. However, he did not tarry long to take another wife. This time, the match was arranged by his brother, Robert. The young bride was Anne Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, with the ceremony taking place on 11 November 1565 in the Chapel Royal at Whitehall and amidst grand court celebrations.

Despite the considerable age difference, the marriage was happy, but the couple remained childless. This was of considerable concern to the Earl of Leicester, who no doubt wanted the family’s wealth and titles preserved in an enduring Dudley legacy.

Robert had only had one legitimate child, a son, who eventually died in 1584. His ability to bear legitimate heirs had been hampered for many years as the Queen’s jealousy and possessive nature towards her ‘Sweet Robin’. This had prevented him from remarrying for many years after the death of Amy Robsart. Thus, the Earl of Leicester ultimately remained childless (except for one illegitimate son). Eventually, this left Ambrose and his offspring the only uncontested successors to Leicester’s considerable lands and titles…but who would Ambrose pass the estate to after his death?

In 1573, Warwick was finally admitted to the Privy Council. However, the 1580s saw a considerable decline in his health. However, the festering wound in his leg always compromised the kind of offices and commissions he might otherwise have held given the high esteem the Queen held him in. From this time, he is noted to have had ‘little use of his legs’ and often resided at North Hall in Northaw, Hertfordshire, one of his other properties close to London.

In 1588, Ambrose’s brother, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, died at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire following the triumphant defeat of the Spanish Armada. Despite his desire to attend his brother’s funeral in St Mary’s Church, Warwick, he was unable to do so due to his failing health. However, Ambrose did inherit most of his brother’s estates – and debts – which proved a considerable burden. He also cared for his nephew, another Robert Dudley, his brother’s illegitimate son.

By the turn of the 1590s, Warwick’s leg had become gangrenous. One can only imagine the incredible pain Ambrose suffered, which caused him to decide to have the limb amputated. It is impossible to imagine such an ordeal without the assistance of modern-day anaesthetics and analgesics, and we know from an account of Sir Edward Stafford, who visited Ambrose two days before he died, that the Earl was indeed suffering pain ‘which lasted him unto his death’.

Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, died at Bedford House in the Strand, London, on 21 February 1590, with his Countess profoundly mourning his passing. She was recorded as being ‘…so full of tears that she could not speak’.

The Tomb of Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick

The tomb of Ambrose Dudley takes the form of a traditional tomb chest surmounted by Ambrose’s effigy. He is dressed in armour, and over that armour, he wears the robes of a Knight of the Order of the Garter. For an interesting fact about the Garter insignia on this tomb, watch the short five-minute video below, filmed on location in the Beauchamp Chapel with the Church Historian for St Mary’s, Tim Clark.

Although Ambrose died two years after his brother (whose grand tomb stands close by), architecturally, they are VERY different. This is most likely accounted for by Robert’s tomb not being erected until the turn of the sixteenth century when fashions were already changing.

The Earl rests his head on a folded rush mat while the Bear associated with the Warwick heraldry lies at his feet; the sides of the tomb chest are adorned with Ambrose’s heraldry and those of his wives. The tomb was commissioned by his third wife, Anne Russell.

As you will hear in my chat with Tim, Ambrose’s monument bears features found on other tombs, such as that of William Cecil. The latter is known to be the work of the Cure family, based in the workshop in Southwark, London.

The Cures were the pre-eminent stonemasons of their age. Originating in the low countries, the family business was founded during the reign of Henry VIII by William Cure, the Elder. He arrived in England and became part of the workforce responsible for creating Nonsuch Palace. In 1550, he worked on Somerset House, the palatial London pad belonging to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, and in 1561, he became a freeman of the City of London.

His son, Cornelius, took over the family business after his father died in 1579. Two wealthy patrons who commissioned work from Cornelius Cure were Robert Dudley and the Earl of Bedford. Therefore, it is easy to see why Anne may have contacted the Cures to work on her husband’s memorial. To read more about the Cures, click here for a fascinating article.

Want to see more of the tomb and its features? Check out the video below…

Visitor Information

To find out the latest opening times for St Mary’s Church, check out the website here.

Other Locations Nearby

Less than 0.5 miles: The Lord Leycester; a 900-year-old almshouse which was appropriated by Robert Dudley, 1st Ealr of Leciester, from one of Warwick’s guilds in 1571 as a philanthropic project to care for aged or wounded ex-servicemen. The Lord Leycester has recently undergone extensive renovation and is quite simply one of the most beautiful examples of its kind in England.
0.7 mile: Warwick Castle – historically the seat of the Earls of Warwick and visited by Elizabeth I in 1562 and 1576. IMHO, it has become a bit of a family theme park in recent years. It’s no longer my cup of tea but is very popular with families, so it’s probably an excellent place to visit if you travel with children.
5.6 miles: Kenilworth Castle – now in ruins and managed by English Heritage, this was once a grand medieval palace-fortress favoured by Lancastrian kings and much augmented by the mighty John of Gaunt. It was a gift to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, in the sixteenth century. You can read my blog about Kenilworth Castle here and one about two portraits, (one of Elizabeth and the other of Leicester) that experts believe were commissioned by Dudley and hung at Kenilworth for the Queen’s visit in 1575.
9 miles: Stratford upon Avon – famed as the home town of William Shakespeare, who was born, lived and died in the town. Several locations survive that are closely linked to the Bard, including his birthplace and place of burial. I’ll be publishing a ‘Weekend Away in Tudor Stratford’ in the itinerary section of this membership shortly.
9 miles: Baddesley Clinton – a perfectly formed moated medieval manor house. You can read more about it in my blog here.