59-553: The Wilton Circle were an influential group of 16th-century English poets, led by Mary Sidney . They were based at Wilton House , Wiltshire , which was run by the half-brother of Walter Raleigh . Sidney turned Wilton into a "paradise for poets", and the circle included Edmund Spenser , Michael Drayton , Sir John Davies , Abraham Fraunce , and Samuel Daniel . They are described as "the most important and influential literary circle in English history" and Mary Sidney has been called
118-629: A Public Inquiry in December 1996, following two previous refusals by Kensington and Chelsea Council . Moran paid for the building's restoration, including initial stabilization of the Great Hall's 15th-century Reigate Stone . The project was initially overseen by the architects Carden and Godfrey (a practice founded by Emil Godfrey, son of Walter Godfrey), although the firm subsequently fell into legal disputes with Moran amid allegations of unpaid bills and unsatisfactorily completed work. The garden
177-547: A hall of residence for visiting university women, some of whom received IFUW scholarships to travel and study. Many of the foreign women were spending just the one year in England, and ... as a result felt this year to be one of the greatest experiences of their lives. For this reason the majority of the Crosby Hall residents lived at an enormous pitch of intensity, lifted out of their everyday habits, and this, above all,
236-562: A playing company , Pembroke's Men , one of the early companies to perform works of Shakespeare. According to one account, Shakespeare's company "The King's Men" performed at Wilton at this time. June and Paul Schlueter published an article in The Times Literary Supplement of 23 July 2010 describing a manuscript of newly discovered works by Mary Sidney Herbert. Her poetic epitaph , ascribed to Ben Jonson but more likely to have been written in an earlier form by
295-405: A "patroness of the muses". Areopagus , a similar group centered around Mary's brother, Philip Sidney This poetry -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mary Sidney Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke ( née Sidney , 27 October 1561 – 25 September 1621) was among the first Englishwomen to gain notice for her poetry and her literary patronage. By
354-480: A building of great historic interest, being pulled down. His Majesty has seen the report presented to the London County Council on the subject, and commands me to inquire whether this report has met with a favourable response, and to express his hope that means may be found to preserve such an interesting relic of old London. Believe me, yours very truly, Knollys In 1910, the medieval structure
413-527: A businessman and philanthropist who is the Chairman of Co-operation Ireland . Until then the site's frontage had been open to Cheyne Walk and the River Thames and its central garden was open to the public. Moran commissioned a scheme to close the frontage with a new building and convert the complex to a luxury mansion. The scheme caused considerable controversy, but was given eventually permission after
472-517: A lease on the building in 1519 before his purchase of it in 1523. He also owned the riverfront estate in Chelsea on which the building now rests. It is "often…accepted" that More wrote the second part of his Utopia while residing at Crosby Hall, although this is unlikely, given the work's publication date of 1516, at least three years before More took possession. His later editions were conceived of during his leasehold. In 1523, Thomas More sold
531-443: A long lease on Crosby Hall and employed Godfrey to build a tall Arts and Crafts residential block at right angles to the great hall in 1925–1927. The federation raised money for the work through a major campaign reaching out to individual women, industrialists, philanthropists, and Chelsea residents. Two years into the campaign, £17,000 of their initial £25,000 target had been raised. The expanded Crosby Hall included offices for both
590-529: A military campaign against the Spanish in the Netherlands in 1586. She finished his translation, composing Psalms 44 through to 150 in a dazzling array of verse forms, using the 1560 Geneva Bible and commentaries by John Calvin and Theodore Beza . Hallett Smith has called the psalter a "School of English Versification" Smith (1946) , of 171 poems (Psalm 119 is a gathering of 22 separate ones). A copy of
649-590: A result, the BFUW was able to provide 3 new 12-month residential fellowships (in addition to 7 existing ones) as well as smaller awards. In 1934 the new fellowship recipients were Emmy Klieneberger-Nobel , Betty Heimann , and Helen Rosenau . Among many other women who received funding and support were Adelheid Heimann (no relation to Betty), Gertrud Kornfeld , Dora Ilse , and Erna Hollitscher [ Wikidata ] . I cannot describe what it meant to me and other refugees when we were allowed to stay there, after
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#1732793255963708-568: A scene ... more pathetic than any that have ever drawn down its ancient far-off blessing". Crosby Hall was also the site of concerts held by the War Refugee Committee in aid of the exiles. A war memorial in Crosby Hall reads as follows and includes a poem by Belgian poet Émile Cammaerts : To commemorate the gratitude of Belgian exiles to the Chelsea War Refugee Committee which from Crosby Hall, during
767-615: Is a historic building in London . The Great Hall was built in 1466 and originally known as Crosby Place on Bishopsgate , in the City of London . It was moved in 1910 to its present site in Cheyne Walk , Chelsea . It now forms part of a private residence, which in 2021 was renamed Crosby Moran Hall . The Great Hall, and additional work of 1910 and 1925–1926, are listed Grade II*. Although fragmentary and not on its original site, this
826-501: Is a translation of a French play, Marc-Antoine (1578) by Robert Garnier . Mary is known to have translated two other works: A Discourse of Life and Death by Philippe de Mornay , published with Antonius in 1592, and Petrarch 's The Triumph of Death, circulated in manuscript. Her original poems include the pastoral "A Dialogue betweene Two Shepheards, Thenot and Piers, in praise of Astrea," and two dedicatory addresses, one to Elizabeth I and one to her own brother Philip, contained in
885-406: Is evident in the devotional lyrics of Barnabe Barnes , Nicholas Breton , Henry Constable , Francis Davison, Giles Fletcher , and Abraham Fraunce . Their influence on the later religious poetry of Donne, George Herbert , Henry Vaughan , and John Milton has been critically recognized since Louis Martz placed it at the start of a developing tradition of 17th-century devotional lyricism. Sidney
944-416: Is the only example of a medieval City merchant house surviving in London. Between 1988 and 2021 it was restored, and further buildings added, to create the present complex. The Great Hall is considered to be the most important surviving secular domestic medieval building in London. The Great Hall is the only surviving part of the medieval mansion of Crosby Place, Bishopsgate , in the City of London . It
1003-607: The East India Company . During this time, the building underwent significant wear and repairs to its turret and stone. It was used as the Company merchant meeting place and offices, and the Great Hall was used as a warehouse for the Company's growing number of traded goods from the far East. Crosby Hall survived the Great Fire of London of 1666 but in 1672, while under the tenancy of Sir Simon Langham (son of
1062-848: The Bishopsgate property from Lady Crosby. It was used as one of his London homes during the time of his protection of the Princes in the Tower , who later disappeared. Upon Richard III's arrival from York in May 1483, Robert Fabyan in his Chronicle wrote that "the Duke lodged hymself in Crosbye's Place, in Bishoppesgate Street" where the Mayor and citizens waited upon him with the offer of
1121-553: The Bishopsgate site to build new offices. The architect responsible for the building's relocation and restoration was Walter Godfrey , who oversaw the works carried out by Trollope and Colls. Neo-Tudor brick additions designed by Godfrey were constructed around the Great Hall. The Duchess of York (afterwards Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) formally opened Crosby Hall on its Chelsea site in 1926. Architectural historian Simon Thurley , while acknowledging that "little of
1180-513: The British and International Federation of University Women (IFUW). Theodora Bosanquet was executive secretary to the IFUW from 1920 to 1935, developing its library to a high standard and promoting intellectual activity and exchange across nations. Following the death of her life partner Margaret Rhondda in 1958, Bosanquet moved to a single room at Crosby Hall. The residential block was used as
1239-564: The City of London Corporation led by Sir Vezey Strong was established for the preservation of Crosby Hall. After initial attempts within the Corporation failed to raise sufficient funds, various suggestions for payment, relocation, or lettings along the frontage of Great St Helen's were made by the public and press. The National Trust and British Archaeological Society also campaigned to save Crosby Hall, urging that it had "extreme interest as
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#17327932559631298-745: The Crown. Holinshed's Chronicles described that "little by little all folke withdrew from the Tower, and drew unto Crosbies in Bishops gates Street, where the Protector kept his household. The Protector had the resort; the King in maner desolate." It is generally believed the Hall was used as a venue for the Duke's council and plotting. Crosby Hall was thus used as a setting for several scenes of William Shakespeare 's first published play Richard III , in which
1357-616: The French to fear him more." Spencer entertained Queen Elizabeth I , Shakespeare, the Duc de Sully , the youngest son of the Prince of Orange, other notable figures, and ambassadors. In 1601, Sir Walter Raleigh , a favoured adviser of Queen Elizabeth I , lodged at Crosby Hall. Other residents during the Elizabethan era included the poet Dowager Countess of Pembroke Mary Sidney , one of
1416-468: The Great War, dispensed hospitality, organized relief for our persecuted and exiled compatriots and aided our maimed soldiers to regain their independence. Je sens dans l'air que je respire / Un parfum de liberté..../ Un peu de cette terre hospitalière..../ Et baisons ensemble, en pensant au pays, le sol de l'Angleterre. Cammaerts 1914–1919 The British Federation of University Women (BFUW) took
1475-574: The Hall's repair, eventually raising a small sum. However, the majority of the funds needed were provided through a single lady, Maria Hackett , who took over the lease at significant personal expense. Hackett assumed all liabilities, oversaw the laying of stones for an adjoining council chamber, and funded the removal of the inserted floors. In 1868 Crosby Hall was turned into a sumptuous restaurant and bar by Messrs. Gordon & Co., whose directors were Frederick Gordon and Horatio Davies , later owner of Pimm's and Lord Mayor of London . They bought
1534-612: The Plantagenet King refers to Crosby Hall (then Crosby Place): "When you haue done repaire to Crosby place" (Act I, Scene 3), "At Crosby place there shall you finde vs both" (Act III, Scene 1). John Stow in his Survey of London (1598) described Crosby Hall as being "of stone and timber, very large and beautiful, and [when first built] the highest at that time in London". In 1501, Catherine of Aragon resided at Crosby Hall along with her retinue as she arrived in England to marry Prince Arthur , Henry VII 's eldest son. At
1593-598: The Tixall manuscript copy of her verse psalter. An elegy for Philip, "The dolefull lay of Clorinda", was published in Colin Clouts Come Home Againe (1595) and attributed to Spenser and to Mary Herbert, but Pamela Coren attributes it to Spenser, though also saying that Mary's poetic reputation does not suffer from loss of the attribution. By at least 1591, the Pembrokes were providing patronage to
1652-503: The above John Langham), the property was severely damaged by fire, with only the Great Hall and one wing surviving. The damaged portions were demolished and the land sold for building, forming the site of the present-day Crosby Square. From 1835–36, a campaign was launched to save the remainder of the Hall, which had begun to show signs of decay. A Committee chaired by Alderman W. T. Copeland, M.P. , then Lord Mayor of London, met at The City of London Tavern at Bishopsgate Street to support
1711-546: The age of 39, she was listed with her brother Philip Sidney and with Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare among the notable authors of the day in John Bodenham 's verse miscellany Belvidere . Her play Antonius (a translation of Robert Garnier's Marc Antoine ) is widely seen as reviving interest in soliloquy based on classical models and as a likely source of Samuel Daniel 's closet drama Cleopatra (1594) and of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (1607). She
1770-577: The company of Helene de Melun, "Countess of Berlaymont", wife of Florent de Berlaymont the governor of Luxembourg . The two women amused themselves with pistol shooting. Sir John Throckmorton heard she went on to Amiens . There is conjecture that she married Lister, but no evidence of this. She died of smallpox on 25 September 1621, aged 59, at her townhouse in Aldersgate Street in London , shortly after King James I had visited her at
1829-410: The completed psalter was prepared for Queen Elizabeth I in 1599, in anticipation of a royal visit to Wilton, but Elizabeth cancelled her planned visit. This work is usually referred to as The Sidney Psalms or The Sidney-Pembroke Psalter and regarded as a major influence on the development of English religious lyric poetry in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. John Donne wrote a poem celebrating
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1888-465: The coronation to avoid the plague. She was regarded as a muse by Daniel in his sonnet cycle "Delia", an anagram for ideal. Her brother, Philip Sidney , wrote much of his Arcadia in her presence, at Wilton House. He also probably began preparing his English lyric version of the Book of Psalms at Wilton as well. Philip Sidney had completed translating 43 of the 150 Psalms at the time of his death on
1947-463: The death of Sidney's youngest sister, Ambrosia, in 1575, the Queen requested that Mary return to court to join the royal entourage. In 1577, Mary Sidney married Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (1538–1601), a close ally of the family. The marriage was arranged by her father in concert with her uncle, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester . After her marriage, Mary became responsible with her husband for
2006-493: The following years, he progressively developed the property into a large mansion. However, as John Stow later reported, "Sir John died in 1475, so short a space enjoyed he that sumptuous building." In 1476, the hall was bequeathed to his widow, Anne, Lady Crosby. Archaeological fieldwork in 1982 and 2005–9 recorded elements of the layout of the medieval complex. By 1483, the Duke of Gloucester , later King Richard III , acquired
2065-524: The freehold in early 1873 for about £37,000. It was sold in April 1907 for £175,000 to the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China whose directors intended to pull down one of the most ancient buildings in the City of London and build a new bank building in its stead. Its impending destruction aroused a storm of protest, and a campaign was once again started to save it. A committee within
2124-472: The management of a number of estates which he owned including Ramsbury, Ivychurch , Wilton House , and Baynard's Castle in London , where it is known that they entertained Queen Elizabeth to dinner. She had four children by her husband: Mary Sidney was an aunt to the poet Mary Wroth , daughter of her brother Robert. The death of Sidney's husband in 1601 left her with less financial support than she might have expected, though views on its adequacy vary; at
2183-484: The mansion back to Thomas More's nephew, William Rastell , and Thomas More's son-in-law and biographer, William Roper . Shakespeare resided in the parish of St Helen's Bishopsgate and would have been within daily sight of Crosby Hall, which is referenced several times in Richard III . He was probably familiar with the reputation of Bonvisi, and Antonio is used frequently as a name in his plays. Crosby Hall
2242-541: The many claimants named as the true author of the works of William Shakespeare in the Shakespeare authorship question . Mary Sidney appears as a character in Deborah Harkness 's novel Shadow of Night , which is the second instalment of her All Souls trilogy. Sidney is portrayed by Amanda Hale in the second season of the television adaptation of the book . Crosby Hall, London Crosby Hall
2301-605: The most notable writers of her time, following her time at court within the Privy Chamber of Elizabeth I. Sidney most likely resided at Crosby Hall from 1609 to 1615, when it was owned by the Lord Privy Seal , Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton . Sidney's literary circle included Shakespeare and Ben Jonson , who were guests at Crosby Hall. During the English Civil War the tenant of Crosby Hall
2360-830: The newly completed Houghton House in Bedfordshire . After a grand funeral in St Paul's Cathedral , her body was buried in Salisbury Cathedral , next to that of her late husband in the Herbert family vault, under the steps leading to the choir stalls, where the mural monument still stands. Mary Sidney turned Wilton House into a "paradise for poets", known as the " Wilton Circle ," a salon-type literary group sustained by her hospitality, which included Edmund Spenser , Samuel Daniel , Michael Drayton , Ben Jonson , and Sir John Davies . John Aubrey wrote, "Wilton House
2419-552: The only existing example of a medieval merchant's house in the City, and also having regard to the historic and illustrious personages who had lived in it." King Edward VII himself caused a letter to be issued by his Private Secretary Francis Knollys, 1st Vicount Knollys to Sir Laurence Gomme, Clerk of the London County Council : Buckingham Palace, August 6th, 1907 Dear Mr. Gomme, The King has been informed that there appears to be some chance of Crosby Hall,
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2478-514: The original building, […] largely hidden by the accretions of nineteenth and twentieth-century restorations, […] has been left intact", assesses the remaining elements as "the most important surviving secular domestic medieval building in London". During World War I , Crosby Hall was a refuge for Belgian refugees who fled to Britain and were aided by the Chelsea War Refugee Committee. Henry James wrote that Crosby Hall's "almost incomparable roof has arched all this winter and spring [1914–1915] over
2537-414: The persecution and hatred that we had undergone in "Greater Germany". In Crosby Hall we were not only tolerated but welcomed, and we found an atmosphere of kindness and understanding which assured us that there was another world outside Nazi Germany in which we might be allowed to live freely, and perhaps happily. I feel sure that everyone who stayed in Crosby Hall felt that atmosphere, from whichever part of
2596-424: The poets William Browne and her son William, summarizes how she was regarded in her own day: Underneath this sable hearse, Lies the subject of all verse, Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother. Death, ere thou hast slain another Fair and learned and good as she, Time shall throw a dart at thee. Her literary talents and aforementioned family connections to Shakespeare has caused her to be nominated as one of
2655-541: The remainder of his lease in Bishopsgate to his close friend and patron, the wealthy Anglo-Italian merchant, Antonio Bonvisi . Bonvisi protected the lease of the mansion in various arrangements following More's execution and throughout the Dissolution of the Monasteries , which affected freeholds under the "Priory of St. Eleyns" including that of Crosby Place. In 1547, upon the death of Henry VIII, Bonvisi leased
2714-420: The time the majority of an estate was left to the eldest son. In addition to the arts, Sidney had a range of interests. She had a chemistry laboratory at Wilton House, where she developed medicines and invisible ink. From 1609 to 1615, Mary Sidney probably spent most of her time at Crosby Hall in London . She travelled with her doctor, Matthew Lister , to Spa, Belgium in 1616. Dudley Carleton met her in
2773-594: The time, Crosby Hall was owned by Sir Bartholomew Reade , Lord Mayor, who made it his Mansion House and is recorded as throwing extravagant feasts for ambassadors sent by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor . During the Lombard Street riots of May 1511 sheriff John Rest (later Lord Mayor) had the occupancy of Crosby Hall and several of those taken into custody were confined there prior to removal to Lambeth Palace . Crosby Hall next belonged to Thomas More , Lord Chancellor of England to King Henry VIII , who took
2832-812: The verse psalter and claiming he could "scarce" call the English Church reformed until its psalter had been modelled after the poetic transcriptions of Philip Sidney and Mary Herbert. Although the psalms were not printed in her lifetime, they were extensively distributed in manuscript. There are 17 manuscripts extant today. A later engraving of Herbert shows her holding them. Her literary influence can be seen in literary patronage, in publishing her brother's works and in her own verse forms, dramas, and translations. Contemporary poets who commended Herbert's psalms include Samuel Daniel, Sir John Davies, John Donne, Michael Drayton , Sir John Harington , Ben Jonson , Emilia Lanier and Thomas Moffet . The importance of these
2891-552: The world she came. Crosby Hall was requisitioned by the war effort, but reopened in 1946. After the London County Council (LCC) was abolished in 1965, the site passed to the Greater London Council (GLC), who maintained it until 1986, when the GLC was abolished. The London Residuary Body , charged with disposing of the GLC's assets, put Crosby Hall up for sale. Crosby Hall was bought in 1988 by Christopher Moran,
2950-418: Was Sir John Langham , a City merchant, Sheriff and, at that time, a noted supporter of Parliament. Once again Crosby Hall was used as a temporary prison, for Royalist prisoners. Langham considered the house unfit to live in and divided the Hall, making over part to a Presbyterian congregation for use as a meeting room and part to the East India Company . From 1621 to 1638 Crosby Hall was the headquarters of
3009-465: Was Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586), and their second son Robert Sidney (1563–1626), who later became Earl of Leicester. As a child, she spent much time at court where her mother was a gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber and a close confidante of Queen Elizabeth I . Like her brother Philip, she received a humanist education which included music, needlework, and Latin, French and Italian. After
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#17327932559633068-465: Was also known for translating Petrarch 's "Triumph of Death", for the poetry anthology Triumphs , and above all for a lyrical, metrical translation of the Psalms. Mary Sidney was born on 27 October 1561 at Tickenhill Palace in the parish of Bewdley , Worcestershire . She was one of the seven children – three sons and four daughters – of Sir Henry Sidney and wife Mary Dudley . Their eldest son
3127-584: Was built between 1466 and 1475 on the grounds of St Helen's Convent next to St Helen's Church, Bishopsgate (Coordinates: 51°30′52″N 0°05′00″W / 51.5145°N 0.0832°W / 51.5145; -0.0832 ) by the wool merchant and alderman, Sir John Crosby , a warden of the Worshipful Company of Grocers and auditor of the City of London . Crosby originally leased the main property before 1466, and in that year renewed his lease, incorporating additional, adjacent properties. Over
3186-649: Was instrumental in bringing her brother's An Apology for Poetry or Defence of Poesy into print. She circulated the Sidney–Pembroke Psalter in manuscript at about the same time. This suggests a common purpose in their design. Both argued, in formally different ways, for the ethical recuperation of poetry as an instrument for moral instruction — particularly religious instruction. Sidney also took on editing and publishing her brother's Arcadia , which he claimed to have written in her presence as The Countesse of Pembroke's Arcadia . Sidney's closet drama Antonius
3245-455: Was like a college, there were so many learned and ingenious persons. She was the greatest patroness of wit and learning of any lady in her time." It has been suggested that the premiere of Shakespeare's As You Like It was at Wilton during her life. Sidney received more dedications than any other woman of non-royal status. By some accounts, King James I visited Wilton on his way to his coronation in 1603 and stayed again at Wilton following
3304-454: Was once again reprieved from threatened demolition and moved stone by stone from Bishopsgate to its present site in Chelsea. The relocation required at least 1500 separate inventoried pieces to be moved five miles and reassembled with extreme care. The site was provided by the former London County Council , whilst the salvage, catalogue and storage were paid for by the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China , whose directors had purchased
3363-553: Was restored by Marjorie Wyndham-Quin, Marchioness of Salisbury , and only plants found in Tudor England were used. The craftsmen were selected by David Honour, former head of design at Historic Royal Palaces . Stone carving of heraldic beasts, including the lions on the building's front gates, was completed by Dick Reid OBE to display the heraldry of Moran and residents dating from 1466 according to Tudor, Elizabethan, or early Stuart historical precedent. The completed complex
3422-423: Was sold in 1594 to the wealthy Alderman John Spencer , Lord Mayor of London, "Rich Spencer", who further enhanced the building, kept his mayoralty there, and was known to thrown lavish banquets with diplomatic flair. Following a dinner in the Great Hall, Spencer forgave a youth accused by the visiting French duke of murdering an Englishman that evening outside Crosby Hall, after which "The English began to love, and
3481-647: Was what shaped the intellectual life of Crosby Hall. With the rise of National Socialism (Nazism) in Germany and the passage of the anti-Jewish Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service on 7 April 1933, Crosby Hall provided an important source of support for women academics who were being forced out of Germany. The BFUW undertook an additional fund-raising appeal on their behalf, which met with an enthusiastic response. As
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