Biography of Anthony Babington 1561-1586

Paternal Family Tree: Babington

Maternal Family Tree: Catherine Hastings 1478-1557

In 1559 [his father] Henry Babington (age 29) and [his mother] Mary Darcy (age 16) were married. They were sixth cousins.

Before 1560 [his father] Henry Babington (age 29) and Frances Markham (age 35) were married.

On 24th October 1561 Anthony Babington was born to Henry Babington (age 31) and Mary Darcy (age 18) at Dethick Manor, Derbyshire [Map].

In 1571 [his father] Henry Babington (age 41) died.

After 1571 Henry Foljambe of Barlborough and [his mother] Mary Darcy (age 28) were married.

In 1579 Anthony Babington (age 17) and Mary Draycott were married.

In 1580 [his daughter] Anne Babington was born to Anthony Babington (age 18) and [his wife] Mary Draycott.

Babington Plot

On 6th July 1586 Anthony Babington (age 24) wrote to Mary Queen of Scots (age 43), telling her that he and a group of friends were planning to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (age 52).

On 4th August 1586 John Ballard was arrested and, under torture, he confessd and implicated Anthony Babington (age 24).

On 20th September 1586 Anthony Babington (age 24), John Ballard, Henry Donn, Thomas Salusbury (age 22) and Chideock Tichbourne (age 24) were hanged at St Giles' Field Holborn.

The Bardon Papers 9. Correspondence Between Mary Stuart (age 43) And Anthony Babington (age 24). June-August, 1586. [Egerton MSS. 2124, ff. 57-64.]

The Bardon Papers 9. (a) Mary (age 43) to Babington (age 24). June 25, 1586. This letter, reopening Mary's intercourse with Babington which had been interrupted some years before, appears to have been written at the suggestion of Thos. Morgan, Mary's agent in Paris (cf. Morgan to Mary 31 April/9 May 1586. Murdin p. 513). Claude Nau, Mary's secretary, declared that Morgan had actually dictated the terms of the letter (Labanoff, vii. p. 208). Four copies of this letter, one in French and three in English, are preserved in the Record Office (S. P. Mary Q. of S. xix. nos. 9-12). The French version contains also a copy of Babington's and Curie's attestation of the letter. There are other copies in the British Museum.

All About History Books

The Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.

                    The Bardon Papers 9. (b) Babington (age 24) to Mary (age 43). [6] July, 1586.
                
                    This letter is undated, but Sepp (Briefwechsel etc. p. 28 11. 9) has advanced good reasons to show that it was written about the 6th of July. There are three English copies and one French copy of it in the Record Office (S. P. Mary Q. of S. xix. nos. 9-12). The French version includes a copy of Curie's attestation. Other contemporary copies are preserved in the British Museum and elsewhere. Lingard argues (vol. vi. p. 415, n. 3) that Babington wrote this letter before he had received Mary's of June 23rd, citing as evidence the testimony of Nau. The value of Nau's testimony upon a point like this, he being a prisoner with Mary at the time Babington received the letter, is certainly very questionable. Lingard cites as further evidence the fact that Babington makes no specific mention of Mary's letter in his own. This is true, but it does not seem sufficient to outweigh the fact that some days after Mary had written to Babington, when he had had time to receive her letter, he wrote to her, not directly acknowledging her letter to be sure, but apologizing at the very outset for his long silence, of which Mary had spoken in her letter to him.
                
                    The numerals printed along the margin occur, in the same fashion, in the manuscript. Their significance is not quite clear.

                    The Bardon Papers 9. (d) Mary (age 43) to Babington (age 24). 17 July, 1586
                
                    This is a copy of the famous letter from Mary to Babington upon which the whole question of her complicity in the plot to murder Elizabeth practically turns. Labanoff found eight contemporary copies of it, of which four are preserved in the Record Office, three in the British Museum and one in France. The French copy of the letter in the Record Office (S. P Mary Q. of S. xviii. no. 51) includes a copy of the attestations of Babington, of Nau and of Curie. Labanoff believes that this letter is partly genuine, but that certain passages have been interpolated. These passages are inclosed in square brackets. A discussion of Labanoff's views, which have been adopted by many of Mary's defenders, will be found in Appendix III.
                
                    The significance of the figures printed along the margin, which are reproduced from the manuscript, is not clear.

The Bardon Papers 9. (e) Babington (age 24) to Mary (age 43). 3 August, 1586.

Four copies of this letter exist in the Record Office, three in English and one in French (S. P. Mary Q. of S. xix. nos. 9-12). It was the last letter that Babington wrote to Mary before his capture. Babington was probably quite right in accusing Maude of treachery, but it was of course not Maude, but Babington's own letters, which revealed his plans to the English Government¹.

Note 1. This man Maude is an elusive fellow, and probably if more could be found out about him, more light could be thrown upon this whole matter. Camden declared that he was one of Walsingham's spies and that he accompanied Ballard on his voyage to France and wrung from him all his secrets (Annals of Eliz. (ed. 1635) p. 302). Robert Poley in his confession (S. P. Mary Q. of S. xix no. 26) said that Babington told him that Maude and Ballard went to France together. This confirms Camden's statement in part. It appears also from the confession of one Tipping, a man who was examined in connection with the Babington plot, that Maude accompanied Ballard when he went north in June 1586 (cf. Summary of Confessions. S. P. Mary Q. of S. xix no. 91 p. 28). Neither of these witnesses however confirms Camden's statement that Maude was a spy of Walsingham. Yet the presumption is that such was the case. The strange silence in regard to him is significant. Though accused by both Poley and Tipping, he was never called into question. This curious neglect of his case struck Edward Windsor, one of those who were more or less implicated in Babington's schemes but who escaped death to suffer imprisonment in the Tower. On the 30th of May 1587 he complained bitterly in a letter to Sir Christopher Hatton that though Maude had been, first to last, deeply implicated in the conspiracy, he had never been brought to trial (R.O. S.P. Dorn, cci, no. 50).

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The Bardon Papers 9. (c). Babington (age 24) to Nau. [6] July, 1586. There are four copies of this letter in the Record Office, three in English and one in French. Every one of them is attested by a copy of Babington's signature. The French copy includes also a copy of an attestation by Nau. This letter was doubtless sent by Babington to Nau at the same time he sent his letter to Mary, printed above (cf. Nau to Babington, 13 July, 1586. Thorpe's Cal. ii. p. 997). It has reference to Robert Foley who was, at this time, playing the spy upon Babington in Walsingham's interests. Through Poley, Walsingham kept in touch with Babington's movements until a very few days before his arrest. Poley was arrested when the conspirators were taken, and he handed in a long written account of his part in the affair which is preserved at the Record Office (S. P. Mary Q. of S. xix. no. 26.) He was of course never brought to trial, although Walsingham was evidently not sure that he was quite innocent of double dealing.

[his daughter] Mary Babington was born to Anthony Babington and Mary Draycott.

Ancestors of Anthony Babington 1561-1586

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Babington of Dethick

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Babington

Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabel Dethick

Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Babington of Dethick

Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Bradbourne

Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Bradbourne

Great x 1 Grandfather: Anthony Babington 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Nicholas Fitzherbert 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph Fitzherbert 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Booth

Great x 2 Grandmother: Edith Fitzherbert 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Marshall

Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Marshall

GrandFather: Thomas Babington 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Ferrers 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Ferrers 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Freville

Great x 2 Grandfather: John Ferrers 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Leonard Hastings

Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Hastings 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Camoys 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Ferrers 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Walter Hungerford 1st Baron Hungerford

Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Hungerford 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor or Catherine Peverell 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Hungerford 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Burnell 7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Margaret Burnell 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice aka Eleanor Strange 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Father: Henry Babington 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Sacheverell

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Sacheverell

Great x 2 Grandfather: John Sacheverell

Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Statham

Great x 3 Grandmother: Jane Statham

Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Sacheverell

GrandMother: Katherine Sacheverell 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Nicholas Montgomery 7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Nicholas Montgomery 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Longford 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Nicholas Montgomery 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Montgomery 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Delves

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Delves 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Philippa Mainwaring 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Joan Delves 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Ellen Egerton

Anthony Babington 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Darcy 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Darcy 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joane Greystoke Baroness Darcy Knayth 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Darcy 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Scrope 4th Baron Scrope of Masham 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Eleanor Scrope 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Chaworth Baroness Scrope Masham 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Darcy 1st Baron Darcy Templehurst 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Langton

Great x 2 Grandmother: Euphemia Langton

GrandFather: George Darcy 1st Baron Darcy Aston 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Piers Tempest of Bracewell

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Tempest

Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Tempest

Great x 1 Grandmother: Dousabella Tempest 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Clifford 7th Baron Clifford 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Clifford 8th Baron Clifford 3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Percy Countess of Westmoreland 2 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Clifford 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Dacre 6th Baron Dacre Gilsland

Great x 3 Grandmother: Joan Dacre Baroness Clifford 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Philippa Neville Baroness Dacre of Gilsland 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Mother: Mary Darcy 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Melton 6 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Melton 7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: John Melton 9th Baron Lucy 8 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: John Melton of Aston Yorkshire 10th Baron Lucy 9 x Great Grand Son of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Stanley 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Stanley 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Matilda Arderne 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Alice Stanley 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Vernon aka Pembridge 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Vernon 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Benedicta Ludlow

GrandMother: Dorothy Melton Baroness Darcy 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Hastings 8th Baron Hastings 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Hastings 9th Baron Hastings 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Muriel Dynham Baroness Hastings 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Hugh Hastings 10th Baron Hastings 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Morley 6th Baron Marshal 5th Baron Morley 7 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Morley Baroness Hastings 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Isabel Pole Baroness Marshal and Morley 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Hastings 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Biography of Anthony Babington 1561-1586

Royal Ancestors of Anthony Babington 1561-1586

Ancestors of Anthony Babington 1561-1586