On this day in history, at 6am on the 7th January 1558, Thomas Wentworth, the Lord Deputy of Calais, was forced to surrender Calais to François de Lorraine-Guise, 2nd Duke of Guise, after a siege of seven days.
Barry Denton, in his article on Thomas Wentworth, writes of how “The causes of the fall of Calais were many and various” and cites the following factors:-
- Mary I’s privy council’s “failure to act on Wentworth’s requests in December 1557 for naval interception of French convoys of artillery and supplies up the English Channel”
- Wentworth’s mistaken belief that the French were going to attack Hesdin, not Calais
- Wentworth’s refusal to flood the plains around Calais when the French were approaching, “the key to the defence system”, because he wanted the water for brewing beer for the garrison
- Wentworth’s delay in requesting reinforcements from Mary’s husband, Philip II – He did not ask until the 2nd January
Calais was the very last English territory in France and had been held by England since 1347, when King Edward III had captured it, so it was a bitter blow for Mary I. It is said that on hearing the news of the loss of Calais, Mary commented “When I am dead and opened, you shall find ‘Philip’ and ‘Calais’ lying in my heart”. How sad!
You can read more about the loss of Calais in my article 7th January 1558 – England Loses Calais.
Notes and Sources
- Barry Denton, ‘Wentworth, Thomas, second Baron Wentworth and de jure seventh Baron Le Despenser (1525–1584)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
Related posts:
7th January 1558 – England Loses Calais
17th November 1558 – Elizabeth I Becomes Queen
17 November 1558 – This is the Lord’s doing: it is marvellous in our eyes
Wyatt’s Rebellion 1554
16 January 1549 – Thomas Seymour, the Young King and the Spaniel
Mary I’s Legacy
22 January 1552 – Execution of Edward Seymour
15th January 1559 – The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth I
The Execution of Edward Seymour – 22nd January 1552
Execution of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset – 22 January 1552
20 January 1569 – Death of Miles Coverdale, Bible Translator
25 July 1554 – Mary I Marries Philip of Spain
I saw over on The Anne Boleyn Files that 7th January 1536 was the death of Katherine of Aragon. So that date was a double blow to Mary. Not only was it the anniversary of her beloved mother’s death, but she now became the monarch who lost that final territory. Combined with all the other political and personal problems she was having, it’s no wonder she died an early death. (And wasn’t her final false pregnancy a few months after the fall of Calais?)
Although I disagree with Mary on many things, I still like that she became the first Queen of England to rule in her own name (not as a Queen Consort), something Empress Matilda really didn’t get to do.
Yes, the anniversary of her mother’s death! Poor Mary, I do think that the loss of Calais added to her decline and yes she did suffer her final phantom pregnacy that year and Philip was away too. So sad.