TALBOT, Edward (1561-1618)

The third son of one of the greatest Elizabethan magnates, George Talbot^†, 6th earl of Shrewsbury, Talbot married Jane Ogle, the eldest daughter and coheir of Cuthbert Ogle^†, 7th Lord Ogle in 1583, whereupon most of the Ogle estates, situated in Northumberland, were settled on him and his wife. Talbot went on to represent Northumberland in the following two parliaments. By the time his father died in 1590, Talbot’s eldest brother was already dead, as were the sons of Talbot’s second brother, Gilbert^*, who succeeded as 7th earl of Shrewsbury. This meant that Talbot was now heir to the earldom, although Gilbert’s three daughters would inevitably have some interest in the estate. The two brothers subsequently fell out over the execution of their father’s will, and Talbot was accused of plotting to poison Gilbert, an accusation which the latter believed.22 CPR, 1582-3 ed. L.J. Wilkinson (L. and I. Soc. cclxxxvi), 18; Ogle, 23, 69; HP Commons, 1558-1603, iii. 471; HMC Rutland, i. 325.

Following his father-in-law’s death in 1597, Talbot took up residence at Bothal Castle, the Ogle home in Northumberland. In the early Jacobean period he was mostly occupied with the administration of his adopted county, where he had been appointed custos rotulorum, becoming, in the words of one historian, ‘the unsung hero’ of the local government of Northumberland.23 S.J. and S.J. Watts, From Border to Middle Shire, 156. Nevertheless, Talbot may have hoped to be summoned to Parliament in right of his wife, who, in 1606, claimed the Ogle barony. However, Jane’s claim was complicated by the fact that her sister was then living. (In modern doctrine the peerage - a barony by writ - was then in abeyance.) James I referred her petition to the commissioners for the office of the earl marshal in June of that year, but the case was repeatedly deferred and does not appear to have been resolved.24 Coll. of Arms, I.25, f. 21v, 25v, 28; CP, x. 36.

The feud between Talbot and the 7th earl was never resolved. Consequently Gilbert was keen to ensure that his brother inherited as little as possible.25 SP14/87/24. He settled a substantial part of the Talbot estates on his daughters, and bequeathed most of the rest, together with his personal property, to his executors to pay off his debts.26 C142/444/87; PROB 11/128, ff. 307v-8. Nevertheless, in his last illness, Gilbert expressed the fear that after his death Talbot would seize control of his lands.27 HMC 10th Rep. I, 109. Accordingly, on 7 May 1616, the Privy Council ordered Talbot to refrain from entering any of his brother’s properties until his rights had been established by the courts, an order reinforced by letters to the sheriffs of the relevant counties.28 APC, 1615-16, pp. 526-7.

Talbot succeeded to the earldom the following day, by which time, because of his brother, he stood to inherit property worth only £1,500 a year, whereas the entire Talbot estate was said to be worth £16,000 annually.29 CSP Dom. 1611-18, p. 367. However, by the end of the month the new earl of Shrewsbury obtained an audience with James to press his claims and ‘had a very gracious answer’.30 Life and Orig. Corresp. of Sir George Radcliffe (1810) ed. T.D. Whitaker, 112-13. As a result, early in June the Council issued a revised order to the sheriffs, enabling Shrewsbury to ‘make lawful’ entry into his late brother’s lands, where many Talbot tenants had already accepted him as their landlord. Nevertheless, in the autumn the Venetian ambassador reported that the dispute between Shrewsbury and his nieces almost resulted in a pitched battle between the rival parties.31 APC, 1615-16, pp. 566-7; Carew Letters ed. J. Maclean (Cam. Soc. lxxvi), 33; CSP Ven. 1615-17, p. 318. Despite his difficulties, Shrewsbury was in sufficient favour to bear the golden rod at the creation of Prince Charles (Stuart^*) as prince of Wales in November 1616.32 Carew Letters, 55.

In April 1617 Thomas Howard^*, 21st (or 14th) earl of Arundel, whose wife was one of the 7th earl’s daughters, informed Secretary of State, Sir Ralph Winwood^‡, one of Gilbert’s executors, that Shrewsbury had gained such confidence in the struggle for his inheritance that he had demanded rents from Sheffield, the core of the Talbot estates. Later that month Arundel asked Winwood to mollify Shrewsbury and try to persuade him that he would gain most from the other claimants if he was more conciliatory. This suggests that Arundel at least had come to conclusion that some kind of compromise was necessary.33 HMC Buccleuch, i. 191, 201. Shrewsbury subsequently drew up proposals for partitioning the estate, arguing that, in accordance with a settlement made by his father, he was entitled to lands worth £20,000 a year, and that it was ‘exceeding reasonable and necessary that a nobleman of my rank’ should have at least £2,000 a year. His proposals were rejected by William Herbert^*, 3rd earl of Pembroke, who was married to another of the daughters of the 7th earl, on the grounds that Shrewsbury had not ‘showed anything to entitle you to any inheritance at all’. Nevertheless, by September it appears to have been agreed that the king would arbitrate between Shrewsbury and his nieces’ husbands. The only dispute still outstanding was between the earl and his brother’s widow.34 Wentworth Pprs. ed. J.P. Cooper (Cam. Soc. ser. 4. xii), 96-9.

In November 1617 Shrewsbury was employed to escort an ambassador from Russia to an audience with the king.35 Finetti Philoxenis (1656), 39. However, he was probably in poor health by 15 Jan. 1618, when he made his will, to which he added a codicil on 3 February. He appointed his wife as his executor and Sir Thomas Wentworth^* (subsequently earl of Strafford) as one of the overseers. To his nephew, Sir William Cavendish^* (subsequently 1st duke of Newcastle), Winwood’s co-executor of the 7th earl’s will, he gave a ring worth £20. He left his funeral to the discretion of his executrix. It was presumably on her decision that he was buried in St Edmund’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey.36 PROB 11/131, ff. 146-7; Regs. Westminster Abbey, 114; ‘Camden Diary’ (1691), 30.

Shrewsbury died on 8 Feb., having never had the opportunity to sit in the House of Lords. Chamberlain reported that, by the time of his death, he had succeeded in gaining possession of Talbot lands to the value of £8,000 a year since his brother’s demise. Another correspondent repeated a rumour that he had achieved this by giving the lord treasurer, Thomas Howard^*, 1st earl of Suffolk, a £10,000 bribe for his support. However, as Shrewsbury died without surviving children, all these properties went to Gilbert’s daughters. The earldom was inherited by his fourth cousin, George Talbot^* of Grafton, Worcestershire.37 Chamberlain Letters ed. N.E. McClure, ii. 139; SP14/96/12.