Woburn Abbey.
"John
Russell, the first Earl of Bedford, was sprung from an
old Norman family, well established in the West Country
at the commencement of the thirteenth century. In 1506, when the Archduke Philip was
cast by a storm upon the English coast in the
neighbourhood of Weymouth, John Russell,
who was then residing in Dorsetshire, was sent
for by his uncle, Sir Thomas Trenchard, then Governor of the Coast, to assist in
the entertainment of the illustrious visitor. No time
was lost in informing the King (Henry VII.)
of the arrival of so important a foreign prince
in England. King Henry invited Philip to
Windsor, and the Archduke took Russell with
him and spoke warmly to the King of his
talents and character. Thereafter his rise
was rapid and steady, Henry VII. making
him a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber.
Henry VIII. held Russell in high esteem,
and employed him on all his most important
diplomatic negotiations. He was continually
abroad, accompanying King Henry on all
his French wars, and was sent by him to
Geneva, Rome, Naples, Milan, and Venice.
He lost an eye by an arrow at the siege of
Morlaix, took part in the battle of Pavia,
and was present at the Field of the Cloth of
Gold.
In 1547 some eight years before his death,
Edward VI. granted him, in addition to lands
previously conferred by Henry VIII. in France,
the Cistercian Abbey of Woburn, 1 and in 1549
the Abbey of Thorney."
Extract from "A great agricultural estate" (Open
Library)
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