Pt. 8: Drurys of Hedgerley and Riddlesworth

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Arms of Sir Dru Drury

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Sir Robert Drury of Hawstead (1470-1536), buried in St. Mary's Church at Bury St. Edmund, was the father of William Drury of Hawstead (d. 1557/58), and Sir Robert Drury of Hedgerley. Sir Robert married Elizabeth Brudenel and died in 1577. He had four daughters and five sons: Robert of Hedgerley(d. 1592); Roger; Sir William (1527-1579) who became Governor of Ireland; Edmund of Horton, County Bucks.; and Sir Dru Drury of Riddlesworth and Lynstead.

In this branch we again see examples of the religious and political strife in England. The second son of Robert Drury of Hedgerley, Robert (1567 - February 26, 1606/07) was ordained a Catholic Priest in Valladolid, Spain in 1592. He returned to England in 1593 as a missionary. He survived by swearing an oath of allegience to Elizabeth as the Queen, and would defend her and the state of England; but also that he considered the Pope to be the successor to St. Peter. This proclamation was signed by several Catholic clergy and was satisfactory to Elizabeth, but apparently not to James I. James insisted on a new oath, which condemned the Pope as damnable and heretical. Robert refused to sign it, and was arrested and sentenced to death. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn, and later declared a Martyr by the Church.

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Meanwhile, two of this Robert Drury's uncles became prominent knights. William (1527-1579) was a staunch adherent to the reformed church and became a trusted soldier under Queen Elizabeth. He was sent to suppress a rebellion in Devonshire in 1549. William was knighted in 1570 and was sent to Scotland in several times, including a trip accompanying the Earl of Sussex in 1570, razing some 90 castles and strongholds to the ground. He survived eight assination attempts while in Scotland. In 1574, he was sent to Ireland to quell the unrest there, and was named Lord Justice of Ireland in April 1578. He ruled with a severe government that quickly reduced the province to order and obedience. He died of fever in October 1579 and was buried in St. Patrick's cathedral, Dublin.

Sir William Drury (1527-1579)

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Above: St. Peter's Church, Riddlesworth. The bell of the church is inscribed, "Diana Lady Drury, John Goldsmith fecit 1716". The oldest part of the church dates to the 13th century but it was largely rebuilt in 1855.

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Sir William's other prominent brother was Sir Dru Drury (c.1532 - 1617) of Riddlesworth and Lynstead. Sir Dru served as a gentleman usher at the coronation of Elizabeth in 1559. He married Elizabeth Calthorpe, whose mother was Amata Boleyn, aunt of Queen Anne Boleyn. Through her he inherited Riddlesworth manor and when she died in 1582 he married Catherine Finch of Lynstead, co. Kent. Dru was knighted in 1579 and was a member of Parliament in 1584 and a Lieutenant of the Tower of London. Sir Dru became one of Elizabeth's most trusted knights and a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber.

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Sir Dru Drury built a mansion at Riddlesworth where he lived until his death. When his great grandson, Sir Robert Drury, Bt., was convicted of manslaughter for killing John Powell with a sword, he forfeited his Riddlesworth lands. The 200 year old Elizabethan manor was torn down in 1792 and rebuilt, but burned in 1899. It was rebuilt even larger than before in 1900 and serves today as a private girl's school, where Lady Diana attended school as a child. Saint Peter's Church next door to the manor contains an outstanding monument to Sir Dru (right) as well as Drury ledger slabs and altar tombs. Sir Dru's monument shows him kneeling at a prayer-desk, two angels holding back the curtain, and a face (thought to be his first wife, who died before him) looking down upon him. It includes several colored Drury coats of arms.

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Below: Arms of Sir Dru Drury impaled with those of his two wives, Calthorpe (left) and Finch (right). Sir Dru's arms (middle) are marshalled with, clockwise from top left, Drury, Saxham, Fressel, Drury, Brudenel, Geddyng, and Finch in the center.

Below: Arms of his four children, impaled with (l.to r.) Waldegrave, Wingfield, Deane, and Boteler.

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Below: Transcript of stone tablet beneath the monument to Sir Dru Drury

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Click here to continue the Drury journey at Riddlesworth

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