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The life of Sir Thomas More by Cresacre More (Hardwick MS 52)
Catalogue reference: HMS/4/12
What’s it about?
This record is a file about the The life of Sir Thomas More by Cresacre More (Hardwick MS 52) dating from n.d. [c.1630].
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Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- HMS/4/12
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Title (The name of the record)
- The life of Sir Thomas More by Cresacre More (Hardwick MS 52)
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Date (When the record was created)
- n.d. [c.1630]
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Description (What the record is about)
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This is a scribal copy of Cresacre More's1630 published financial account of Thomas More's life.
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Note (Additional information about the record)
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This volume is mentioned in the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Third Report (1872) p.43.
There is an online version of the 1828 publication of this text available from Google books: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Life_of_Sir_Thomas_More/eGqYcgB7d5IC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+life+of+sir+thomas+more+by+cresacre+more&printsec=frontcover
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- Devonshire Collection Archives, Chatsworth
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Former department reference (Former identifier given by the originating creator)
- HM/52
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 1 volume; 151 folios (302pp)
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Dimensions (The size of the record)
- 217(w) x 318(h) x 28(d) mm
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Physical condition (Aspects of the physical condition of the record that may affect or limit its use)
- 20th-century binding.
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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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Christopher Cresacre More (1572-1649) was the great-grandson and biographer of the humanist scholar and statesman Sir Thomas More (1478-1535). Most commonly known by his second name, the youthful Cresacre he trained in France for the priesthood at the English college in Douai. However his ambition to embrace an ecclesiastical career came to a halt in 1599 with the death of his eldest brother John (1577-1599). Instead he returned to England in order to assist in the continuation of the family line and, in 1603, he married Elizabeth Gage (1585-1610), sister of Sir John Gage, Bart, of Firle, Sussex. Upon his marriage, his father settled upon him the ancient family estate of More Hall, a manor situated in North Mimms in Hertfordshire. Like his father, Thomas II (1531-1606) who was repeatedly charged with recusancy at quarter sessions, at assizes, and in the archdeacon?s court, Cresacre remained true to Catholicism despite the heavy penalties and restrictions he and his family was forced to endure.
In 1630, Cresacre published The life and death of Sir Thomas Moore, Lord High Chancellour of England, with a special dedication to the Queen, Henrietta Maria, a leading supporter of the Catholic cause. Despite borrowing extensively from the earlier biographies by Thomas Stapleton (1588) and William Roper (1626), and adopting a more hagiographic tone in his introduction, the book is notable for the tender beauty of Cresacre?s account of the last days of the doomed Sir Thomas.
[Source: Cresacre More - Geneanet, https://gw.geneanet.org/lard?lang=en&n=more&oc=0&p=cresacre [accessed 3 June 2021]]
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/286e1dbc-f3d6-433e-9e91-6eb80249abed/
Series information
HMS/4
Manuscripts
See the series level description for more information about this record.
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at Devonshire Collection Archives, Chatsworth
Within the fonds: HMS
Hardwick Manuscripts
Within the series: HMS/4
Manuscripts
You are currently looking at the file: HMS/4/12
The life of Sir Thomas More by Cresacre More (Hardwick MS 52)