Peter Osborne (Keeper of the Privy Purse)

Peter Osborne, Esquire,Incorrectly styled 'Sir' in some genealogy websites, possibly by confusion with his grandson. (1521–1592) was an English officer of state who was Keeper of the Privy Purse to King Edward VI, at a time when great constitutional changes affected the management of public finance.J.G. Elzinga, 'Osborne, Peter (1521–1592)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004) accessed 11 May 2005. Of reformist sympathies in religion, his career was in abeyance during the reign of Queen Mary but regained momentum as Remembrancer in the Exchequer under Elizabeth, working usually to his marital kinsman Lord Burghley. He also sat in seven parliaments between 1559 and 1589.N.M. Fuidge, 'Osborne, Peter (1521–92), of South Fambridge, Essex, Chicksands, Beds. and Ivy Lane, London', in P.W. Hasler (ed.), The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558–1603 (from Boydell & Brewer, 1981), History of Parliament online, accessed 29 October 2011.

Life Origins and young life Peter Osborne was born the second son of Sir Richard Osborne, citizen and Grocer of London (died 1544), and his wife Elizabeth (née Coke), of Tyle or Tyled Hall, Latchingdon, Essex.'Latchingdon', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Vol 4, South east (HMSO, London 1923), pp. 81-82 (British History Online, accessed 9 April 2018). 'Tyle Hall' is presumably the same as 'Tyld Hall', as named in older sources for Osborne: the old part of the structure is of c. 1500, see 'Tyle Hall' List Entry Summary, Historic England. It is apparently named for its tiled roof.P. Benton, The History of Rochford Hundred (A. Harrington, Rochford 1867), pp. 165-67. (Internet archive). The family had been seated at Purleigh, just north-west of Latchingdon, since at least the first half of the fifteenth century: Richard's grandfather, Peter Osborne of Purleigh, died in 1442; his son Richard Osborne died in 1471; Richard Osborne, of Tyld Hall, father of the Remembrancer, died in 1544.'Chicksands', in I.D. Parry, Select Illustrations, Historical and Topographical, of Bedfordshire (Longman & Co./Nicholls/Taylor, London 1827), pp. 109-120, at p. 118 (Google).Will of Richarde Osborne, Grocer of London (P.C.C. 1544, Pynnyng quire).

Peter's elder brother was John Osborne, Gentleman, who had 3 sons and 3 daughters including Elizabeth, who married first Richard Bettenson of London, and secondly Archer Breame, of Halstead, Essex.'Miscellaneous Essex Pedigrees: Bettenson', in W.C. Metcalfe (ed.), The Visitations of Essex by Hawley, 1552; Hervey, 1558; Cooke, 1570; Raven, 1612; and Owen and Lilly, 1634, (2 Parts: Part 2), Harleian Society Vol. XIV (1879), p. 550. Peter Osborne also had two sisters. One (Anne) married first to Edward Bowland of Margaretting, Essex (who died in 1546),Will of Edward Bowland of Margaretting (P.C.C. 1546, Alen quire). and secondly, in July 1547, to Edward Saxilby (or Saxby),J.L. Chester and G.J. Armytage (eds), Allegations for Marriage Licences Issued by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury at London, 1543–1869, Harleian Society Vol. XXIV (1886), p. 10 (Internet Archive). who was first appointed Baron of the Exchequer in 1549. Saxilby had been admitted to the Inner Temple in 1537 at the instance of his brother-in-law Thomas Walshe, Baron of the Exchequer.F.A. Inderwick (ed.), A Calendar of the Inner Temple Records Vol. I: 1505–1603 (Masters of the Bench, London 1896), p. 117 (Internet Archive).H.S. Grazebrook (ed.), The Heraldry of Worcestershire: A Roll of Arms, II: M-Z (John Russell Smith, London 1873), p. 501 (Internet Archive). See Will of Thomas Walshe (P.C.C. 1542, Spert quire). Osborne's other sister married to the wealthy London citizen and Grocer William Lane. After her death Lane remarried to Anne Luddington, stepdaughter of Sir William Laxton (Lord Mayor in 1545), and Osborne retained a trusted position in relation to Anne's family. At Lane's death in 1552 Osborne owed him some £230 which Lane made into a legacy for the children of his second marriage, appointing Osborne an overseer to his will on condition that he pay what was owed.Will of William Lane, Grocer of London (P.C.C. 1552, Powell Quire).

Osborne matriculated a pensioner from King's College, Cambridge (according to Fuidge not so late as 1548, as Venn statesJ.A. Venn and J. Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses, Part 1 vol. 3 (Cambridge University Press 1924), p. 285 (Internet archive).) but apparently did not graduate. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1543 but was not called to the bar.Fuidge, 'Osborne, Peter (1521–92)', The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558–1603, Note 1. His particular friend and bedfellow there, Henry Marwood of Halberton, died of a sickness in the summer or autumn of 1547.'Will of Henry Marwood, 1547', in C. Worthy, Devonshire wills: a collection of annotated testamentary abstracts (Bemrose & Sons Ltd., London 1896), pp. 2-4. His friendship with John Cheke, Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, was already formed (presumably at Cambridge), for in May 1549, when in danger of losing his position as preceptor to King Edward, Cheke wrote to Osborne in terms of trust and confidence.Lansdowne MS 2, art. 29. See H. Ellis, Original Letters of Eminent Literary Men: Of the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries, Camden Society XXIII (John Bowyer Nichols, London 1843), p. 8. (Google) At about this time Osborne was in correspondence with Dr John Dee, advising him of Cheke's favour towards him and introducing Dee to the circle of William Cecil.'The Compendious Rehearsall of John Dee His Dutifull Declaracion', Chapter III, in J. Crossley (ed.), Autobiographical Tracts of Dr Dee Chetham Miscellanies (Chetham Society, 1851), p. 9. (Internet archive)

Edwardian Privy Purse Osborne received a permanent appointment as Clerk of the Faculties in July 1551, an office established by the act 28 Hen. 8. c. 19.Sources relating to this office are listed under 'Faculties, Clerk of', in Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons: Indexes to Reports (Contents of the Seventeenth Volume, Part 2), Vol. 41 Part 2 (Session 22 January to 28 August 1846) (1846), p. 1042. Around midwinter 1551/52 he acted as Keeper of the Privy Purse to King Edward VI and in 1552–53 held the office of Remembrancer to the Lord-Treasurer in the Exchequer,For Osborne's warrant for the King's payments to the French in December 1552, see J.G. Nichols, Literary Remains of King Edward the Sixth, 2 vols (J.B. Nichols and Sons, London 1857), II, p. 459, note 1. under the Lord Treasurer William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester. It was under this designation that his role in relation to the Exchequer continued to the end of his life, although interrupted or subordinated between 1553 and 1559 through the reign of Queen Mary. John Cheke received a grant of appointment for life as a Chamberlain of the Receipt of the King's Exchequer in September 1552.Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward VI, IV: 1550–1553 (HMSO 1926), p. 404 (HathiTrust).

The changing administration of public finance during the reign of Edward VI and the Protectorate of the Duke of Northumberland defined Osborne's role. From January 1552 to May 1553 some £40,000 was directed into the king's privy coffers from the treasurers of the revenue courts to enable the Duke to manage fortifications, costs, loans and royal expenses.D.E. Hoak, The King's Council in the Reign of Edward VI (Cambridge University Press 1976), pp. 210-12. (Google). Osborne, as clerk to the four principal Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber,The National Archives (UK), Items E 135/10/37; E 101/625/4; E 101/546/19. received funds from Parliamentary relief which were diverted directly from the courts, so that his office became "a clearing house or agency for the administration of public finance", under the direction of the Privy Council.D.E. Hoak, 'The King's Privy Chamber, 1547–1553', in D.J. Guth & J.W. McKenna (eds), Tudor Rule and Revolution: Essays for G.R. Elton from his American friends (Cambridge University Press, 1982), pp. 87-108, at pp. 105-08. (Google). Also D.E. Hoak, 'The Secret History of the Tudor Court: the King's Coffers and the King's Purse, 1542–1553', Journal of British Studies, 26 (1987), pp. 205-31. See D.M. Loades, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, 1504–1553 (Clarendon Press, Oxford 1996), pp. 249-51. (Google).

Osborne's mother Elizabeth died in 1553 making Peter her sole executor:Will of Elizabeth Osborne, widow of London (P.C.C. 1553, Tashe quire). See also Will of Lettys Lane, widow of London (P.C.C. 1551). since the death of Richard Osborne in 1544 her daughter Anne has remarried to Edward Saxilby, Baron of the Exchequer 1549, reappointed 1553 and 1560.P. Thoyras de Rapin, ed. N. Tindal, History of England, English edition with continuation (John and Paul Knapton, London 1747), Vol. IV. Part 2, p. 259 (Google). Anne (the sister) dying, Saxilby afterwards married Elizabeth (Fisher), widow of William Woodliffe (died 1548), citizen and mercer of London.J. Nichols, Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century Vol. IX (Author, London 1815), pp. 161-63 (Google). Peter's brother John also died in 1553, making Peter his executor in a will which bequeathed the estate of Tyled Hall to John's widow Jane for life, and to John's sons, probably the children of John's first wife, Dionysia.Will of John Osborne, Gentleman of London (P.C.C. 1553, Tashe quire). Dionysia Osborne was living in 1544 when she was mentioned in Richard Osborne's will.

Under Marian rule Osborne's instrumentality in Northumberland's processes of Reform, and his near association with figures such as John Cheke and Thomas Wroth who, with the accession of Queen Mary, soon went into exile abroad, made him unserviceable to the continuing duties of Lord Winchester, who maintained his own office. However it does not appear that Osborne himself was driven into exile. Suggestions that he may have been imprisoned during Mary's reignArchbold, 'Osborne, Peter', Old D.N.B., says: "In Mary's reign he is said to have been in prison, but he was presumably at large in 1557, as Sir John Cheke died in his house in Wood Street, London, in that year." The suggestion is mentioned only as a possibility by Fuidge, 'Osborne, Peter', History of Parliament, but not demonstrated. remain unconfirmed.

By 1552Peter's wife Anne is named in the Will of William Lane, Grocer of London (P.C.C. 1552, Powell Quire). Peter Osborne was married to Anne, daughter of Dr John Blythe, the first Cambridge Regius Professor of Physic: her mother was Alice Cheke, John Cheke's sister. Anne's aunt Mary Cheke was the first wife of William Cecil (married 1541). These relations were naturally advantageous to Peter Osborne. Peter and Anne (who died in 1615) had 11 sons and 11 daughters of their own. Their son and heir John Osborne Esq. was born c. 1554, being aged 38 in June 1592.'Inquisitions, 1597: Peter Osborne, Esq.', in E.A. Fry (ed.), Abstracts of Inquisitiones Post Mortem For the City of London: Part 3 (British Record Society, London 1908), pp. 245-56. (British History Online accessed 10 April 2018). His is probably the christening of "the sonne of Mr Osburne" recorded in August 1554 in the register of St Peter, Westcheap.