Let’s dive into the Southwell-Pennington feud. A family feud, no, not the game show but the feud between the retainers of the Dukes of Norfolk and the Duke of Suffolk.
Imagine if you will, the year’s 1532, and right outside Henry VIII’s Palace in Westminster, there’s a massive fight. Richard Southwell, a gentleman in the service of the Duke of Norfolk, and Sir William Pennington Duke of Suffolk’s, chief gentleman, stand face-to-face in an escalating quarrel, swords in hand.
The clash didn’t arise just out of a personal grudge. It was a reflection of factional disputes within the King’s court, and it ended in Pennington’s death. The timing could not have been more delicate with the nation’s attention fixed on the King’s Great Matter, Henry’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn.
The background of this altercation is cloudy with different accounts, telling different tales. According to one version by a Venetian diplomat, Southwell was accompanied by 20 men and ambushed Pennington. This was supposedly in retaliation to comments about Anne Boleyn’s virtue uttered by Pennington’s patroness, the Duchess of Suffolk, the King’s sister Mary Tudor.
The official record in the King’s Bench, however, narrates a different story. It suggests that the quarrel was over a debt suit and the confrontation was an evenly matched sword fight between Southwell and Pennington and their six respective retainers. Regardless of the version, the result was the same. Pennington was dead.
Post this violent incident, Richard Southwell and his six retainers, including his two younger brothers sought sanctuary at Westminster Abbey, which offered them a shield from the wrath of the Duke of Suffolk and protected them from arrest for the homicide. But this actually led to its own controversy.
It broke fundamental sanctuary rules because the homicide took place within the abbey’s precinct. So you can’t seek sanctuary in the precinct where you committed the crime. However, it was no oversight or act of defiance against the rules, but part of a larger strategy masterminded by none other than Thomas Cromwell, the King’s Chief Minister, and a close friend of Southwell.
Cromwell wielded his political prowess, and he had been tasked by Henry VIII to resolve the volatile situation. Cromwell recognized the potential dangers to the feud, escalating further, and saw sanctuary as a key element in the strategy.
Although the Southwell gains entry into Westminster Abbey technically violated the rules of sanctuary, it was not a defiant act. Instead, it was a calculated move carried out on Cromwell’s instructions. The abbot took them in aware of the delicate situation and the need to prevent further bloodshed.
The Duke of Suffolk, rightfully furious at the killing of his retainer, couldn’t risk the sacrilege of pursuing revenge within the sanctuary’s sacred confines. Despite the Southwells’ ineligibility according to sanctuary rules, no one, not even Suffolk raised this technicality.
Richard Southwell and his retainers found refuge within the abbey for approximately five or six weeks. This time allowed Suffolk’s anger to subside, giving Cromwell the opportunity to negotiate a resolution. The outcome was a deal.
The Southwell would face charges for homicide. They would admit their guilt and be granted the King’s pardon, sparing them from the gallows. In return, Southwell would pay a hefty fine of a thousand pounds to the King.
To ensure the quarrel between Southwell and Suffolk was settled once and for all, Richard also requested an act of parliament confirming the pardon. This intricate process took over a year to unfold, but in the end, the situation was successfully diffused.
The King married Anne Boleyn, Suffolk reconciled with the king, the Southwells, all in their twenties at the time of the fatal clash were able to move forward with their lives, thanks to the sanctuary and the royal pardon, which shielded them from both Suffolk’s vengeance and the full weight of the King’s justice.
Richard and Robert Southwell went on to have distinguished careers as royal servants. Richard became a Privy Counselor. Robert served as Master of the Rolls of Chancery. Both held positions as Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace, and members of Parliament. As for Anthony, he lived out his life as a landed gentleman.
In Hans Holbien’s 1537 portrait of Richard Southwell, painted when he was 33 years old, the scars from the fatal sword fight are clearly visible on his neck and cheek. Rather than harm his political career, these visible reminders of his rough and tough manliness likely lent an air of resilience and strength.
The clash between Richard Southwell and Sir William Pennington was a microcosm of the intricate power dynamics within Henry VIII’s Court, and it was a testament to the delicate balance between personal rivalries, political alliances, and the strategic maneuvers in influential figures like Thomas Cromwell.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop. She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.