Miles Partridge

Sir Miles Partridge (died 26 February 1552) was an English courtier and a soldier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was arrested in 1551, before being convicted of treason and hanged, as part of the factional struggle that followed the fall of Protector Somerset.

Sir Miles Partridge of Almondsbury and Bristol was born in Gloucestershire to Sir John William Partridge (1445-1510) and his wife Lady Agnes Bennett (1470).

Miles and his brother Hugh were rising merchant brothers from a family whose lineage can be traced back to the norman Sir Roger Partryche of Kendall, (1375). Miles has been described as a courtier and a soldier, an urbane figure who mixed with well-read courtiers. During the reign of Henry VIII he held the office of High Sheriff for the county of Gloucestershire, followed by the office of chief master of the King’s games, pastimes, and sports. He made himself notorious as a gambler. On one occasion, when playing with the king, he staked on one throw of the dice £100 against the bells of the Jesus Chapel in the churchyard of St. Paul's Cathedral and the tower on which they hung; Partridge won, and had the bells taken down and broken. He was granted the manor of Almondsbury in 1544 In 1546, he served for two years as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire which is the oldest secular office under the Crown.^[1] In 1548, he was granted extensive former monastic properties in and around Bristol, and together with Sir John Butler, purchased still greater quantities of properties in Gloucestershire. He was further granted the Manor at Kew, the message, comprising the main house and its outbuildings, conveyed to him by Edward Courteney on behalf of King Henry VIII.

In 1546 after Edward VI’s access, Sir Miles Partridge accompanied Sir Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset in the expedition to Scotland in 1547. He accepted the surrender of Thornton Castle, fought at the battle of Pinkie on 10 September, and was knighted at Roxburgh on 28 September.^[2]

Having long-served as an English courtier under Henry VIII and Edward VI, Partridge became implicated in the plot against the unfortunate Edward Seymour’s successor, John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland; on 7 October 1551 he was accused by Sir Thomas Palmer of having undertaken to raise London and seize the Great Seal of the Realm, with the help of the apprentices. It was reported that he had entered too deeply the into the amusements of the Court. His guilt is not clear: both Palmer and Northumberland subsequently confessed that the evidence was false. He was arrested on 16 October 1551 whilst gallantly protecting a Duchess and arrested at her house on charges of conspiring against Lord Dudley. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and afterwards moved, on grounds of ill-health, to the lieutenant's house on Tower Hill, and his wife was allowed to attend him. A commission was appointed for his trial on 29 November. He was convicted of felony, and hanged on Tower Hill on Friday 26 February 1552. Others implicated were executed there the same day: Sir Ralph Vane and alongside him Sir Thomas Arundel and Sir Michael Stanhope beheaded.^[3] Partridge was little pitied, says John Strype, since he was credited with not only the deeds of Edward Seymour but also the publicity stunt with St. Paul’s cathedral, which pivotal event served Henry VIII’s rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church.^[1] After his death, his wife received restitution from the Crown and was granted the Manor of Kenn. His brother, Sir William Partridge of Cirencester (1490-1578) 4th Pedigree, who had previously served as a member of parliament, went on to serve as Sheriff of Gloucestershire.

Partridge was at one time possessed of the Capital Mansion House ‘the Messuage’ of Kew, Surrey, conveyed by Edward Courtenay. His wife's name was Jane, and after his death she was granted the manor of Kenn, Devon. By her he had two daughters, Margery and Katherine, who in 1553 obtained restitution by act of parliament. One of them married William Stokebrege, grocer, and in 1563 George Barton, rector of St Mary Abchurch, was imprisoned for committing adultery with her.^[1]

Parents Sir John ‘William’ Partridge of Cirencester (1445-1510) Lady Agnes ‘Anne’ Bennett (1470-1495)

Brothers

Robert Partridge (1487-1570)

Sir William Partridge of Cirencester and Wishanger (Sheriff of Gloucester) (1495-1578)[4]

Sir Hugh Partridge, (1489-1576) granted coat of arms at London in 1549, by Sir Gilbert Dethick

Adam Partridge (b.1490)

John Partridge

Bartholomew Partridge

[4] Burkes Landed Gentry, (1814–92) p1158

• Brayley, Edward Wedlake (1829). Londiniana: or, Reminiscences of the British metropolis: including characteristic sketches, antiquarian, topographical, descriptive, and literary. Vol. 4. Hurst, Chance, and co.

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Partridge, Miles". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.