67-557: Stanwell is a village in the Spelthorne district, in Surrey , England. It is 16 miles (26 km) west of central London. A small corner of its land is used as industrial land for nearby Heathrow Airport . The rest of the village is made up of residential and recreational land. Historically part of the county of Middlesex , it has, like the rest of Spelthorne, been in Surrey since 1965. The village
134-480: A "burning fever for 24 days, and a continual rheum fell to her lungs and putrified there, which she had not strength to void". As soon as Mary died, the Earl of Worcester , the Earl of Leicester and the Earl of Totnes went to Hampton Court Palace , to inform the queen of her daughter's death. Seeing the three men before her, Queen Anne realized what had happened and spared the men the task of telling her. After showing
201-724: A few small factories (now motor manufacturer garages and offices) had been built by the 1950s and remain along the A30 London Road, including Del Monte , Ford and Suzuki . At one time British Mediterranean Airways was headquartered at the Cirrus House within the post town but in the London Borough of Hounslow , near Stanwell. The nearest railway stations are Ashford (Surrey) railway station , 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Stanwell High Street, and Heathrow Terminal 4 railway station , 2 miles (3.2 km) east. Heathrow Terminal 4
268-413: A minority of the social housing . The non-urban parts, inclusive of the embanked water retaining reservoirs, are today for the most part Spelthorne's parks and lakes . The bulk of the rest is mostly narrow buffering land being arable farming, horse-grazing meadows and sheep grazing on the reservoir embankments and fringes with Green Belt legal status. Shopping is available in each of the towns and in
335-620: A nurse to Mary, and was lodged in the Strand , was suspected of involvement in the Gunpowder Plot by Sir Edward Hoby and Thomas Posthumous Hoby . She was a sister of John and Christopher Wright , and an acquaintance of Thomas Percy . At 17 months old, Mary contracted a violent cold that developed into pneumonia. She was constantly feverish and Queen Anne was called to Stanwell and frequently visited her young child. The royal physician Martin Schöner
402-536: A recreation ground in 1927. Its first complaint about dangerous driving along the London Road was made in 1909. In addition to the overseer, who was unpaid, the council had two salaried assistant overseers, one of whom was also clerk to the council and the other of whom was the rate collector. The council protested against the inclusion of Stanwell in Staines Urban District, which nevertheless took place, so that
469-554: A regatta to Penton Hook in July for racing shells . Sunbury Skiff and Punting Club is the newest of all six which are quite clustered on the Thames, several of which incorporate dongola racing , dragon boat racing and canoeing . It organises an August regatta with fireworks. In May the Staines 10k charity run takes place organised by two local running/'strolling' clubs and the council. One of
536-399: A reward of £100. The cost of rich fabrics ordered by the king for the christening went up to £ 300, currently worth around £790,000. Linen provided by Audrey Walsingham to be used by the queen in childbed and by the baby in the first year cost £600. A crimson velvet and damask bed with a canopy or "sparver" for the queen cost £908. On 8 April 1605, at Greenwich Palace , attended by
603-568: A sermon in the King's Closet. He then went into the Chapel. The Queen came from her private lodging, where she had had her "laying in", to her Closet with a train of ladies. Some of the lords came to bring her into the Chapel, and she came to the altar supported by the Dukes of Holstein and Lennox, then went to her seat in a canopy called a "traverse" opposite the king. After prayers and music the king and queen came to
670-540: A stable and energy-efficient drinking water supply to London, are bird reserves and in the case of the Queen Mary Reservoir, a sailing training centre. A similar percentage of land is covered by other lakes, mostly former gravel pits no longer pumped out of water. The 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) River Ash, Surrey starts and ends in the borough. Of recognised high importance to nature is Staines Moor , which alongside Sheepwalk Lake and wetlands , Shepperton are
737-565: A third time, almost immediately before she offered up herself, a sweet virgin sacrifice, unto Him that made her, faintly cried 'I go, I go!' The more strange did this appear to us that heard it, in that it was almost incredible that so much vigor should still remain in so weak a body; and whereas she had used many other words in the time of her extremity, yet now at last, as if directed by supernatural inspiration, she did so aptly utter these, and none but these." Mary died at Stanwell on 16 September 1607. According to Rowland Whyte , she had suffered
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#1732856078485804-468: Is Grade I listed . Stanwell Place was a grand manor house from the 17th century 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the village church, north of Park Road. The Gibbons family owned the manorial rights from 1754 to 1933, and slowly sold off the estate from the 1800s. Sold to John Watson Gibson in 1933, four years later 330 acres (1.3 km) were sold off to the Metropolitan Water Board for
871-579: Is Grade II* listed . However Thomas Knyvett College , bears his name in the twenty-first century. James VI and I 's infant daughter Mary died at Stanwell while in the care of the Knyvet household. Several members of the aristocracy lived there in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Cox's Orange Pippin was first grown c. 1830 by Richard Cox in his garden on the Bath Road within the parish, see Colnbrook which now has this piece of land. An unknown species of rose
938-551: Is also served by the Piccadilly line of London Underground . Stanwell High Street itself is served by minimal public transport provision, of bus routes that run only once or twice a day. However, Clare Road to the east of Stanwell is served regularly (three buses an hour) by London Buses route 203 between Hounslow and Staines, as well as by route 442 half-hourly between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Staines operated by local bus company Carlone Ltd. Stanwell has historically been one of
1005-557: Is due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The council offices are at Knowle Green in Staines. The building was opened in 1972 for the former Staines Urban District Council, shortly before that council was abolished in 1974 to be replaced by Spelthorne Borough Council. The borough council estimates it has 3.0 square kilometres (750 acres) of parks, including, from Shepperton upstream,
1072-540: Is largely ceremonial in Spelthorne. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1995 have been: Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: Five of the independent councillors sit together as the 'Independent Spelthorne Group', the other sits with the Conservatives. The next election
1139-501: Is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free). Borough of Spelthorne Spelthorne is a local government district with borough status in Surrey , England. Its council is based in Staines-upon-Thames ; other settlements in the area include Ashford , Sunbury-on-Thames , Shepperton , Stanwell and Laleham . It is named after the medieval Spelthorne Hundred which had covered
1206-482: Is to the south of the cargo-handling area of Heathrow Airport and to the east of the Staines Reservoirs . Stanwell is the northernmost settlement in Surrey, bordering Berkshire and Greater London . Its recognisable extent has been substantially cut three times – all in the 20th century. Land was taken for reservoirs in about 1900; a few decades later land was taken into Heathrow Airport; and in 1995, after
1273-449: The 2023 election , independent councillor Joanne Sexton was appointed leader of the council, with Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Bateson serving as deputy leader. The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor
1340-650: The Office for National Statistics managed to classify 50.8 square kilometres (19.6 sq mi), 99% of land in Spelthorne. The findings of this study showed that the land use in Spelthorne was as follows: Two Rivers Retail Park and Elmsleigh Shopping Centre in Staines-upon-Thames. In 2016 there were: The district has two publicly sponsored leisure centres and two private clubs with pools, and two without pools: It has two golf courses. School-taught English sports: cricket and football are played at many pitches;
1407-629: The River Colne West Bedfont may have been a hamlet of Stanwell in 1086; however, the dividing line between West Bedfont hamlet in Stanwell parish and East Bedfont in the parish of Bedfont (now in Greater London ) may not have been drawn before the 11th or 12th century. West Bedfont along with Rudsworth are no longer used by residents (as localities, hamlets, neighbourhoods). In the Middle Ages
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#17328560784851474-511: The Thames Path . Its sixteen main parks with recreational/sports facilities are supplemented by small greens and linear parks, such as those by the River Thames . The largest parks have woodland and flowering meadow. These support diverse and rare grasses, invertebrates and birds on a rich alluvial soil: Laleham Park and Sunbury Park . The final great reduction of private parks was that of
1541-423: The 18th century the remaining common land was generally known as Stanwell Field or Town Field until its enclosure. Orchards and market gardens began to spread over the parish in the second half of the 19th century. The Staines and West Drayton Railway (now closed) was opened in 1884, with Colnbrook railway station in Stanwell parish at Poyle, after the then neighbouring village. The streets of small houses behind
1608-522: The A30 between 1895 and 1910. The Staines Reservoirs were completed in 1902 and started supplying water to London in 1904. Between them they cover 440 acres (180 ha). The two old settlements grew slightly, notably by the building of council housing estates in Stanwell in 1919 and in Stanwell Moor in 1930. A private motor-bus served the village by 1926, and London Transport buses began in 1932. Poyle Halt on
1675-653: The Church of England Diocese of London and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster . The rest of Surrey falls into the Anglican dioceses of Guildford and Southwark , and the Roman Catholic diocese of Arundel and Brighton . Floods in 2014 caused internal damage to 891 (or 2.2%) of homes in Spelthorne due to record rainfall causing Thames flooding . This compared to internal damage to more than 30% of homes in
1742-710: The Princess' "tutor", rather than the sorrow of her mother. The sermon was published soon after as A Sermon Preached before the Lords of Council, in K. Henry the Seavenths Chapell, Sept. 23, 1607 At the Funerall of the most excellent & hopefull Princess, the Lady Marie's Grace . Her effigy, created by Maximilian Colt , represented a young girl, clad in a mature dress, with the traditional ruff , carved in ivory. It reads (or read in
1809-551: The Virgin is a Norman building with a 14th-century Gothic chancel and 15th-century Perpendicular Gothic west tower. The tower has a spire with wood shingles . Inside the church are monuments to members of the Knyvet(t) family who bought Staines manor after their foiling of the planting of the gunpowder and Fawkes. The church was restored in 1862 under the direction of Samuel Sanders Teulon , and restored again in 1903. The building
1876-455: The altar together and embraced, then walked to the door of the King's Presence Chamber. Mary was given into the care of Sir Thomas Knyvet , afterwards Lord Knyvet, who helped arrest Guy Fawkes and stop the Gunpowder Plot . On 1 June 1605, Mary was sent to Stanwell , Middlesex , to Knyvet's residence. He built new lodgings for the women of Mary's household. He was given £20 per week for
1943-503: The area plus adjoining parts of modern Greater London. The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor . The borough ceded a small amount of land in 1995, when Poyle was transferred to Slough. The Spelthorne area was included in the Metropolitan Police District from 1840 until 2000, when it passed to Surrey Police . Spelthorne remains part of
2010-617: The area. The borough is largely urban; although outside the boundaries of Greater London , it is almost entirely inside the M25 motorway which encircles London . The borough contains several large reservoirs, including the Wraysbury Reservoir , Staines Reservoirs and Queen Mary Reservoir , which all supply fresh water to London and surrounding areas. The neighbouring districts are Elmbridge , Runnymede , Windsor and Maidenhead , Slough , Hillingdon , Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames ,
2077-450: The borough, which is an unparished area . On 27 February 2024, Spelthorne Borough Council unveiled their Corporate Plan for 2024-2028, highlighting their key priorities for the next few years. As of 2023, the council had £1.1 billion in borrowing, with the highest borrowing to income ratio of any council in England. The council has been under no overall control since 2020. Following
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2144-533: The broad expression 'the M4 corridor '. There was little building in the parish before World War I . The first factory/warehouse at Poyle appeared before 1914 another at West Bedfont in the 1920s. By 1956 there were between 70 and 80 at Poyle, and several at West Bedfont. During the 1920s and 1930s ribbon development spread along the main roads: on the A4 Bath Road Colnbrook remains mainly residential. Garages and
2211-461: The child with the name Mary, as her godparents, Ulrik of Denmark , brother to the queen, Lady Arbella Stuart , first cousin to the king, and Dorothy Percy, Countess of Northumberland , had decided to name her. According to the Venetian ambassador, Nicolò Molin , she was named after her grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots . Immediately after the ceremony was complete, the noblemen put on their coats and
2278-473: The completion of the M25 motorway , the settlement of Poyle (beyond Stanwell Moor) was detached from the Borough and reassigned to Colnbrook in the Borough of Slough. Stanwell Moor is near the village and has multiple reservoirs around it. It was recognised as a manor in medieval times. It has a few pasture/horse-riding fields, horticultural businesses and flood meadows. It is centred 1 mile (1.6 km) from
2345-406: The council was dissolved. In 1951 the parish had a population of 8148. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. In the northwest of the parish, off Spout Lane, Middlesex County Council established 24 small holdings in the early 1930s: Burrows Hill Close estate and Bedfont Court. The part of Stanwell New Road north of Park Road opened as a main north–south route in 1948. The following year, most of
2412-594: The county's major archery clubs (Spelthorne Archers) and five lawn bowls clubs. Fishing is open to all, subject to rod licensing, from the Thames Path National Trail and adjoining islands in Laleham and Staines as well as at lakes in Shepperton and Ashford. One rowing club is in the borough, at Laleham, with others nearby including Staines Boat Club across Staines Bridge from the town centre which organises
2479-524: The defunct railway opened in 1927 and Poyle Industrial Estate Halt in 1953. Housing society and council house building began after the Second World War , including 300 pre-fabricated homes. From 1930, having formed part of a 19th-century Sanitary District then Rural District, Stanwell was administered by Staines Urban District (of the county of Middlesex) until its 1974 dissolution. In 1965 were it not for special provision Stanwell would have seceded with
2546-536: The development of the King George VI Reservoir , now in Staines. After Gibson's death in 1947, Stanwell Place was sold to King Faisal II of Iraq who owned it until his assassination in 1958. The estate was then purchased for gravel extraction, and despite local attempts to prevent it, the house was allowed to become derelict, and demolished in the 1960s. What was the north of the parish is a major industrial, distribution and headquarters zone, bound up now in
2613-570: The early 20th century, a sale of Laleham manor demesne by the Earl of Lucan . The Jockey Club , as owner of Kempton Park Racecourse , is successor to the domain of the lords of the manor of Kempton – about 40% is a large nature reserve with its internal two large ponds abutting the Kempton Park Reservoirs Site of Special Scientific Interest , on Thames flood meadow . The borough has five reservoirs, covering more than 15% of land, which apart from their main use of ensuring
2680-486: The few wards of Surrey County Council held by the Labour Party. The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the settlement who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining %
2747-572: The former Hounslow Heath land to the north-east, predominantly in Harmondsworth , became London Airport. The east end of the local road to Bedfont was diverted, and the roads running north were turned over, together with the eastern half of Spout Lane, where houses were demolished. In 2004, the village of Stanwell won a bronze medal in the national Britain in Bloom competition, in the urban community category. The Church of England parish church of St Mary
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2814-414: The historical nucleus of Stanwell and is part of the same ward and ecclesiastical parish. There are two theories regarding the origin of the name Stanwell . One is that it was named after St Ann(e)'s well in the village, but according to all known records the parish church has always been dedicated to St Mary. The second is that it means 'stone well', referring to stony soil or the adjoining street to
2881-423: The infant princess's diet and that of her suite, consisting of six rockers and several inferior attendants; but the King himself paid their wages, the expenses of moving young Mary from house to house, of her coach and horses and other such costs. Elizabeth Hayward, Knyvet's wife, took great care of her "royal charge" during her short life. Alice Wright, the wife of William Redshaw, a gentlewoman who had hoped to be
2948-399: The large minority of head manors retained by men with Anglo-Saxon names. Its Domesday assets were: 15 hide , 4 mills worth £3 10s 0d and 375 eels , 3 weirs worth 1000 eels , 10 ploughs , meadow for 12 ploughs and woodland worth 12 hogs . It rendered £14 per year to its feudal system overlords. The fruitful watercourse was the western border of the village and of Middlesex ,
3015-489: The last being Edward VI . The next day, King James drank health to his wife and new daughter. In letters announcing Mary's birth to his relatives, James described her as "a most beautiful infant" and punned on her not-yet-revealed name, saying that "if I would not pray to the Virgin Mary, I would pray for the Virgin Mary." Preparations for a royal christening started immediately after the birth. The location decided upon
3082-500: The latter three being London boroughs . The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering two former districts which were both abolished at the same time: These two urban districts had been part of Middlesex prior to 1965, when they had been transferred to Surrey on the creation of Greater London. The new district was named after the medieval hundred of Spelthorne, which had covered
3149-717: The more than 720 nationwide 5,000-metre running competitions of the major organiser is around the rugby union club in its borders, which has a small nature reserve it owns to one end. Other venues hosting annual events in a range of sports are Kempton Park Racecourse and Staines Lammas Park. The stated proportion of land that is absorbed by domestic dwellings tends to be housing with gardens forming suburbs to London and otherwise has mid rise urban town centres with exceptional offices (in Staines-upon-Thames) and apartments (in Sunbury-on-Thames) which are high rise, including
3216-516: The neighbouring settlement of Wraysbury in the borough of Windsor and Maidenhead . In 2014 a campaign group of local business leaders called for the borough – along with others close to the capital – to be transferred from the county of Surrey to Greater London. The proposal was generally opposed by the public and was not pursued. Spelthorne Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council . There are no civil parishes in
3283-404: The nineteenth century) "I, Mary, daughter of James, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland and of Queen Anne, received into heaven in early infancy, found joy for myself, but left longings for my parents, on the 16th of September, 1607. Ye congratulators, condole: she lived only 1 year [sic, according to Everett Green] 5 months and 88 days." The six women appointed to rock her cradle petitioned
3350-421: The normal maternal signs of sorrow, she demanded that the king be told of Mary's death, an autopsy performed and a funeral prepared. Thus, a private ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey's Henry VII Lady Chapel on 23 September and Mary's embalmed body was buried opposite of her sister Sophia's tomb. The funeral sermon was given by Jeremy Leech (died 1644). He addressed the grief of Lady Elizabeth Knyvett,
3417-455: The parish was mostly open fields In 1603, Thomas Knyvet was granted the manor of Stanwell. Knyvet was the man who arrested Guy Fawkes in his attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament . He was created Lord Knyvet in 1607, and in his will left money to found a free school in Stanwell, which was established in 1624. The building is no longer a school and now belongs to a housing association. It
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#17328560784853484-414: The physician Martin Schöner , Anne of Denmark delivered a girl. Although the peoples of King James were slightly disappointed, the birth of the first princess of the two united realms was a cause for celebration. Throughout the realms, bonfires were lit and church bells rung all day long; the celebrations were encouraged by the fact that 68 years had elapsed since the birth of a child to an English sovereign,
3551-434: The rest of Middlesex to London : the Staines, Sunbury and Potters Bar Urban Districts transferred variously to Surrey and Hertfordshire , the most distant parts of the county from London. The civil parish , with its wider functions than those surviving today. It was relatively active; it intervened with partial success in the negotiations for the building of the reservoirs and saw the provision of allotments in 1918 and of
3618-478: The river banks, particularly in the north, but the remainder of the parish was largely arable land. Nearly all the land west of Stanwell Moor's clustered centre and that around Hammonds Farm was enclosed by the mid-18th century. Borough Field, to the north and west of the manor-house, and another small field nearby were inclosed in 1771 by the lord of the manor. Most of the area south of Stanwell and West Bedfont villages remained open until 1792 on their enclosure. By
3685-417: The royal physicians, and had courtiers praise Anne Newdigate to the queen in an unsuccessful attempt to get her made nurse. Samuel Calvert said there would be 40 or more nurses and women to rock the cradle and other positions. Even a few days before the birth, Anne had not decided who would be the midwife and kept three women near her, without making a choice. Finally, Alice Dennis was chosen and received
3752-485: The sites of special scientific interest (SSSI). Hospitality is widespread in the riverside towns. Sunbury and Staines town hubs are within 6 miles (10 km) of top UK attractions such as Windsor Castle, Thorpe Park, Hampton Court, Twickenham Rugby Stadium and Kew Gardens. Staines is the borough's main station, being served by South Western Railway services to London Waterloo , Reading and Windsor & Eton Riverside . A January 2005 enhanced base map study by
3819-666: The south. The first few letters of the name are the same as in the name of neighbouring Staines-upon-Thames, which also is said to mean 'stones', in the same way as the Great Vowel Shift failed to influence the spelling and pronunciation of the contemporaneously pronounced Stane Streets (i.e. stone streets), the Old English for many of the stone-laid Roman roads in Britain The Domesday Book of 1086 records 'Stanwelle' held by Walter, son of Othere. This places it among
3886-421: The southwest Crooked Billet roundabout (named after a demolished pub) were built in the 1880s. As a community they formed part of Staines, and were transferred to it officially in 1896. The Staines Union Workhouse was built on the London Road in the mid-19th century. Together with a former boys' home and a former isolation hospital, both opened about 1913, it became Ashford Hospital. Two cemeteries were opened near
3953-630: The third, rugby union is played at the London Irish Hazelwood Centre sharing pitches with London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club in Sunbury. Staines Rugby Club play next to the Feltham -Hanworth-Sunbury tripoint in Lower Feltham. Spelthorne has two football clubs – semi- or non-professional – as the top men's sides compete in the lower leagues: Spelthorne hosts one of
4020-410: The trumpets sounded. As a way to further celebrate this joyful occasion, the king presented Queen Anne with new jewelry and created several new peerages. His gifts included £1550 worth of jewels provided by Arnold Lulls and Philip Jacobson. On 19 May 1605, Anne of Denmark, who had no role at the christening, was " churched ". This ceremony took place at Greenwich Palace. The king and the lords heard
4087-661: The village of Shepperton but not in the other small villages which are connected by road and bus to the nearby towns. Kempton Park Racecourse and Shepperton Studios are in Spelthorne. Staines is the largest town and has local government and judicial buildings. Each of the towns has libraries and schools. In July 2017, Shepperton was named as the UK's most courteous town by the National Campaign for Courtesy. Notes References Mary Stuart (1605%E2%80%931607) Mary Stuart (8 April 1605 – 16 September 1607)
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#17328560784854154-399: Was found in a local garden in 1838, and given the name of Stanwell Perpetual. Hounslow Heath extended over the area north of Bedfont Road until 1792, and a strip of moorland (Borough Green and Spout Moor) along the present Spout Lane joined it to Hither Moor and Farther Moor, which stretched towards Staines Moor. There were lammas lands in the far east and elsewhere and meadows along many of
4221-409: Was no sound of any word heard breaking from her lips; yet when it sensibly appeared that she would soon make a peaceful end of a troublesome life, she sighed out these words, 'I go, I go!' and when, not long after, there was something to be ministered unto her by those that attended her in the time of her sickness, fastening her eye upon them with a constant look, again she repeated 'Away, I go!' And yet,
4288-413: Was summoned to attend the "sweet Lady Mary". An eyewitness account later preached at her funeral stated that "such was the manner of her death, as bred a kind of admiration in us all that were present to behold it. For, whereas the new-tuned organs of her speech, by reason of her wearisome and tedious sickness, had been so greatly weakened, that for the space of twelve or fourteen hours at the least, there
4355-409: Was the chapel at Greenwich Palace and the date, 5 May. Mary was carried by Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby , who was supported by the Dukes of Holstein and Lennox. The infant's clothing , a train of purple velvet, embroidered with gold and furred with ermines, was supported by two countesses, being so long that it fell to the ground. The archbishop of Canterbury , Richard Bancroft , christened
4422-602: Was the third daughter and sixth child of James VI and I by Anne of Denmark . Her birth was much anticipated. She developed pneumonia at 17 months and died the following year. The first child to be born to Anne and James after James succeeded Elizabeth I of England , her birth was thus awaited with much excitement among both the Scottish and the English. The queen's doctors advised her to go Greenwich Palace in December 1604 because it
4489-560: Was thought to be healthier. There was an outbreak of smallpox at court and the doctors tried to stop her visiting a favourite maid of honour who had fallen ill. Anne went to Greenwich after the performance of the Masque of Blackness in January, as Dudley Carleton described it, "to lay down her great belly". The nobility and gentry competed for places in the establishment for the unborn child. In January 1605 Sir Richard Leveson talked to one of
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