George Kirke Esq

Born [date unknown] in Scotland

Husband of Anne (Killigrew) Kirke — married 4 Jan 1627 (to 1641) in Middlesex, England [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (Townshend) Kirke — married 26 Feb 1646 (to 1675) in London, England

Descendants

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Biography

George Kirke came from a family of courtiers that had for some time served the Stuart court in Scotland and later in England, when James IV of Scotland acceded to the English throne. His father, George, was awarded a pension of £20 by the king in 1605 for his long service as doorkeeper to the chamber of Prince Charles. ^[1] It is notable that he was listed among the prince's nurse, seamstress, laundress and cook.

Coming to England, the younger George Kirk rose in rank to became a groom to Charles after his accession as Prince of Wales following the death of his brother Henry Prince of Wales in 1612. ^[2] In 1623 he was sent with the prince on his ill-fated expedition to woo the Infanta of Spain. ^[3]

On the accession of Charles I to the throne, George Kirke was promoted to Groom of the Bedchamber, at which he was granted a pension of £500, ^[4] and later Gentleman of the Robes. His rise was marked by his marriage on 4 January 1627 to Anne Killigrew, daughter of Sir Robert Killigrew, MP and courtier. ^[5] On 26 April 1628, Killgrew sponsored a bill to allow the naturalisation of his father-in-law, Kirke. ^[6] By this time, he was styled as "Esquire".

During the 1630s, the two engaged in schemes to drain fenlands in Lincolnshire, with the support of the king, which were violently opposed by the residents of the areas. ^[7]

During the Civil War, George Kirke served the king at his court at Oxford, and was fined £985 by Parliament for "delinquency". ^{[8] [3]} With the restoration of the monarchy after the war, his position at court was likewise restored and rewarded. His pension was continued, as he was "much straitened in fortune by his loyalty", and he was given the post of Keeper of Whitehall Palace. ^{[9] [10]} He was able to place his sons in the army and his daughters in places at court, where they were expected to find husbands.

First Marriage to Anne Killigrew

George Kirk's first marriage to the daughter of Sir Robert Killigrew took place on 4 January 1627. Unlike the other females associated with George Kirk, there appears to be no notoriety attached to his first wife. Their marriage had issue:

Charles - bp, 4 September 1633 at St Martin in the Fields, Westminster. ^[11]

Lucy - probable daughter - d.1687 ^[12]

Unknown daughter - d. young and buried 23 May 1640 at Westminster Abbey. ^[13]

Mrs Kirke, a dresser to Queen Henrietta Maria, was tragically drowned after a fall at London Bridge in 1641 and was buried near the font at Westminster Abbey on 9 July. Several poems were written to commemorate her. ^[13]

Second Marriage to Mary Townshend

George Kirk's second wife was was the daughter of Aurelian Townshend, gentleman of the Privy Chamber and author of court masques. She was noticed as "the admired beauty of the times", and the king gave her in marriage, which took place on 26 February 1645/6. ^{[14] [15]} The marriage had issue four children: two sons and two daughters (sources do not agree on the birth order of the daughters). Some scandalous reports described them as "adulterous bastards" ^[14] and suggested that Mrs. Kirke prostituted her daughters to the noblemen of the court. The children were:

Percy - Lt General - b. abt. 1647; m. abt. 1680 Mary Howard; d. 1691

Philip - d. 1687

Diana - m. 1673 Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Oxford; bur. 16 April 1719

Mary (Mall) - m. 1677 Sir Thomas Vernon; d. 1711

Mary Kirke outlived her husband to die about 1701. ^[13]

George Kirke died intestate on 20 May 1675 and was buried on 26 May at St Margaret's church, Westminster. ^{[3] [13]} He has been described as "notorious", ^[13] though this was due largely to the reputation of his children, especially his daughters, who were known as wanton and promiscuous. ^[16] As Chichester ^[15] points out, these "were no better than other ladies at the court" of Charles II. George Kirke was essentially a man of his time and place, with its faults.

Sources

1. ↑ Rymer, Thomas. Foedera ... vol. 16 (London, 1715), pp. 111-2. Rymer
2. ↑ Birch and Williams. The Court and times of James the First, vol. 1, p. 257. London : Henry Colburn, 1848. p, 257
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} History of Parliament Online: Kirke, George (-d.1675), of Whitehall HOP
4. ↑ "Charles I - volume 2: May 1625." Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1625-26. Ed. John Bruce. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1858. 16-33. British History Online. Web. 2 March 2023. May 16
5. ↑ History of Parliament Online: KILLIGREW, Sir Robert (c.1580-1633) HOP
6. ↑ "House of Commons Journal Volume 1: 09 May 1628." Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 1, 1547-1629. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1802. 894. British History Online. Web. 2 March 2023. BHO
7. ↑ "Charles I - volume 536: October 1636." Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1625-49 Addenda. Eds. William Douglas Hamilton, and Sophie Crawford Lomas. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1897. 536-537. British History Online. Web. 3 March 2023. #64
8. ↑ "Cases brought before the committee: July 1643." Calendar, Committee For the Advance of Money: Part 1, 1642-45. Ed. Mary Anne Everett Green. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1888. 181-217. British History Online. Web. 3 March 2023. 4 July 1643
9. ↑ "Charles II - volume 68: February 1663." Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles II, 1663-4. Ed. Mary Anne Everett Green. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1862. 36-63. British History Online. Web. 3 March 2023. Feb. 8
10. ↑ "Charles II - volume 88: Undated 1663." Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles II, 1663-4. Ed. Mary Anne Everett Green. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1862. 399-413. British History Online. Web. 2 March 2023. #9
11. ↑ Parish Register of St Martin in the Fields 1619-1636 Ancestry Image
12. ↑ Chester, p. 218. p. 218
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4} Chester, Joseph Lemuel The marriage, baptismal, and burial registers of the collegiate church or abbey of St. Peter, Westminster, p. 295. p. 295
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Notes and Queries, "Notes on Grammont" by G. Steinman Steinman. Series 1, vol. viii,(1858) p. 461. Hathi
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 31/ Kirke, Percy by Henry Manners Chichester DNB
16. ↑ Wilson, John Harold. Court Satires of the Restoration, p. 258. Columbus : Ohio State University Press, 1976. p. 258

See also:

• Cokayne, George Edward (1945). "The Complete Peerage", edited by H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White and Lord Howard de Walden. Vol X. London: St. Catherine Press. pp. 260–1.
• Wikipedia: George Kirke Kirke