Robert Constable (abt. 1531 - 1591)

Born about 1531 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Dorothy Widdrington — married after 1553 in Wallington, Northumberland

Descendants

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Biography

Noted as a bigamist. However, he was married to his 1st wife as a child.

Robert Constable (b. abt. 1531 - d. 1591),^[1] and his second wife Dorothy Widdrington, were pardoned for treason in 1553. At the time he was living in Wallington, the property of his wife's first husband.

Robert later identified himself to Sir Ralph Sadler as a servant of the Earl of Leicester (Dudley). He went on to spy for the crown in Scotland in 1569, identifying rebels who had fled over the border. [1]

Unconfused citation needed for date of death: "1591" given by some sources could be from confusion with another Robert - see note below.

Parents

Robert was the son and heir of Marmaduke Constable (b. by 1498 - d. 1560) of Nuneaton, Warwickshire and London, and Elizabeth Darcy (b. c. 1501), daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Darcy of Darcy (c. 1467 – 30 Jun 1537) and Edith Sandys (d. 22 Aug 1529).

Ancestors

His paternal grandfather Robert Constable of Flamborough (b. c. 1478 - d. 06 Jul 1537), was executed.

Marriage

HOP states that the the role of some of Robert's relatives in the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536) jeopardized marriage negotiations with Sir William Gascoigne, whose daughter Dorothy, was supposed to marry Robert.[2]

Flower (1881), names no children with Gascoigne but says he had a son Sir Robert (d. 30 Sep 1600), with Dorothy Widdrington, widow of Roger Fenwick of Wallington (d. before 1553), while his first was still living.[3]

m.1 (after Oct 1536) Dorothy Gascoigne. No issue.[4]

m.2 (1553 or later) Dorothy Widdrington.

• Robert (d. 30 Sep 1600).[5]

m. Anne, dau. and h. of John Hussey, esq. of North Duffield, and had a son and heir Sir William Constable, Bt.[6]

This Robert was the grandfather of the regicide, Sir William Constable, 1st Bt, 1591-1655. However, many sources omit a generation and show Sir William mistakenly as the son, not the grandson, of this Robert.

A contributory factor is the tendency to confuse and conflate Sir William the baronet with an older namesake, a supporter of the Earl of Essex, knighted in 1599.

Another contributory factor is the tendency to confuse this Robert with Sir Robert Constable of Newark, MP, d. 1591, the soldier. This Robert, the bigamist, appears to have been neither a soldier, nor a knight, nor an MP.

See e.g. Wotton, p. 327, footnote.

Occupation

• 1551: Keeper of Redesdale.[7]

Sources

Bibliography

• Clifford, Arthur, ed: Sadler Papers, Vol. 2, p.57, p.108, etc. The editor confuses this Robert with the soldier. However, his identification of the spy stands, since the spy names William Fenwick as his "son-in-law" (ie. stepson) (p. 118).

• "Constable of Everingham, Yorkshire (1741)." The English Baronetage, 2, pp. 326-328. London: Thomas Wotton. Google Books.[8]

• Constable, Sir Marmaduke II (by 1498-1560), of London and Nuneaton, Warws. HOP. Web.[9]

• Flower, F. (1881). The Visitation of Yorkshire in the Years 1563 and 1564, pp. 66. Charles Best Norcliffe, Ed. London: Harleian Society. Archive.org.[10]

• Hodgson, J. (1827). "Pedigrees of Strother and Fenwick of Wallington," in a History of Northumberland. E. Walker. Google Books.

• Hodgson, J. & Hodgson-Hinde, J. (1832). A History of Northumberland Part, 2, pp. 236. Google Books.[11]

• Knowles, W.H. (1898). "The camera of Adam Jesmond, popularly called King John's Palace." Archaeologia Aeliana, 19, pp. 34. Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Google Books.[12]

• Urban, S. (1854). "Notes of the month." The Gentleman's Magazine, 195. London. Google Books.[13]

• Wikipedia: Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy#Marriage and issue

See also:

• Clay, J.W: Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with Additions, Vol. 2 of 3, page 290, XIII. Clay says this Robert was an MP, but that appears to be wrong. Hist. Parl. identifies the MP as Sir Robert Constable of Newark, 2nd son of Katherine Manners. The knighthood, the Ordnance appointment and the death, burial and admon also apply to the MP, not to this Robert.

Citations and Notes

1. ↑ age 30 on 28 Apr 2 Eliz. / 1561 (Urban, 1854)