The Right Honourable The Earl of Bedford KG PC JP
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, 1555
Lord High Steward for the coronation ofEdward VI
In office 20 February 1547 – 20 February 1547
Monarch	Edward VI
Lord Privy Seal
In office 1542–1555
Monarchs	Henry VIII Edward VI Mary I
Chancellor	See Sir Thomas Audley (1542–1544) The Earl of Southampton (1544–1547) The Lord St. John (1547) (asLord Keeper) The Lord Rich (1547–1551) Thomas Goodrich, Bishop ofEly (1551–1553) Stephen Gardiner, Bishop ofWinchester (1553–1555)
Preceded by	The Earl of Southampton
Succeeded by	The Lord Paget
Lord High Admiral
In office 1540–1542
Monarch	Henry VIII
Chancellor	Sir Thomas Audley
Preceded by	The Earl of Southampton
Succeeded by	The Earl of Hertford
Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall
In office 1552–1554
Monarchs	Edward VI Mary I
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	The Earl of Bath
Lord Lieutenant of Devon
In office 1552–1555
Monarchs	Edward VI Mary I
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	The Earl of Bath
Lord Lieutenant of Dorset
In office 1552–1555
Monarchs	Edward VI Mary I
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	The Earl of Bath
Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
In office 1552–1555
Monarchs	Edward VI Mary I
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	Vacant The Earl of Pembroke
High Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset
In office 1527–1527
Monarch	Henry VIII
Preceded by	John Seymour
Succeeded by	Sir Andrew Luttrell
Member of Parliament forBuckinghamshire
In office 9 August 1529 – 14 April 1536 Serving with Sir Andrew Windsor SirFrancis Bryan(from 1532)
Monarch	Henry VIII
Chancellor	SirThomas More (1529–1532) Sir Thomas Audley (1532–1536)
Preceded by	Unknown
Succeeded by	Unknown
Personal details
Born	John Russell c. 1485 Berwick-by-Swyre,Dorset
Died	14 May 1555(1555-05-14) (aged 69–70)
Resting place	Bedford Chapel,St Michael's Church,Chenies,Buckinghamshire
Nationality	English
Spouse	Anne Sapcote
Relations	John Russell, 1st Earl Russell Bertrand Russell Winston Churchill (distant descendants)
Children	Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford
Parent(s)	Sir James Russell (father) Alice Wyse (mother)
Residence(s)	Chenies Manor House, Chenies, Buckinghamshire
Awards	Knight of theOrder of the Garter Privy Counsellor Severallife peerages
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1stEarl of Bedford Arms of Russell:Argent, a lion rampant gules on a chief sable three escallops of the first Tenure 1550–1555 Successor Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford Other titles 1stBaron Russell

John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford,KG, PC, JP (c. 1485 – 14 March 1555) was an English royal minister in theTudor era. He served variously asLord High Admiral andLord Privy Seal. Among the lands and property he was given byHenry VIII after theDissolution of the Monasteries, were the Abbey and town ofTavistock, and the area that is nowCovent Garden.^[1] Russell is the ancestor of all subsequent Earls and Dukes of Bedford and Earls Russell, includingJohn Russell,Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1865-6), andBertrand Russell, the philosopher (1872-1970).

John Russell was born c. 1485 probably at Berwick-by-Swyre, Dorset, the son of Sir James Russell (d. Nov. 1505)^[2] and his first wife Alice Wyse, daughter of Thomas Wyse of Sidenham, near Tavistock, Devon.^[3] James's father was possibly Sir William Russell, but more likely his brother John Russell (d. pre-November, 1505) by his wife Alice Froxmere, daughter of John Froxmere ofDroitwich,Worcestershire, because his coat of armsquarters Froxmere.^[4] The elder John Russell was the son of Sir Henry Russell (d. 1463/4), and Elizabeth Herring, daughter of John Herring of Chaldon Herring. Henry, a great-grandfather of the 1st earl, was a substantial wine merchant and shipper, who represented Weymouth in the House of Commons four times.^[5][6]

The Russell pedigree can only be traced back with certainty to Henry Russell's father, Sir Stephen Russell, the evidence being contained in a deed of April 1440^[7] in which Henry Russell made over to his daughter Christina and her husbandWalter Cheverell of Chauntemarle, a tenement in Dorchester to be held of himself and his heirs upon the rent of a red rose. In the deed, Henry referred to himself asson and heir of Sir Stephen Russell and of Alice, his wife.^[8] This Alice appears to have been the heir general of the De la Tour family,^[9] which had long owned Berwick-by-Swyre, and by whom therefore the manor was brought into the Russell family.

Both Sir Henry and Sir Stephen were referred to asGascoigne as well asRussell, possibly due to their wine trade with France (seeGascoigne), as in a 1442 pardon under the Privy Seal referring toHenry Russell of Weymouth, merchant, aliasHenry Gascoign, gentleman.^[10] It was long believed in the noble Russell family, certainly by the 2nd Earl of Bedford, that the family was descended from the ancient family ofRussell ofKingston Russell in Dorset, three miles north-east of Berwick, which descent was declared unproven byGladys Scott Thomson in herTwo Centuries of Family History, London, 1930, an exhaustive and scholarly work on the early pedigree of the Earls of Bedford.^[11] (For a disambiguation of the Bedford Russells and the Russells of Kingston Russell, seeKingston Russell House.)

In 1506 John Russell was of service to ArchdukePhilip ofAustria andJuana his wife (king and queen ofCastile) when they were shipwrecked off Weymouth, and escorted the royal couple to the English court in London. He was one of the most accomplished gentlemen of his time^[12] and so impressed them by his gracious manners that they praised him highly to KingHenry VII. He became a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Henry VII in 1507 and to his son and successorHenry VIII in 1509, who employed him in various military and diplomatic missions during theWar of the League of Cambrai. He was at the taking ofThérouanne andTournai. He was knighted on 2 July 1522 after losing an eye at the taking ofMorlaix in Brittany, and he witnessed theBattle of Pavia.

Following his marriage in the Spring of 1526, he made alterations to his ancestral seatChenies Manor House to reflect his new good fortunes. He now stood in favour with the king andCardinal Wolsey, though he would not suffer disgrace at the fall of the latter.

He was madeHigh Sheriff of Dorset and Somerset in 1528 and served as Member of Parliament forBuckinghamshire 1529–1536, retaining the royal favour despite the antipathy ofAnne Boleyn. Late in 1536, he was made aPrivy Counsellor, and helped to suppress thePilgrimage of Grace.

The fall and execution ofHenry Courtenay,Marquess of Exeter, left a power vacuum in the south-western counties of England, which Russell was called upon to fill. On 9 March 1538/1539 he was createdBaron Russell, and appointed Lord President of theCouncil of the West. In the next month, he was made aKnight of the Garter. In July 1539 he was madeHigh Steward of Cornwall, andLord Warden of the Stannaries.

The Council of the West proved unsuccessful as an instrument of government, and did not survive the fall ofCromwell. Russell, however, remained a great magnate in the western counties, and obtained the office of Lord High Admiral in 1540. (The previous holder, theEarl of Southampton, replaced Cromwell asLord Privy Seal.) After Henry VIII metAnne of Cleves atRochester, the next day he asked Russell if he "thought her fair". Russell replied with his natural diplomacy and prudence that he took her "not to befair, but of abrown complexion".^[13] In 1542, Russell himself resigned from the Admiralty and succeeded to the Privy Seal on the death of Southampton. He was High Steward of the University of Oxford from 1543 till his death.

During theItalian War of 1542, he unsuccessfully besiegedMontreuil in 1544, and was Captain General of the Vanguard of the army for the attack on Boulogne in 1545. He was a close companion of King Henry VIII during the last years of his reign. On Henry's death in 1547, he was one of the executors of the king's will, and one of sixteen counsellors during the minority of his son KingEdward VI.

Alongside

On 21 June 1553 he was one of the twenty-sixpeers who signed the settlement of the crown onLady Jane Grey. He was sent to attend KingPhilip II into England on his arrival from Spain to wed the QueenMary.

He wasLord High Steward at theCoronation of KingEdward VI (1547–1553) on 20 February 1547. He was created by that young king (in practice by theRegent)Earl of Bedford on 19 January 1550 for his assistance in carrying out the order of the Council against "images" and for promoting the new religion. In 1552, he was madeLord Lieutenant of Devon.

In the spring of 1526 he married Anne Sapcote, daughter of Sir Guy Sapcote of Huntingdonshire by his wife Margaret Wolston,^[14] and widow, successively, of John Broughton (d. 24 January 1518)^[15][16] ofToddington, Bedfordshire, by whom she had a son and three daughters, and, secondly, ofSir Richard Jerningham (d.1525), by whom she had no issue.^[17] By Anne Sapcote he had one child:

• Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (1527–1585), son and heir

The issue of Anne Sapcote by her first husband John Broughton (d. 1518) were as follows:

• John Broughton (d. 1528).
• Katherine Broughton (d. 23 April 1533), who was the ward firstly ofCardinal Wolsey, and secondlyAgnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, who arranged the marriage of Katherine, as his first wife, to her eldest son,William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham.^[18][19][20]
• Anne Broughton (d. 16 May 1562),^[21][22][23] who married, as his second wife, by dispensation dated 24 May 1539, SirThomas Cheyney,Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.^[24][25] There is a monument to her at Toddington.^[26]
• Daughter whose name is unknown, and who died between July 1517 and 1529.^[27]

Russell died on 14 March 1554/5 and was buried at his ancestral manor ofChenies, Buckinghamshire, in the privateBedford Chapel of the parish church next toChenies Manor House, his former chief residence. The Dukes of Bedford continue to be buried in this chapel.

His widow, Anne, died on 14 March 1559 and was buried at Chenies on 21 March 1559.^[28]

Russell is the ancestor of all subsequent Earls and Dukes of Bedford and Earls Russell, includingJohn Russell,Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the philosopherBertrand Russell.

On theDissolution of the Monasteries King Henry VIII granted Russell lands and properties includingTavistock Abbey andPlympton Abbey in Devon, the wealthiest two abbeys in Devon, and the CistercianDunkeswell Abbey also in Devon. He was granted the Blackfriars in Exeter, on the site of which he built his opulent townhouse known asBedford House, from where he conducted his duties asLord Lieutenant of Devon. These grants made him the largest landowner in Devon. In Bedfordshire, he acquired the site ofWoburn Abbey which he made his chief seat. In London he was granted seven acres (28,000 m²) called "Long Acre", and thekitchen garden ofWestminster Abbey, which is now the site ofCovent Garden.^[1] The present Duke of Bedford (or his trustees, the "Bedford trustees") retain still in 2013 several acres of prime London property comprising theBedford Estate centred onBedford Square andTavistock Square.^{[citation needed]}

John Russell'sGarter stall plate survives affixed to the back of his stall inSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The shield showsquarterly of four: 1st grand quarter: quarterly 1st & 4th:Argent, a lion rampant gules on a chief sable three escallops of the first (Russell); 2nd & 3rd:Azure, a tower argent (de la Tour); 2ndGules, three herrings hauriant argent (Herringham); 3rdSable, a griffin segreant between threecrosses crosslet fitchy argent (Froxmere); 4th:Sable, three chevronnels ermine indexter chief a crescent or fordifference (Wyse).^[29] Crest:A goat passant^[30] argent; Supporters: Dexter:A goat argent,Sinister:Alion rampant gules^[31] Motto:Plus que Jamais ("More than Never"). Inscription in French:Du tres noble et puisant Seigneur Johan Conte de Bedford Baron Russell Chevalier du tres noble Ordre de la Jarretiere et Garduen du Prive Seau, fust enstalle a Wyndsor le XVIII jure de Maye l'an du Roy Henry VIII de son reigne XXXI l'an 1539 ("Of the very noble and powerful Lord John, Earl of Bedford, Baron Russell, Knight of the Very Noble Order of the Garter and Keeper of the Privy Seal was installed at Windsor the 18th day of May the year of King Henry VIII of his reign the 31st, the year 1539").

• Blaydes, Frederic August (1884).The Visitations of Bedfordshire. Vol. XIX. London: Harleian Society. p. 14. Retrieved1 June 2013.
• Copinger, W. A. (1910).The Manors of Suffolk. Vol. 6. Manchester: Taylor, Garnett, Evans and Co. Ltd. pp. 156, 319. Retrieved3 June 2013.
• Harris, Barbara J. (2002).English Aristocratic Women 1450-1550. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 108–9.ISBN 9780198034490. Retrieved2 June 2013.
• Lysons, Daniel (1792).The Environs of London. Vol. I. London: A. Strahan. pp. 278–9. Retrieved1 June 2013.
• MacMahon, Luke (2004)."Jerningham, Sir Richard (d. 1525)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70794. Retrieved31 May 2013. (Subscription,Wikipedia Library access orUK public library membership required.)(subscription required)
• Nicolas, Nicholas Harris (1826).Testamenta Vetusta. Vol. II. London: Nichols and Son. p. 557. Retrieved3 June 2013.
• Nichols, John Gough, ed. (1848).The Diary of Henry Machyn. London: Camden Society. pp. 191,282–284,368–72, 390. Retrieved2 June 2013.
• Pollard, Albert Frederick (1901)."Cheyne, Thomas" .Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). Vol. 1. pp. 421–423.
• Richardson, Douglas (2011).Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. p. 417.ISBN 978-1449966386.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

• Round, J. Horace (1901). "The Origin of the Russells".Studies in Peerage & Family History. Vol. 2. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Company.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link). A severe and detailed critique of the work of Wiffen.
• Scott Thomson, Gladys (1930).Two Centuries of Family History. London: Longmans Green and Co. (Includes an early pedigree of the Earls of Bedford, and builds onJ. Horace Round's critique of Wiffen)
• Willen, Diane (2004)."Russell, John, first earl of Bedford (c.1485–1555)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 48 (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 278 et seq.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24319. Retrieved31 May 2013. (Subscription,Wikipedia Library access orUK public library membership required.)(subscription required)
• Wiffen, J. H. (1833).Historical Memoirs of the House of Russell from the Time of the Norman Conquest. Vol. 1 of 2 vols. London. Fatally flawed in its erroneous linkage of the Russell Earls of Bedford with the "baronial" Russells of Kingston Russell.
• Willen, Diane (1981).John Russell, First Earl of Bedford, One of the King's Men. London: Royal Historical Society.

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• Will of Lady Anne, Countess of Bedford, proved 21 March 1559, PROB 11/42A/512, National Archives Retrieved 30 May 2013
• John Russell at Tudor Place

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