Nicholas Wotton (c. 1497 – 26 January 1567) was anEnglish diplomat, cleric and courtier. He served asDean of York and Royal Envoy toCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
He was a son of Sir Robert Wotton ofBoughton Malherbe,Kent, and a descendant of SirNicholas Wotton,Lord Mayor of London in 1415 and 1430, who wasMember of Parliament for theCity from 1406 to 1429.[1]
Soon after ordination Wotton was granted the benefices ofBoughton Malherbe and ofSutton Valence, and later ofIvychurch,Kent. Desirous of a more worldly career, he entered the service ofPrince-Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall, thenBishop of London. Having helped to draw up theInstitution of a Christian Man, Wotton in 1539 went to arrange the marriage betweenHenry VIII andAnne of Cleves and the union of Protestant princes which was to be the complement of this union. Wotton crossed over to England with the new royal bride but, unlikeThomas Cromwell, he did not lose the royal favour when theking repudiated Anne.[1]
In 1541, having already refused thebishopric of Hereford, he became the first post-ReformationDean of Canterbury and in 1544Dean of York. In 1543 he went on diplomatic business to theNetherlands, and for the next year or two he had much intercourse with theEmperor Charles V. He helped to conclude theTreaty of Ardres between England and France in 1546, and was Ambassador resident in France from 1546 to 1549. Henry VIII made Wotton an executor of his Will and left him £300, and in October 1549, underEdward VI the post ofMinister of State lay vacant; he held the post for about a year[1] until succeeded by the unimpeachable Protestant Sir William Cecil.
In 1550 Wotton was again sent as Royal Envoy to theHoly Roman Emperor and asAmbassador to France during the reign ofMary, doing valuable work in that capacity securing the peace.[1] His secretary in Paris wasJohn Somers.[2] In January 1555, Wotton described a demonstration of a new kind of cannon made by the Italian designerBartolomeo Campi or his brother.[3]
Wotton left France in 1557, but in 1558 he was again in that kingdom, helping to arrange the preliminaries of theTreaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. In 1560 he signed theTreaty of Edinburgh on behalf ofElizabeth I, and he had again visited theNetherlands before his death inLondon.[1]
He is buried in theTrinity Chapel ofCanterbury Cathedral.[4]
His brotherSir Edward Wotton was madeTreasurer of Calais in 1540, and was one of those who took part in the overthrow of theLord Protector Somerset.[1]
His nephew, Thomas Wotton (1521–1587) was the father ofSir Henry Wotton[1] and ofEdward Wotton, 1st Baron Wotton.\
His sisterMargaret was the mother ofHenry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and the grandmother ofLady Jane Grey.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wotton, Nicholas".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 837.| Church of England titles | ||
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| New office | Dean of Canterbury 1541–1567 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Secretary of State 1549-1550 With:Sir William Petre | Succeeded by |
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