Surrey

The Drakes of Esher Place

I have written two true stories of the Drakes of Esher Place 1593-1647 – Francis Drake, Esquire and Mrs Joan Drake – during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. These are companion pieces, and together they provide a rare insight into an imperfect marriage during the early modern period, from the perspective of both husband and wife. Whilst they can be read in either order, I wrote Mrs Drake’s story first, and investigated what might have caused her husband’s anger and frustration afterwards.

Both stories have a short version of 3-4 pages, which is suitable for publication in local history magazines. However, for those interested in a more in-depth read based on detailed analysis of (and quotes from) the primary sources – a book published in 1647, and court documents from 1605 – plus extensive research of the main people involved, with footnotes of relevant associated facts, a list of sources, and an index, I have made these available both as a ‘flipbook’ and pdf.

The Museum of Melancholy: The Divine Case of Mrs Drake 1615-47

In the early 1600s, Mrs Joan Drake is married to Francis Drake (godson of the great explorer) and lives in Esher Place in Surrey, previously owned by Cardinal Wolsey. They should be leading a charmed life, but she suffers from a deep melancholy that manifests itself in both physical symptoms and a spiritual anxiety. Seeking a cure, Dr John Hart, a Doctor of Divinity, arranges for a series of Puritan preachers to take on her ‘case’ and as the years pass finds himself inexorably drawn into Mrs Drake’s confidence.

Based on the long-forgotten book Hart published in 1647, some twenty years after her death, this is a true account of Mrs Drake’s final years in which, despite the occasional quarrel, she involves him in a secret plan to help her escape — whilst pregnant with her last, ill-fated child — and makes a heartbreaking confession to him on her deathbed. Written as a spiritual guide but concealing a memoir, Hart’s wonderful phrasing and bygone vocabulary form a testament of his devotion, tantalisingly debatable if it was reciprocated or unrequited, but which ultimately proved deadly.

Although the events took place four hundred years ago, the issues are surprisingly contemporary: an intelligent and strong-willed woman struggling with her bodily and mental wellbeing, resolutely combatting the social norms and religious dogma with persistent subversions, and still fervently hoping for a happy ending.

To download short version as pdf click here

To read full version as Flipbook click here

To download full version as pdf click here

Drake vs Drake: A Case of Mistaken Identity 1593-1615

In 1593, thirteen-year-old Francis Drake of Esher Place in Surrey is invited to visit his godfather, the celebrated explorer Sir Francis Drake, at his home at Buckland Abbey. He leaves three months later convinced that he will be named his heir and will inherit the estates of the ageing and childless national hero. However, Sir Francis dies off the coast of Panama on his next voyage and makes a hasty codicil to his will, in which he leaves his godson only one small manor for which he has to pay a substantial fee.

This deathbed act leads to years of legal wrangling in which Francis Drake, now in his early twenties, fights for what he believes are his rightful dues against Thomas Drake, Sir Francis’s younger brother and executor, and Jonas Bodenham, a shady character brought up as the son Sir Francis never had to handle his business affairs. There are no holds barred; the only way to win is to drag his godfather’s name through the mud by accusing him of defrauding Queen Elizabeth I twenty years previously. This is the true story of events, based on transcripts of the original documents from the Court of Exchequer in 1605, that revolves around eyewitness accounts of the burning and looting of Spanish colonial settlements in the Caribbean, and the ‘embezzlement and purloining’ of gold coins from a damaged ship of the Spanish Armada whose captain is held to ransom. It is also the story of the young Francis Drake of Esher’s search for identity and what it means to be a man — amidst the piratical machismo of the West Country sailors, and the licentious posturing of the Jacobean court —and his gradual acceptance of his Puritan heritage.

To download short version as pdf click here

For a preview of the full version please contact the author.

The Seven Day Civil War

Back to Early Modern Elmbridge

The Seven Day Civil War in Surrey – 12th-19th November 1642: A True Account from Letters, Pamphlets and Newsbooks

Dilemma

Civil War in Surrey in November 1642

The first signs that the war was close at hand came early on the afternoon of Saturday 12th November 1642, when many people heard a series of cracking sounds that continued sporadically over the course of a couple of hours. Then, the next morning, there were reports of distant rumbles, like a giant’s muffled footsteps, followed by a huge explosion. In normal times, those living along the Thames west of London would have blamed the weather and looked for approaching dark clouds, but now they worried that, depending on the outcome of the battle being fought close by, they were soon going to find themselves caught up in the conflict between the king’s army that was marching purposefully towards the capital, and the parliamentarians trying to stop them at any cost.

News had been coming in since late summer from citizens fleeing the capital, that Londoners were preparing for an attack by the royalists, who would approach either north of the river through Middlesex, or south via Kingston Bridge and up through Putney. The ‘trained bands’ of soldiers, who were local militias of reservists called upon in times of need, had been repairing and reinforcing the city walls, and shops and businesses had been closed so that everyone, including women and children, could help by carrying baskets of earth for the ramparts, and gathering materials for the barricades. On the busier thoroughfares, great iron chains had been hung to stop the cavaliers in their tracks, and cannons were put in place beside which the gunners kept a lit flame at the ready.

London had split quickly along partisan lines. At first there were just angry words and accusations, and the adoption of symbols — royal supporters began wearing rose-coloured bands on their hats — but once news that the king had declared war was known, parliament stepped in. The Tower of London and its military resources were seized, and a Committee of Safety was established to take control of the trained bands away from the Lord Mayor and the Aldermen, who by nature and tradition supported the king. A recruitment drive was begun amongst the merchants, craftworkers and apprentices, and a further order was made to raise new troops from the county militias in the Southeast. The challenge was whether all these raw recruits could be assembled, organised and trained before the king’s army arrived.

Then came the clampdown. Anyone suspected of being a royalist ‘malignant’, or refusing to pay the levy that had been introduced to pay for the defences, was stopped and searched in the street to look for weapons, and had their homes raided and horses confiscated. Lookouts scoured the river for boats full of enemy soldiers. Roman Catholics, always thought to harbour royalist sympathies, were given twelve hours to leave London, and were told not to come within twenty miles of the capital again, or risk imprisonment. And so, a steady stream of refugees headed out towards the surrounding counties.

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Early Modern Elmbridge

Elmbridge in Early 1600s

The borough of Elmbridge in Surrey covers the towns of Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames, Hersham, East and West Molesey, Esher, Cobham, Stoke D’Abernon, Long Ditton, Thames Ditton, Hinchley Wood, Claygate, Weston Green and Oxshott.

I have written several true-life accounts of people and events in Elmbridge from the late fifteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century, which can be found on the following links or websites:

Elmbridge Hundred: Rural Retreat to Forest Law 1492-1548 (opens as Flipbook). To open as a pdf: Click here. The 3 parts were posted as blog posts on the Elmbridge Museum website (see below).

Sir Bartholomew Rede (1457-1505), Lord of the Manor of Oatlands – A biography of the founder of the Oatlands Estate, and eminent local landowner in Weybridge and Walton-on-Thames in the early Tudor period, who was Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company and Lord Mayor of London.

The Lost Manors of Oatlands and Hundulsham 1505-36 – The story of Sir Bartholomew Rede’s heir, his nephew William, and his personal and legal struggles to retain his inheritance as Oatlands attracts the attention of Thomas Cromwell and his master Henry VIII.

The Enclosure of Elmbridge Hundred 1539-48 – An account of the devastating impact that the creation of Hampton Court Chase had on the inhabitants of Elmbridge for almost a decade.

May Day Remembrances 1536 – The retelling of an violent event in Walton-on-Thames reported in the State Papers, and the reasons why Thomas Cromwell did not respond to his local Justice of the Peace.

The Museum of Melancholy: The Divine Case of Mrs Drake 1615-1647 (Opens as Flipbook). To open as a pdf: Click here.

A retelling of the life of Mrs Joan Drake of Esher Place, the Parsonage of Walton-on-Thames and Shardeloes near Amersham, and wife of Francis Drake (godson of the famous explorer). Extracted from an old book written in 1647 about her struggles with depression and spiritual anxiety and the efforts of a series of Puritan divines to cure her, it is a remarkable story of her intelligence, melancholic charisma and fortitude. It also covers her relationship with Dr John Hart, the ‘Relater’, and the impact of her illness on her son, William Drake, 1st Baronet of Shardeloes.

This story was serialised in an edited form in three parts by Community Life Magazine from May to July 2025. Click here.

The Most Notorious Riot in Oatlands 1617 (Opens as Flipbook). To open as a pdf: Click here. – The true story, based on eyewitness accounts, of the violent abduction of Frances Coke, a fourteen-year-old heiress, from Ashley House in Oatlands by her father, the celebrated Sir Edward Coke who had recently been Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench. The subsequent clashes with his wife, the redoubtable Lady Elizabeth Hatton, become a national scandal involving many major figures including King James I, the Duke of Buckingham, and members of the Privy Council.

This story was serialised in an edited form in four parts by Weybridge & Brooklands Community Life Magazine from September to December 2024. To open as a pdf: Click here.

The Ten Day Civil War in Elmbridge: 9th-18th November 1642 (Opens as a Flipbook). To open as a pdf: Click here. – This article focuses on a pivotal week in November at the beginning of the English Civil War when the Royalist army led by King Charles I, including the cavalry led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine, marched down the Thames Valley towards London. Using primary sources, it reveals the forgotten experiences of the local inhabitants of Surrey.