Henry Algernon Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, KG was born between 13 January 1477 and 1478. He died on 19 May 1527. He gained the title of 4th Earl of Northumberland in 1489. [1]

n.b. Wikipedia currently shows him as 5th Earl of Northumberland. In Geni we follow Burke's Peerage. [2]

Parents: Eldest son of Henry Percy (1449-1489), 3rd Earl of Northumberland and Lady Maud Herbert (1448-aft. 1485). His maternal grandparents were William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1423–1469) and his wife Anne Devereaux.

Married:

1. before 1502 to Catherine Spencer (ca. 1480-ca. 1542), daughter of Sir Robert Spencer and Eleanor Beaufort. Her maternal grandparents were Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and Eleanor Beauchamp.

Henry Algernon Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland and Catherine Spencer had five children:

1. Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland (1502–1537).
2. Sir Thomas Percy (c. 1504 – 2 June 1537). He was executed as a participant in the Pilgrimage of Grace. He was father of both Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland and Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland. A daughter, Joan, married an Arthur Harris of Essex. [3]
3. Sir Ingelram Percy (c. 1506–1538). He was a participant in the Pilgrimage of Grace. He died imprisoned in the Tower of London.
4. Lady Margaret Percy (c. 1508–1540). She married Henry Clifford, 1st Earl of Cumberland.
5. Maud Percy (c. 1510–?)

Biography

• from http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/henrypercy5.htm

He was well looked after and brought up at the court, while his sisters' marriages were the object of careful negotiation. He was made K.B. 21 Nov. 1481, at the time when Prince Arthur was created Prince of Wales. He attended Henry at the conclusion of the treaty of Etaples in 1492, and took a prominent part in the elaborate ceremony of 1494, when Prince Henry was created K.B.1 In 1495 he was made a knight of the Garter. In 1497 he served in the royal army against the Cornish rebels, and fought at Blackheath; on 14 May 1498 he received livery of his lands, and entered into the management of his various castles and estates.

How important his position was can be seen from 'The Northumberland Household Book,' which was edited from the manuscript in possession of the Duke of Northumberland by Thomas Percy in 1770. It was begun in 1512. His income was about £2,300 a year,2 which probably does not include all that he received by way of gift. But on his various retinues of servants he spent no less than £1,500 a year,3 and as the margin had to meet all such expenses as his journeys to the court, and as he was extraordinarily magnificent in taste, he was soon in debt.

In 1500 Northumberland was at the meeting of Henry and the Archduke Philip. In 1501 he was appointed constable of Knaresborough, steward of the lordship of Knaresborough, and master forester in the forest there. On 1 April 1502 he was a commissioner of oyer and terminer for London: he was also constantly in the commission of the peace for various count ies. Northumberland received the important appointment of warden-general of the east marches towards Scotland on 30 June 1503, and one of his first duties was to escort Margaret to Scotland on her way to join James IV of Scotland, and his splendid dress and numerous servants pleased the princess. An account of this progress was written by Somerset herald and printed in Leland's 'Collectanea,' vol. iv.

Northumberland seems to have irritated Henry VII just before the king died. He had disposed of the wardship and marriage of Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir John Hastings. He was fined £10,0004... it is extraordinary that he managed to pay half the money before Henry VIII came to the throne. The new king cancelled the remainder of the debt 21 March 1510. On 4 Feb. 1511-12 he was a trier of petitions from Gascony and beyond the sea. Northumberland served in the war of 1513 as a grand captain, with a very large retinue. From Calais he went to the siege of Terouenne and in the battle of spurs he commanded the 'showrers and forridors,' Northumberland men on light geldings. The next year he was a chief commissioner of array for various counties.

As Wolsey rose, the great nobles had one by one to submit to his tyranny. Northumberland was suspected of being too friendly with Buckingham, and so, on a charge of interfering with the king's prerogative about the wards, he was cast into the Fleet in 1516. Possibly he was only put there so that Wolsey might have the credit of getting him out. He was examined in the Star-chamber, and soon set free. Northumberland was friendly with Shrewsbury, and they arranged to go on a pilgrimage this year together. Shrewsbury had been anxious to marry his daughter to a son of Buckingham, but, having disputed about money matters, the parents broke off the match; it was now arranged, most unfortunately as it turned out, that the lady should marry Northumberland's son, the Lord Percy.

In June 1517 Northumberland met Queen Margaret of Scotland at York to conduct her on her way home; he undertook the duty with reluctance, doubtless from want of money, and his wife was excused attendance. In 1518 he was one of those who held lands in Calais. Wolsey in 1519, in a letter to the king, expressed suspicions of his loyalty.5 But he escaped the fate of the Duke of Buckingham, and went to the Field of the Cloth of Gold, where he was a judge of the lists. The same year he had a grant of the honour of Holderness. He was present at Henry's meeting with the emperor in May 1522, and attested the ratification of the treaty made.

He seems to have been offered, but not to have accepted, the wardenship of all the marches towards Scotland in 1523, and is said to have incurred the contempt of his tenants by his refusal. But he continued active while Surrey was in chief command. In 1523 he made an inroad into Scotland, and was falsely accused by Dacre of going to war with the crosskeys of York, a royal badge, on his banner; he cleared himself easily enough. In 1524 he was again on the border. In 1525 he had some trouble with the council of the north, of which he had been a member since 1522; but he cleared himself, and took part in the ceremony of the creation of Henry Fitzroy, Henry VIII's natural son, Earl of Nottingham.

He died at Wressell on 19 May 1527, and was buried at Beverley, where he had built a splendid shrine. Northumberland died poor, and left a legacy of debt to his son. He was magnificent in his tastes, kept a very large establishment, and was fond of building. Leland praised the devices for the library at Wressell, presumably arranged by him.6 He encouraged the poet Skelton, who wrote the elegy on his father. A manuscript formerly in his possession forms Brit. Mus. Reg. Bib. 18 D ii. It consists of poems, chiefly by Lydgate. He married Lady Catherine (d. 1542), daughter of Sir Robert Spencer, by Eleanor, countess of Wiltshire, and by her had three sons— Henry Algernon, who became sixth earl, and is separately noticed; Sir Thomas Percy, and Sir Ingelram Percy — and two daughters: Margaret, who married Henry, lord Clifford, first earl of Cumberland, and Maud, who married William, lord Conyers.

Links

• http://www.thepeerage.com/p1046.htm#i10451
• Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland
• Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Nothumberland (1478-1527)
• Beverley Minster
• Henry Percy's Packing List for the Battle of the Spurs 1513

Sources

• Archbold, W. A. J. "Henry Percy, Fifth Earl of Northumberland." The Dictionary of National Biography. Vol XLIV. Sidney Lee, Ed. New York: Macmillan and Co., 1895. 414-416.
• Letters and papers illustrative of the reigns of Richard III and Henry VII. edited by James Gairdner
• Measuring Worth
• The listing of goods taken by Henry Percy in June 1513 to the Siege of Therouanne. From the Journal, The Antiquarian repertory: a miscellaneous assemblage of topography, history, biography, customs and manners, volume 4, 1807 - 1809, pages 356-373.

Citations

1. [1] Wikipedia lists him as the 5th Earl of Northumberland. Apparently there's a dispute about the numbering, depending on whether you think the 2nd Earl (died 1455) was the 1st or 2nd. It hinges on whether that was a new creation. In Geni we follow Burke's Peerage so calling Henry Algernon Percy the 4th Earl. See this article for more details: Earl of Northumberland
2. [S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1064. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
3. from Wikipedia: Despite some difficulties with dates, strong evidence supports the Percy-Harris connection as given. See The Visitations of Essex by Hawley, 1552, Hervey 1558, Cooke, 1570, William Berry, College of Arms (Great Britain), 1870 - Heraldry (1878), P. 59 and P. 696; The History of Rochford Hundred : From Former Authors, Ancient, Phillip Benton (1888), P.460; The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal, Mortimer-Percy Volume, Pt. I, Table II, The Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval (1911); Peerage of England, Sir Arthur Collins (1812), P. 309; The History and Antiquities of the County of Essex, Phillip Morant (1768), P. 363;Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, The Essex Archaeological Society (Great Britain) (1865), P. 184; and A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, Sir Bernard Burke (1863), P. 1255. At least three highly respected websites also accept the connection. These are Leo's Genealogics (http://www.genealogics.org/index.php) ; The Ancient House of Percy (http://www.geocities.com/percyfamilyhistory/page1.html) and Tudorplace: Elizabethan Peerage (http://tudorplace.com.ar/Peerage1.htm).
4. Letters and Papers Illustrative of the Reigns of Richard III and Henry VII, i. 390, &c.
5. £2,300 in 1512 had relatively the same purchasing power as £1 million in 2008. Source: Measuring Worth.
6. £1,500 in 1512 had relatively the same purchasing power as £680,000 in 2008. Source: Measuring Worth.
7. £10,000 in 1510 had relatively the same purchasing power as £4.8 million in 2008. Source: Measuring Worth.
8. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII, III. i. 1, cf. 1268 and 1293.
9. cf. Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, III. ii. 3475, IV. ii. 3134, 3379.

-------------------- Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, KG (13 January 1477 – 19 May 1527) was an English noble who was a member of the courts of both Henry VII and Henry VIII.

Henry was the son of Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, by Maud, daughter of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

Henry married Lady Catherine Spencer, and by her had three sons:

1. Henry Algernon (1502–1537), who became 6th Earl of Northumberland
2. Sir Thomas Percy (c. 1504 – 2 June 1537). He was executed as a participant in the Pilgrimage of Grace.
3. Sir Ingelram Percy (c. 1506–1538). He was a participant in the Pilgrimage of Grace. He died imprisoned in the Tower of London.

History

After his father was slain in battle, Henry Algernon Percy was well looked after and brought up at the court of Henry VII. On April 28, 1489 Henry Algernon Percy succeeded his father, Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland as 5th Earl of Northumberland.

In 1495 he was made a Knight of the Garter. In 1497 he served in the royal army against the Cornish rebels, and fought at the battle of Blackheath; on 14 May 1498 he received livery of his lands, and entered into the management of his various castles and estates.

In 1501 Percy was appointed constable of Knaresborough, steward of the Lordship of Knaresborough, and master forester in the forest there. Northumberland also received the important appointment of warden-general of the east marches towards Scotland on June 30 1503, and one of his first duties was to escort Margaret to Scotland on her way to join James IV of Scotland, and his splendid dress and numerous servants pleased the princess.

Northumberland served in the war of 1513 as a grand captain, with a very large retinue. From Calais he went to the siege of Terouenne and in the battle of the Spurs he commanded the "showrers and forridors", Northumberland men on light geldings.

In 1517, Northumberland had a grant of the honour of Holderness. He was present at Henry's meeting with the emperor in May 1522, and attested the ratification of the treaty made. He seems to have been offered, but not to have accepted, the wardenship of all the marches towards Scotland in 1523, and is said to have incurred the contempt of his tenants by his refusal.

Northumberland was magnificent in his tastes, and being one of the richest magnates of his day, kept a very large establishment, and was fond of building. He died at Wressell on May 19, 1527, and was buried at Beverley, where he had built a splendid shrine.