21st March 1522: Death of Christopher Urswick. Urswick had been a diplomat, agent and confessor to Margaret Beaufort and Henry Tudor.
Christopher Urswick
Christopher Urswick is a lesser-known figure but one who has left a lasting legacy.
The visible legacy is to be found in Hackney, London, where the church he ordered to be rebuilt remains part of the small but significant remains of early Tudor London.
Less well known but perhaps more significant is his role as confessor to Margaret Beaufort. In this role, he is believed to have offered counsel and worked as a go-between as Margaret plotted her son’s rise.
The link with Margaret Beaufort resulted from Urswick having been educated at the expense of the Stanley family. Having grown up in Furness, deep in the heart of Stanley territory, he had been sent to Cambridge to train in law at the Earls expense. He was also ordained as a sub-deacon. When Margaret and Earl Stanley married, Urswick became her confessor.
It is known that Urswick was sent by Margaret to the continent in 1483 to warn Henry Tudor of the plans that Richard III had in place. He also fled following the failure of the Buckingham revolt. In 1486 Urswick noted that he had been acquainted with Henry Tudor for some 15 years, and to Elizabeth of York for 4 years.
Urswick was undoubtedly respected by Henry Tudor, holding a similar role for him early in his reign. Though overlooked in modern histories of the period, he was not ignored at the time. He features, briefly, in Shakespeare’s play Richard III.