Edmund Sheffield, 1st Baron Sheffield

Edmund Sheffield, 1st Baron Sheffield, of Butterwick (22 November 1521 – 1 August 1549) was an English nobleman who died in Kett's Rebellion.

Edmund Sheffield was born on 22 November 1521 in Butterwick, Lincolnshire to Sir Robert Sheffield (died 15 November 1531, son of Sir Robert Sheffield and Helen Delves) and his second wife Jane Stanley, daughter of George Stanley, 9th Baron Strange and Joan le Strange, 9th Baroness Strange.^[1] Through his mother, he was a second cousin once removed of the reigning English monarch, King Henry VIII.

Following his father's death in 1531, Sheffield's wardship was granted to George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, the brother of King Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn.^[2] Rochford and Boleyn were both executed in 1536.

On 2 January 1538, Sheffield's wardship passed to John De Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford.^[2] Sheffield was sent up to Thomas Cromwell and became one of his gentlemen.^[3] Sheffield had a troubled youth and was in prison by July 1538 but was soon released.^[3]

On 16 Feb 1547, by the will of King Henry VIII, Sheffield was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Sheffield of Butterwick at the beginning of the reign of King Edward VI.^[2]

Sheffield married Anne de Vere, daughter of his guardian John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, before 31 January 1538, and by her had two sons and three daughters:^[1]

• Eleanor Sheffield (c. 1537) married Denzel Holles
• John Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield (c. 1538 – 10 December 1568) married Douglas Howard
• Robert Sheffield (c. 1540)
• Frances Sheffield (c. 1542) married Thomas Metham
• Elizabeth Sheffield (c. 1546)

Sheffield was a poet of the same generation as the Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Although none of his poetry has survived, he was praised by Fuller: "Great his skill in music, who wrote a book of sonnetts according to the Italian fashion".^[2]

In 1549, Sheffield accompanied William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton on an expedition to quell Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk.^[2] On 1 August 1549, during a pitched battle at Pockthorpe Gate for control of Norwich, Sheffield fell from his horse and was captured by an armed mob.^[4] The rebels refused the lord's request to spare his life in return for a promised ransom and Sheffield was fatally struck by a butcher, reputedly named Fulke.^[5] Sheffield's death was seen as a turning point in the fight. With the loss of a senior commander and his army being broken up in street fighting, Northampton ordered a retreat.^[6]

Sheffield left behind a young son, John Sheffield, 2nd Baron Sheffield, who became a ward of King Edward VI. In recognition of his father's loyalty to the crown and sacrifice, John Sheffield was granted an annual annuity and in November 1550 the right to marry freely without having to pay the usual fees or fines to the Court of Wards and Liveries.^[5][7]

Sheffield was buried at St Martin at Palace, Norwich.^[1] A plaque near Norwich Cathedral now marks the location of Sheffield's murder.^[8]