John Chamberlain (letter Writer) - Friends

Friends

Chamberlain acquired an interesting group of friends, mainly drawn from the middle ranks of society, with a background either in business or in the lesser country gentry. These included Ralph Winwood and Dudley Carleton, who both rose to become secretaries of state, the latter after Chamberlain's death. Such men saw themselves as members of a professional civil-servant class rather than as courtiers. Winwood, like Carleton, began as a diplomat, and Chamberlain's letters regularly report on his chances of becoming secretary of state, to which office Winwood was finally appointed in March 1614. Chamberlain remained close friends with Winwood during his secretaryship and often stayed at Winwood's country seat, Ditton Park: the information he retails in his letters clearly owes much to this friendship.

Other notable friends of Chamberlain were Henry Wotton, himself an important letter writer; Thomas Bodley, who founded the Bodleian library in Oxford; the bishop and scholar Lancelot Andrewes; and the historian William Camden. Chamberlain was constantly in demand as a house guest. In the summer, he would leave London, "this misty and unsavoury town", and embark on what he called his merry "progresses", staying at various country houses, for example with the Fanshawes at Ware, the Wallops at Farleigh, or the Lyttons at Knebworth. For a time, Chamberlain lodged in the household of the natural philosopher and physician William Gilbert, whom he may have met at Cambridge University.

Such a combination of friends and contacts enabled Chamberlain to report the main events of the day and to catch the mood of the hour. Drawing on these personal sources of information, as well as his contacts at St Paul's, Chamberlain provided his correspondents with information about key figures in England, including Walter Raleigh; the chancellor Robert Cecil; the chancellor and philosopher Francis Bacon; the king's favourite Robert Carr, and his notorious wife Frances. Chamberlain knew many people, and those he did not know, friends and contacts could tell him about. Chamberlain's letters shed light on the main events affecting the country during his adult life: the rebellion of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex; the accession of King James; the Gunpowder Plot; the Thomas Overbury case; the rise of King James's final favourite George Villiers; and the Spanish Match. Chamberlain also wrote about some of the leading artists and writers of the day, including the poet and clergyman John Donne, the architect and designer of masques Inigo Jones, and the playwright and poet Ben Jonson. If he knew William Shakespeare, however, he never mentioned him—he does not appear to have been a theatregoer. In 1614, he wrote of the new Globe Theatre: "I hear much speech of this new playhouse, which is said to be the fairest that ever was in England, so that if I live but seven years longer I may chance make a journey to see it".