The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

England‘s dependence on imports from Catholic Europe. That Medley‘s process was
alchemical, allowing him to make ―nature ripe by art‖, did not trouble the Lord Treasurer
because Medley‘s process conformed to Cecil‘s alchemical understanding of the world. 71
Throughout the project Cecil actively pressed for royal support for the scheme, and he
retained confidence in Medley‘s potential, even as others lost patience. Medley‘s links to
Cecil, both before and after their participation in the Society of the New Art also
necessitate a thorough examination of their relationship. Medley, who clearly tied his
fortunes to Cecil‘s, provides an almost completely unexamined example of the alchemical
and metallurgical interests amongst Cecil‘s closely allied clients.
William Medley was no marginal charlatan, for his family background explains his
links to Cecil. Medley was born into a wealthy Essex family, probably in the mid 1540s. 72
The Medleys of Tilty Abbey, Essex, had strong links to many noble families, including
Cecil‘s. William‘s father, George Medley (d. 1562) was the half brother of Henry Grey,
Duke of Suffolk, and the second cousin once removed of Cecil‘s second wife Mildred
Cooke. He strongly supported the Protestant faction in England, having received lucrative
leases during Henry VIII‘s dissolution of the monasteries. 73 Upon Edward VI‘s death,
George supported the cause of his niece, Lady Jane Grey against Mary, and was one of only
nine indicted with Suffolk. Unlike Suffolk, he was spared execution or even
imprisonment. 74 George failed to learn from his mistake, and spent two months in prison
for his involvement in the Wyatt rebellion of 1554. 75 Despite the problems it caused him
under Queen Mary, George Medley‘s ―detestation of papistrie‖ positioned him and his
family well for the return of a Protestant monarch. 76
71 William Medley to Cecil, 19 April 1572, TNA, SP 12/86/14.
72 Whilst we have no definitive birth date for William Medley, he was under 21 when under when his father‘s
made out his will in 1561. ‗Will of George Medley of Titly, Essex‘, TNA, PROB 11/46, proved 3 February
1563.
73 Henry Grey to Michael Stanhope, 19 April 1551, in Scargill Bird (ed.), CMS, Vol. 1, p. 85.
74 Henry Churchill Maxwell-Lyte (ed.), CPR: 1553-1554, London, 1937, pp. 381-2.
75 David Loades, Two Tudor Conspiracies, London, 1965, p. 28.
76 George Medley to Nicholas Throckmorton, 23 September 1561, SP 70/30/84.
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