The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

Prestall himself repeatedly preyed on the desire of the nobility, including Cecil, for
alchemical gold and medicine, promising to use his supposed alchemical abilities in
exchange for his freedom. 145 Prestall‘s alchemical promises to the ailing Earl of Pembroke
had gained him a pardon for his part in the Pole conspiracy against Elizabeth in the
1560s. 146
Prestall exploited Medley‘s weak position with Leicester, recasting Medley‘s delays
and setbacks as malicious insults to Leicester and his supporters. Prestall ingratiated
himself with Thomas Curtes, a servant of the Earl of Warwick and Medley‘s former friend.
Curtes had lent Medley £60, a significant amount, to repay Smith and Gilbert in 1571. 147
Perhaps Medley had defaulted on this debt. Lady Sydney reported that Curtes had used his
position with Warwick to press the keepers at the Counter prison to keep Medley in strict
confinement and make sure ―there were no letters or messages suffered to pass between
him and me.‖ 148 Curtes‘ closeness to the Earl would also have assisted with discrediting
Medley. After failing to convince Lady Sydney, the plotters ―shewed no less yll meaning
towards me ... [and brought] my name in with his‖, in order to reduce her credibility.
According to Lady Sydney these men had subjected both Medley and herself to a campaign
of slander, and so turned both Leicester and Warwick against the innocent Medley. Even
with Medley in prison in September 1576, Prestall ―cease[d] not still to invent matter
against him‖. 149
The letter book of Thomas Wotton, Medley‘s second cousin, gives us a glimpse
into Prestall‘s methods of discrediting Medley. Wotton, a country gentleman uninterested
in Court politics, received a perplexing letter from the Earl of Leicester on 2 October 1576,
approximately a month after Medley‘s imprisonment. The powerful Privy Councillor—
clearly grateful for some new information on Medley‘s supposedly treacherous behaviour—
145 Parry, The Arch-Conjuror of England.
146 Ibid.
147 Medley to Cecil, SP12/86/14.
148 Sidney to Cecil, Lansdowne Vol. 23, No. 81.
149 Ibid.
144