The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

promised ―an ounce or so of powder of transmutation‖ from Agnello a decade earlier. 3
Despite, or perhaps because of this, Cecil believed in the potential of the Frobisher project
to provide England with a source of precious metals comparable to that of the Spanish in
South America.
Cecil‘s key role in funding and administering the Society of the New Art provides
an overlooked example of his patronage of large scale industrial alchemical projects. By
financing and supporting what he thought to be an alchemical method of transmuting iron
into copper, Cecil sought to increase England‘s economic independence from Catholic
Europe. Furthermore, the alchemist involved, William Medley, was also Cecil‘s relative,
brought up in his household. Whilst Cecil may have used experts to verify the viability of
the project, he maintained a belief and interest in Medley‘s methods, long after the other
investors had grown angry with his delays and excuses. Although Cecil allowed Medley to
be incarcerated for his failure, the imprisonment was a consequence of the intrigues of
another alchemist, John Prestall. Once Prestall had been discredited, Medley was released
and became one of Cecil‘s key clients in Cambridgeshire.
Time and time again Cecil was at the centre of the Elizabethan regime‘s alchemical
projects. Alchemical hopefuls targeted Cecil with promises and plans, and rather than
ignoring them, he consistently considered their potential. Although not everyone who
sought Cecil‘s alchemical patronage did so with honest intent, it would be a mistake to
assume they were all charlatans. In some cases they were utilising legitimate, if
misunderstood, chemical processes, whilst even those alchemists professing the ability to
transmute metals did so in the assumption that such a process was possible.
This thesis does not argue that Cecil was the only member of the Elizabethan
Court fascinated by the potential of alchemy. In fact, through examining Cecil‘s belief in
alchemy, it has become clear that many at the Court shared his view. The Earl of Leicester
involved himself in the de Lannoy episode and was a major backer of both the Society of
3 The Vidame de Chartres to Cecil, in Crosby (ed.), CSPF 1569-71, p. 142.
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