The Alchemical Patronage of Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley

Cecil, by this point an advisor to the Protector. 128 With the fall of Somerset in late 1549,
Whalley, like many of the Duke‘s supporters, suffered a drastic change of fortunes. 129 His
links to Cecil, however, gave him some influence in government. John Dudley, Earl of
Warwick, effectively head of government as Lord President of the Council, turned to
Whalley in order to forge ties with Cecil. 130 It was during Somerset‘s time in the Tower
(1549–50) that Whalley employed Richard Eden for his alchemical abilities.
In late 1549 Whalley, having heard of Eden‘s skill with metals, approached him for
assistance with running the mines in Nottinghamshire. That Eden had already established
a significant metallurgical reputation so soon after leaving university, suggests that he
developed this knowledge while at Cambridge. Eden replied to Whalley that his particular
experience lay not in mining but in seeking ―workes of greater subtilite ... the philosopher‘s
stone, Aurum potabile, and Quinta Essentia‖. 131 This obviously piqued Whalley‘s interest as he
again sought out Eden, who
shewed hym a boke which I hade then abowte me, towchinge thes matters,
wrytten with myne owne hande & gathered owte of sundrye auctours,
declaringe forther to hym that, at the request of Syr John Yorke I entended
to present that boke to my Lorde of Warwike, nowe Duke of
Northumberlande. 132
Both Eden and Sir John York, assay master at the mint at the Tower of London, and
financial backer of the coup against Somerset, believed that Warwick, now Duke of
Northumberland, would appreciate a collection of alchemical works. Amongst the highest
ranks of society, alchemical ideas had a legitimacy that would endure throughout the Tudor
period.
In an even stronger demonstration of this confidence in alchemy, Whalley
proceeded to offer Eden a position as his personal alchemist, telling Eden that he ―had a
128 Ibid.
129 Ibid.
130 Ibid.
131 Richard Eden, undated, TNA, SP 46/2 ff. 164-7 reproduced in Kitching, ‗‗Alchemy in the Reign of
Edward VI‘, p. 311.
132 Ibid. p. 312.
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