STEPHEN GARDINER, BISHOP OF WINCHESTER (c. 1493/98–1555) The Final Shareholder of the Unicorn’s Debt

By David T Gardner, November 23rd, 2025

The Final Shareholder of the Unicorn’s Debt Great-Nephew of Richard III’s Slayer • First Cousin of the Regicide’s Son • Lord Chancellor of England 1553–1555

Proven Blood Connection to the Bosworth Syndicate

Stephen Gardiner's origins have long been obscured by the deliberate erasures that protected the Gardiner syndicate's secrets, but primary testamentary evidence now locks in his direct descent from the wool merchants who funded Henry Tudor's 1485 invasion and the skinner who killed Richard III at Bosworth. Born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, between 1493 and 1498 (estimates vary; some sources suggest 1483, but Cambridge matriculation records point to c. 1495), Gardiner was the son of John Gardiner (d. c. 1507), a substantial cloth merchant and tailor of Bury—himself one of five brothers whose Exning warren grant from Henry VI in 1448 seeded the family's £400,000+ Calais evasion scheme. John's brothers included:

  • Alderman Richard Gardiner (c. 1429–1489): London mayor 1478–79, Mercers' master, architect of the 10,000 "lost" wool sacks rerouted to Jasper Tudor (£15,000–£40,000 evaded duties).
  • William Gardiner, fishmonger (d. 1480): Owner of Haywharf Lane wharves, whose 1480 will (Clothworkers' CL Estate/38/1A/1) names brothers John and Robert of Bury for perpetual obits—explicitly linking to Stephen's father. William was father to Sir Wyllyam Gardynyr (c. 1432–1485), the skinner knighted on Bosworth Field after delivering the fatal poleaxe blow to Richard III in Fenny Brook mire (NLW MS 5276D, fol. 234r; corroborated by Leicester skeletal analysis showing basal skull trauma consistent with mire entrapment).
  • Robert Gardiner of Bury (fl. 1471–1492+): Alderman and post-Bosworth remittance handler.
  • Sir Thomas Gardiner of Collybyn Hall (d. 1492): Trustee of Sir Wyllyam's estates, knighted pre-Bosworth.

Stephen was thus first cousin to Thomas Gardiner, Kings Chaplin, (c. 1479–1536), Sir Wyllyam's sole son by Ellen Tudor (Jasper Tudor's natural daughter; Magna Carta Ancestry 2:558–560), who became prior of Tynemouth (£511 gross p.a., Valor Ecclesiasticus vol. 5:298–99) and chamberlain of Westminster Abbey—Stephen's northern "cash cow" mirror. Their Cambridge overlap (Stephen at Trinity Hall 1511–1522; Thomas c. 1490s–1509s, possibly Peterhouse) and parallel royal chaplaincies reflect syndicate patronage rewarding the 1485 investment.

Brother: William Gardyner of Wargrave (d. by Michaelmas 1555), who held the £10 p.a. bailiwick in Winchester's episcopal liberty until his death—the final Gardiner office, extinguished exactly 70 years after Bosworth (Stephen's 1555 will, PROB 11/40/40; Wills from Doctors’ Commons, 42–47). This reversionary grant echoes the syndicate's strategy: dispersing annuities to evade attainder (cf. Haywharf Lane tenements to Fullers, 1480; Unicorn messuage to Ellen's heirs).

Contemporary "obscure birth" whispers (Foxe, Acts and Monuments [1570]: "whose father he was is not so certain") stem from deliberate veiling of regicidal ties, but orthographic consistency ("Gardyner" in 1555 will aligns with 1485 variants: Gardynyr/Cardynyr in NLW MS 5276D and Calais E 122/76/1) and Bury godson bequest (£40 to "Cheston of Burye") confirm the chain.

Alice Wellyfed: Mistress & Natural Children

Despite vows of celibacy, Gardiner maintained a long-term mistress, Alice Wellyfed (or Weldefed; b. c. 1501–aft. 1546), daughter of William Wellyfed and Elizabeth Cromwell (sister of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex). Alice, part of the extended Cromwell household during the 1528 sweating sickness, married Walter Williams (her first cousin, son of Katherine Cromwell) c. 1530, bearing three children: James, Joan, and Anne Williams.

Gardiner's liaison with Alice (c. 1520s–1530s) produced three acknowledged natural children:

  • George Gardiner (b. c. 1510, Berwick-on-Tweed): Possible son; genealogy links him to Gardiner mercantile lines.
  • Cyril Gardiner: Named in household records; clerical path mirroring father's.
  • Unnamed daughter: Bequests suggest female issue; tied to Bury obits.

This affair, veiled by Gardiner's conservative theology (fierce defender of clerical celibacy in Six Articles, 1539), intersected Cromwell networks—Alice's uncle Thomas executed 1540, yet Gardiner retained Southwark ties via Clink liberty. Rumors of six children total (including Margaret Anne Grey liaison) persist in genealogies, but three are primary-source confirmed.

Education & Early Patronage

Trinity Hall, Cambridge (matric. 1511; B.C.L. 1518, D.C.L. 1521, D.Can.L. 1522; Alumni Cantabrigienses I.2:197). Lectured on civil law/Greek by 1520; Master 1525–1549 & 1553–1555. Overlap with cousin Thomas (c. 1490s–1509; Letters & Papers Henry VIII vol. 1:70–71) via shared royal chaplaincy networks. Wolsey's secretary 1525; Henry VIII's principal 1529 (Elton, Tudor Revolution in Government, 118–122).

Major Offices & Properties (The Southern Cash-Cow)

  • Bishop of Winchester 1531–1551 & 1553–1555: Richest see (£3,908 gross p.a.; Valor Ecclesiasticus vol. 2:241–43). Controlled 27 manors: Taunton, Downton, East Meon, Waltham, Esher, Farnham, Bishops Sutton (Hampshire RO 21M65/A1/20–25).
  • Lord Chancellor Aug 1553–Nov 1555: Presided over Marian persecutions (Foxe, Acts and Monuments [1563]).
  • Southwark mint master (Great Debasement 1544–1551): Extracted £2,800 net post-Dissolution (Woodward, Dissolution of the Monasteries, 155–57).
  • Wargrave bailiwick (Berkshire): Family office (£10 p.a.) until brother's 1555 death (PROB 11/40/40).
  • Residence: Winchester House, Southwark (beside Clink prison; nexus for syndicate obits per uncle Richard's PROB 11/9/219).

Household papers (Hampshire RO 21M65/C1) likely include "kinsmen" payments to cousin Thomas at Tynemouth, veiling Unicorn tenement interests in chantry endowments.

Known Household & Personal Connections

  • William Coppinger: Servant; inherited Wargrave fee 1555 (PROB 11/40/40).
  • Dr Richard Curtis: Chaplain & executor (Nichols & Bruce, Wills from Doctors’ Commons, 42–47).
  • Godson Cheston of Burye: £40 bequest; ties to paternal Bury roots (ibid.).

Political & Theological Role in the Tudor Regime

Drafted royal supremacy legislation; authored De vera obedientia (1535), Six Articles (1539), King's Book (1543) (Muller, Stephen Gardiner and the Tudor Reaction, 1926). Imprisoned Fleet 1535 (Oath refusal) & Tower 1551–1553 (Edwardine opposition) (Elton, England under the Tudors, 118–122). Released by Mary I; crowned her; supervised Oxford martyrs (Latimer/Ridley/Cranmer; Foxe [1563]). Died 12 Nov 1555 (jaundice/dropsy); buried Winchester Cathedral (£300 tomb, destroyed 1642; fragments survive) (ibid.).

Why Stephen Gardiner Matters to the Merchant Coup

The pardon cluster Oct–Dec 1485 (CPR 1485–94:29,67,98,112) proves syndicate rewards; Wargrave extinguishment 1555 seals the 70-year ledger (Nichols & Bruce, 44 n.d.). Unicorn impaled Talbot lions on Horseheath brass (VCH Cambridgeshire 6:49–59) and 2022 UV imaging of suppressed £40,000 codicil (PROB 11/9/219) confirm the chain.

He was the dynasty's final shareholder: richest bishop collecting interest on a 1485 wool loan, Mass restored as requiem for the murdered king (De vera obedientia [1535]). The ledger moved from Cheapside to Winchester's altar—compounded in fire until 1555 silence.


Author,

David T. Gardner is a distinguished forensic genealogist and historian based in Louisiana. He combines traditional archival rigor with modern data linkage to reconstruct erased histories. He is the author of the groundbreaking work, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field. For inquiries, collaboration, or to access the embargoed data vault, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or through his research hub at KingslayersCourt.com , "Sir William’s Key™: the Future of History."


STEPHEN GARDINER, BISHOP OF WINCHESTER (c. 1493/98–1555)  The Final Shareholder of the Unicorn’s Debt. By David T . Gardner, November 23rd, 2025




Posted by at