We are thrilled to be able to display the fabulous Henry VII Cope in the Do Room exhibition, currently on loan to Stonyhurst from the British Jesuit Province. For a religious vestment, however, the main impact of the design is distinctively secular and political. Embellished with the red rose of Lancaster, the power base of Henry Tudor, it also displays a prominent portcullis.
The portcullis was the badge of Henry VII’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, one of the most remarkable women of her age. The question arises, why would the newly victorious King Henry VII, victor of the brutal Wars of the Roses between the warring factions of York and Lancaster, commission such an expensive set of vestments in the design of which he paid lavish tribute to his mother?
Margaret Beaufort was born c 1441/3. She was a direct descendant of King Edward III, and, through her, Henry Tudor was able to make a direct claim to the English throne. But Margaret was much more than a means to an end for Henry. She was an astute politician and strategist and played an instrumental part in the defeat of Richard III of York in 1485, which resulted in her son, Henry, taking the throne of England.
Once Henry was securely on the throne, Margaret negotiated a new and powerful place for herself in the Tudor court and the running of the government. Titled ‘My Lady, the King’s Mother’ she wielded considerable political influence over her son and was instrumental in arranging the match between Elizabeth of York and Henry, thus ensuring that the two warring houses were united in marriage.
Henry granted her almost unheard-of freedoms and privileges for women of that time, and Margaret used her wealth and power to the fullest as a major patron and cultural benefactor, initiating an era of extensive Tudor patronage of the arts and of scholarship.
She is credited with the establishment of two prominent Cambridge colleges, founding Christ's College in 1505 and beginning the development of St John's College, which was completed posthumously by her executors in 1511. Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, the first Oxford college to admit women, is named after her.
The portcullis badge is familiar to us as the symbol of the House of Commons. The Houses of Parliament, as well as being the seat of government, also house a royal palace. When Henry VII took up residence there, he insisted on his mother’s badge being prominently displayed throughout the palace, to honour her unique political abilities, as well as reminding his MPs of the source of his claim to royalty.
And so, the portcullis badge of Margaret Beaufort has become synonymous with the work of British government. A fitting tribute to a remarkable woman.
