Hi r/AskHistorians!
I’ve got a question for you on the back of doing some research into my family tree. One of my ancestors, Sir Miles Partridge (1488-1552) is recorded in a number of sources as “when playing with the king [Henry VIII], he staked on one throw of the dice 100l. against the bells of the Jesus Chapel in St. Paul's Churchyard; Partridge won, and had the bells taken down and broken “
This logically dates from during the dissolution (1536-41) and up to the death of Henry (1547), but I can’t find any information about how St Paul’s was affected by the dissolution and particularly when, which is making it tricky to try to date this story with any more accuracy. My understanding of the dissolution was that anything sold was recorded reasonably well (Court of Augmentations), but I’m struggling!
I know that he went on to be beheaded in 1552 at the Tower of London for allegedly conspiring against the new regime after the fall of his friend Thomas Seymour, Protector of Edward VI, but I’d love to find out more.
Any suggestions or guidance would be brilliant!
St Paul's wasn't dissolved as it was a secular cathedral, staffed by a chapter of secular priests, rather than Benedictine monks (like Canterbury or Winchester) or Augustinian canons regular (like Carlisle). I'd look in the Augmentations records (which are held at the National Archives at Kew) for the Jesus Chapel itself, which may have been a separate foundation from the cathedral. The Victoria County history is another good place to look, especially the volumes dealing with religious foundations in the city. They are all available online, and can be found here: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/catalogue/london The VCH section on the history of St Paul's, with incredibly detailed footnotes to the original documents is here: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/london/vol1/pp409-433