Blanche Parry

Atkyns then wrote to the owners of the other weirs, who included the Earl of Worcester, the Earl of Pembroke and Sir Charles Herbert, to warn them that their weirs were also at risk. As a result the Earl of Worcester wrote to the Commissioners that he would seek redress at law if his weirs were tampered with. The Commissioners, in Atkyns' words, were now thoroughly perplexed as whatever they did would seem to displease some great persons. This was an extremely worrying position for them as they were now confronted with the real possibility of lawsuits against them. As seen in the above extract, he continued:

... This sole hope they have, and this they do give out, that Mrs [Mistress] Blanche ap Parry will obtain her Majesty's pardon and discharge for them...

A pardon would obviate any lawsuits and a discharge would ensure they were not held financially responsible, see page 73. So their only hope was to approach Mistress Blanche to intercede with the Queen on their behalf to protect them against whoever they offended. It is also evident that Blanche had a reputation for the impartial assessment of any issue brought to her. The Commissioners had total confidence in her, clearly considering that she would present their case fairly to the Queen despite her relationships with the nobility involved. Her influence must have been greatly missed when she died. Blanche herself was proud of her reputation for she recorded it in her Bacton Epitaph:

For too rewarde decerts by course of ryghte ‐ To give each man's deserts their fair reward

Blanche was in the last year of her life when this letter was written, the same year as she dictated a letter on behalf of James Parry. Her much deteriorated signature, due to blindness not mental loss, is shown on page 108. As her signature, see page 99, on the undated letter to the Mayor of Hereford is far more legible it is not likely that this letter was written as a result of an approach by the Commissioners in 1589. However, the Mayor's letter dating from the late 1560s or 1570s was still on file in Hereford where it had been carefully preserved to cover any future difficulty. It seems reasonable to suggest that the Commissioners would have mentioned it in approaching Blanche for help.

It is evident that it was an understood procedure to approach Queen Elizabeth through Blanche Parry. It is also clear from the James Parry letter that despite Blanche's age she was fully competent in all matters within months of her death. It is probable that she well understood the issues involved as her lands in Fawley, Herefordshire, bordered the River Wye and a fishery on the river was one of her holdings. The eminence of the earls involved only made it more needful to approach Blanche and no-one else. This is important new confirmation of the recognition of Blanche's rôle as an intermediary with the Queen ‐ see chapter 5 in her biography.

Blanche's own eminence at Court can also be gauged from her connections with those mentioned in Thomas Atkyns' letter. All were also related to each other.

The Earl of Worcester, the Earl of Pembroke and Charles Herbert were all descended from: William Herbert 1st Earl of Pembroke (1st creation), see pages 14‐15, 18, 21: