The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
porter to James I and Charles II ( - fl. 1626)
An unnamed but well know figure at court, and evidently uncommonly large. In a letter to Sir Dudley Carleton, dated 8 January 1620 at London, John Chamberlain reports an evening of dancing in which “the greate Porter at Courte being drest like a giant came in bearing the Earle of Mongomeries page like a hawke on his fist” (Chamberlain, II.282). In another letter, from an unidentified sender to the Reverend Joseph Mead dated 3 December 1626, the writer reports the evening's entertainment, in which the Duke of Buckingham, “in the presence of king, queen, ambassadors, and the flower of the court, … acted a master of defence, to teach the great porter to skirmish, as my Lord Holland, a privy counsellor, also taught him the mathematics, and Sir George Goring to dance” (Birch, I. 180).Relevant locations: Lived at or near London, England
Relationships: porter to James I and Charles II was a employed by Charles I of England (1600-1649)
porter to James I and Charles II was a employed by James I of England (1566-1625)
Linked print sources: as Mentioned or referenced by - The Court and Times of Charles the First: Illustrated by Authentic and Confidential Letters.
as Mentioned or referenced by - The Letters of John Chamberlain .
References in Documents:
Musaeum Tradescantianum (1656) K. great Porter 's Boots .