The Nethersoles: part 2
Religious tensions had been steadily growing in Europe for some time. A largely Protestant country, Bohemia had become a part of the staunchly Catholic Habsburg Empire in 1526. Under constant pressure to convert to Catholicism, Bohemian nobles finally rebelled in 1618. Deposing Ferdinand II (then Habsburg King, later to become Holy Roman Emperor), they crowned Frederick, a Protestant, King of Bohemia. This act fuelled the series of conflicts later known as the Thirty Years' War.
In 1620, Frederick crushed the rebellion in Bohemia. The following year, Francis Nethersole returned to England to raise support for Elizabeth and her husband. He failed and the Palatinate itself fell in 1623. Undeterred, Nethersole continued his attempts to raise funds for the beleaguered Bohemian royal family, even resorting to selling his own possessions.
Ultimately, Sir Francis did gain a response to his efforts, although it was not one he could have hoped for. Charles I (Elizabeth's brother) had Nethersole imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1634, only releasing him in April of that year on the condition that Sir Francis retire to his wife's estates at Polesworth, ending his involvement with Elizabeth's cause.
The Nethersole's years at Polesworth were distinguished by the charitable works that they carried out for the Parish, the results of which are still visible today. What inspired this work can only be guessed at. It might have been as a result of their involvement in the struggle in Europe. Alternatively, Lucy Nethersole may have had a deep affection for Polesworth, which had then been in her family for almost a hundred years.
Whatever the reasons, within a short time of taking up residence at Polesworth Hall, Sir Francis built a new house for the vicar, who had been living on charity up until that time. Called "Donative House", it was situated in High Street, near the Nunnery Gateway.
In 1638, at his wife's request, Nethersole had a new school, to be called the Nethersole School, built in High Street. Here the children of the Parish (both boys and girls) were taught for free. To pay for the school, and to subsidise the vicar, Sir Francis rented out land in Dordon and Warton and collected tithes in the form of cereals and possibly wool. These were stored in a tithe barn, which he had built on the Hall Court. Both the school and the barn are in use to this day, although both have been completely rebuilt.
Lucy Nethersole died in 1652. Sir Francis died, aged 72, seven years later, in August, 1659.
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