Monday, May 23, 2011

York House or York Place?

     "Francis Bacon, the Glory of his Age and Nation, the Adorner and Ornament of Learning, was borne in York House or York Place in the Strand, on the two-and-twentieth day of January in the year of Our Lord, 1560 [i.e., 1561]." The Life of The Right Honourable Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, Viscount St. Alban by William Rawley.

     "In this pregnantly enigmatical sentence, Dr. Rawley begins his short biography of Francis Bacon. It was the first sketch of his life to be published in this country (1657), thirty-one years after his mysterious death in 1626. Dr. Rawley knew him intimately and personally. He had lived with him for years. He was his chaplain and private confidant. He was familiar with the secrets of his birth, life and death. He therefore speaks with authority; and everything he says respecting his master is worthy of our earnest study. Dr. Rawley, moreover, warns the reader that he is not going to publish all he knows in clear, set terms, for he says, 'I shall not tread too near upon the heels of truth.'
      "What, then does Dr. Rawley mean to infer when he wrote that 'Francis Bacon was born in York House or York Place?'
      "He was giving us a straight hint of the utmost importance, without which consideration the life of Francis Bacon cannot be justly estimated or adequately appraised. If we fail to take the hint we can never hope to understand Francis Bacon. This is what Dr. Rawley wants you to consider: York House was the home of Sir Nicholas Bacon. York Place was the Palace of Queen Elizabeth. The inference that Francis Bacon's friend and confidant wishes you to draw is that his birth is shrouded in mystery; He was either born in York House the son of Lady Bacon or he was born in the Royal Palace a Tudor Prince, his mother being the Virgin Queen Elizabeth." Francis Bacon's Personal Life Story by Alfred Dodd, p44.

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