By the Rev. Canon J. E. Jackson, F.8.A. 159 
Howard, Duke of Norfolk, when it took the name of Howard House: 
but being spacious, and then very conveniently ear the metropolis, 
it was occasionally made use of by the Sovereigns for temporary 
visits. 
When Queen Elizabeth succeeded to the throne she came there 
first, from Hatfield, and remained several days. It was also the 
first lodging that James I. occupied on arriving from Scotland. 
From the Howard family it was bought by Thomas Sutton. 
He was of a Lincolnshire family. Educated at first for the law, 
but not liking it, and preferring a more active life, he travelled all 
over Europe, and thereby acquired a great deal of information, which 
he afterwards turned to very profitable account, and which enabled 
him to end his days as a very successful man. In short, he became 
one of the wealthiest merchants of the time. One very curious 
circumstance in his history is that he was the means of causing the 
famous Spanish Armada to be put off for a whole year, which was 
done in this way. Philip, the King of Spain, had written a letter to 
the Pope about a certain great expedition he was going to undertake, 
but he would not publish to the world what country he was going 
to attack until he had first obtained the Pope’s sanction. So he 
wrote the letter, asking for that blessing. Somehow or other 
somebody contrived to steal the letter out of the Pope’s bedchamber, 
and Sir Francis Walsingham, then our minister at Rome, also 
contrived to get a copy of it, and so found out that it was England 
that was to be attacked. The King of Spain wanted money for 
his invasion, and Genoa being at that time the great bank of Europe, 
King Philip was preparing to draw largely upon that bank. Mr. 
Sutton hearing of this, and having very large commercial tran- 
sactions, stepped in first, and contrived to draw so heavily on the 
Genoa bank, and to drain it so completely, that the King of Spain 
was obliged to wait a whole year until he could raise enough some- 
where else. This, of course, brought Mr. Sutton into great favour, 
and enabled him to add largely to his means, 
But he had no children, and apparently no relatives: so what was 
he to do with all his money? There were not wanting plenty of 
friends and advisers, ready to supply him with hints, and some rather 
