John Basset (1462–1528)
Sir John Basset( 1462–31 January 1528), KB, of Tehidy in Cornwall and of Umberleigh in Devon was Sheriff of Cornwall in 1497, 1517 and 1522 and Sheriff of Devon in 1524.
Although himself an important figure in the Westcountry gentry, he is chiefly remembered for his connection with the life of his second wife and widow Honor Grenville( d. 1566), who moved into the highest society when she remarried to Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle KG( d. 1542), an illegitimate son of King Edward IV, and an important figure at the court of King Henry VIII, his nephew.
The survival of the Lisle Letters, a large collection of letters to Lisle and his wife Honor, makes their lives two of the best- documented of the period.
Honor retained for life as her widow's dower several Basset estates including Umberleigh and Tehidy, and the Lisle Letters include a great deal of correspondence to Honor from her stewards concerning their detailed management.
They also include much correspondence to her from her children by Sir John Basset.
John Basset (1518–1541)
John Basset( 1518–1541) was a young English gentleman from Devon, a member of the old Basset family, and heir to a substantial inheritance.
His short life is well documented in the Lisle Papers.
He studied law at Lincolns Inn and at the age of 20, at the start of a promising career, entered the household of Thomas Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal, but died suddenly aged only 23, albeit having married and produced a son and heir, born posthumously.
His stepfather and father- in- law was Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle( d.1542), Lord Deputy of Calais 1533 – 1540, a bastard son of King Edward IV and thus uncle of King Henry VIII, whose arrest with that of his mother in 1540 at Calais for heresy and treason, was a major, potentially catastrophic, event in his life.
He died a year after the arrests, from an unknown illness, but his siblings all went on to have successful careers, especially his younger brother James, mostly as royal courtiers, apparently unaffected by the crisis.
Elizabeth Lucy
Elizabeth Lucy( fl c. 1460s) was the long- standing mistress of King Edward IV of England, and probable mother of several children by him, including Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle.
John Malet (died 1570)
John Malet( died 1570) of Woolleigh in the parish of Beaford in Devon, was Sheriff of Devon in 1562 and was a Member of Parliament for Plymouth in April 1554 and for Bodmin in 1562 and 1563 – 1567.
He was the eldest son and heir by his father's second wife Anne Hatch.
According to Vivian he married Alice Monck, a daughter of Anthony Monck( died 1545) of Potheridge in the parish of Merton, Devon.
( or according to Pole he married Margaret Monck, daughter of Humphrey Monck.)
Anthony Monck was the great- great- grandfather of George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle( 1608 – 1670), of Potheridge.
Alice Monck's brother was Thomas Monck( died 1583), who married Frances Plantagenet, daughter of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle KG( died 1542).
George Basset
George Basset, of Tehidy in the parish of Illogan, near Redruth in Cornwall, was an English politician.
He was a Member of Parliament for Launceston, Cornwall, in 1563 and 1572, and for Bossiney, Cornwall, in 1571.
He was patron of the advowson of Camborne in Cornwall.
He was granted by the crown the estate of Columbjohn in Devon, formerly a possession of the Courtenay family, following the 1538 attainder and execution of Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, a relative of his step- father Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle.
He was the second son of John Basset( 1462 – 1528) of Umberleigh in Devon by his second wife Honor Grenville, who was the sister of Sir Richard Grenville the Elder( died 1550) and later wife of Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle( an illegitimate son of King Edward IV and thus an uncle of King Henry VIII).
Basset's sisters were the courtiers Katharine Basset and Anne Bassett, the latter allegedly a mistress of Henry VIII and considered as a possible sixth wife for the King.
His next younger brother was James Bassett, MP, a Privy Counsellor to Queen Mary.
Basset married Jaquet Coffin of Alwington in Devon.
His son and heir James Basset( 1560 – 1603) inherited Tehidy under a deed of entail dated 26 March 1563 made by George's nephew Sir Arthur Basset.
The deed granted Tehidy to Arthur's grandmother Honor Plantagenet, Viscountess Lisle for her life( she died in 1566), then to her son George Basset and his wife Jaquet Coffin and the heirs male of his body.
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle,( 22 August 1545) was an English military leader and courtier.
Through his third wife, Mary Tudor, he was brother- in- law to King Henry VIII.
John Husee
John Husee( died November 1548)(" alias" Hussey) was a London merchant, and the business agent in England of Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle( d.1542), during Lisle's absence abroad whilst serving as Governor of Calais during the years 1533 to 1540.
Lord Lisle's correspondence was seized by the state when he was arrested in May 1540 for treason and heresy, and as a result 515 letters written by Husee between 1533 and 1540 to Lord and Lady Lisle survive, mainly now preserved amongst the State Papers held at the National Archives.
They were transcribed into modern English and in 1981 published, together with all the other Lisle Papers, by Muriel St Clare Byrne in her six- volume work" The Lisle Letters".
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Lisle
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Lisle( died 1492) was an English nobleman who was created Viscount Lisle in 1483, in recognition of his wife's descent.
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle
Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, KG (died 3 March 1542) was an illegitimate son of the English king Edward IV, half-brother-in-law of Henry VII, and an uncle of Henry VIII, at whose court he was a prominent figure and by whom he was appointed Lord Deputy of Calais (
1533–40).
The survival of a large collection of his correspondence in the Lisle Letters makes his life one of the best-documented of his era.
Edward IV of England
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death.
His father, Richard of York, leader of the Yorkist faction, was a lineal descendant of Edward III and until 1453, heir presumptive to Henry VI, from the ruling House of Lancaster, or Lancastrians.
Less than a year old when he came to the throne in September 1422
, Henry's minority was marked by political infighting within the Regency council.
After 1437, he ruled in his own right but his weak and indecisive personality did little to mitigate factional conflict.
Shortly after the birth of his son Edward of Westminster in 1453, Henry suffered a complete mental breakdown and the government descended into chaos.
Conflict between Yorkists and Lancastrians led to civil war in 1455.
This continued intermittently until 1485 and is collectively known as The Wars of the Roses.
After Richard was executed in December 1460, Edward became head of the family; with the support of the Earl of Warwick, or 'The Kingmaker', he deposed Henry and was crowned king in June 1461.
Divisions developed after Edward's marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in 1464; Warwick switched sides in 1470 and restored Henry to the throne.
Edward fled to Flanders, but returned to England in March 1471, winning victories at Barnet in April and Tewkesbury in
May. Warwick, Henry's heir Edward of Westminster and other senior Lancastrians were killed, while Henry died in the Tower of London a few days later.
England remained relatively peaceful until Edward's death in 1483.
His two minor sons, Edward and Richard were subsequently declared illegitimate by his younger brother, the Duke of Gloucester, who became Richard III.

Question: What is the date of birth of Arthur Plantagenet, 1St Viscount Lisle's father?
Answer: 28 April 1442