Abel Kitchin or "Kitchen" (died 1640) was an English merchant and Mayor of Bristol. He lived in Broad Street. Kitchin was Mayor of Bristol from 1612 to 1613. His business and shipping interests included the import of oil from Spain and the export of leather.
Anne of Denmark went to Bristol on 4 June 1613 during her progress to Bath. Kitchin and the town council organised various entertainments. [1] They met the queen at Lawford or Lafford's Gate, and Kitchin gave her a satin purse embroidered with the initials "AR". [2]
A seat was built for her at Canon's Marsh near the Cathedral, where on 7 June she watched a staged battle at the confluence of the Avon and Frome, fought between an English ship and two Turkish galleys. After the victory, some Turkish prisoners were presented to her and she laughed at this, saying both the actors' red costumes and their "countenances" were like the Turks. The entertainment at Bristol was described in verse by Robert Naile, who mentions the Turks were played by sailors, "worthy brutes, who oft have seen their habit, form and guise". These actor-captives were made to kneel before Anne of Denmark and beg for mercy as the final act of the pageant. [3]
That evening, the queen's lady in waiting Jean Drummond and others had dinner with Abel Kitchin, and gave him a ring from the queen, set with diamonds. On 8 June, Kitchen escorted the queen to Lafford's Gate and she went to Siston Court. [4]
In his will, Kitchin bequeathed the queen's ring to posterity in his son Abel's family. [5] He owned properties including a farm called Wicks Ouldbury (Wixoldbury), with lands in the parishes of Wickwar and Cromhall, with Inlands in Wickwar, (lands held from the manor of Beverston), and a house called the Ragged Staff in Bristol's Broad Street. [6]
His children included;
A London lawyer, Richard Kitchin of Clifford's Inn, who died in 1604, left Abel Kitchen a house in Skipton. Richard Kitchin stood surety for Christopher Marlowe in October 1589 when the writer was a prisoner in Newgate, and he frequented the Mermaid Tavern. [8]
The second oldest bronze nail (a pedestal table where bargains were made) at The Exchange, Bristol, was a gift from Robert Kitchin, merchant and former mayor, by his will of September 1594. An inscription dated 1630 records that Abel Kitchin, Alderman, was one of his four executors. [9] It is not known if Robert Kitchin, who was originally from Kendal, was Abel Kitchin's father or uncle. [10]
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere was an English soldier, diplomat, member of parliament, landowner and nobleman. He was the son and heir of Sir Gunselm de Badlesmere and Joan FitzBernard. He fought in the English army both in France and Scotland during the later years of the reign of Edward I of England and the earlier part of the reign of Edward II of England. He was executed after participating in an unsuccessful rebellion led by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster.
Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, suo jure 14th Baroness de Clifford was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became suo jure 14th Baroness de Clifford. She was a patron of literature and as evidenced by her diary and many letters was a literary personage in her own right. She held the hereditary office of High Sheriff of Westmorland which role she exercised from 1653 to 1676.
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Lady Audrey Walsingham was an English courtier. She served as Lady of the Bedchamber to queen Elizabeth I of England, and then as Mistress of the Robes to Anne of Denmark from 1603 until 1619.
Sir Robert Kitchen was Alderman of Bristol. He died on 19 June 1594. He gifted one of the four bronze 'nails' to The Exchange in Bristol.
Sir Edward Zouch of Woking was a courtier to English kings James and Charles I, a masque actor, and Knight Marshal of the King's Household.
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Mary Middlemore was a Courtier and Maid of Honour to Anne of Denmark, subject of poems, and treasure hunter.
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Mary Gargrave was a courtier to Anne of Denmark.
Elizabeth Harcourt, Courtier to Anne of Denmark.
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Anne of Denmark (1574–1619) was the wife of James VI and I. She visited Bath, Somerset in the belief that drinking and bathing in mineral waters could improve her health. The warm springs at Bath had been used for medicinal purposes since Roman times. During her progresses to Bath she was entertained at country houses along the way. The court physician Théodore de Mayerne left extensive notes in Latin describing his treatment of Anne of Denmark from 10 April 1612 to her death. Primarily, she was seeking help for gout or dropsy, a swelling of the legs and feet which made walking difficult. Her companion and servant Jean Drummond described an occasion when the queen was unable to set her swollen foot on the ground. During these progresses, Anne of Denmark visited or came near some of the lands and manors included in her jointure lands, including Corston, and was able to promote the image of the Stuart monarchy.
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