A collection of miscellaneous pieces of information about Penshurst Place and the Sidney family.

Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense - "Shame to him who thinks evil (of it)" - the motto of the Order of the Garter surrounds the Sidney pheon emblem on the sign over the Penshurst village pub, The Leicester Arms (previously known as the Porcupine). The Order of the Garter was founded by Edward III in 1347 and membership is limited to 25 Knights, as well as British and Foreign Royalty, appointed by the reigning sovereign. The badge of the Order is a blue garter, worn below the left knee, with the motto in gold letters.

The first Sidney to become a Garter Knight was Sir Henry Sidney (1564) followed by his son Sir Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester in 1616. The next (and most recent) Knight was William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle and Dudley, over three hundred years later.

The Sidney oak, in the grounds at Penshurst, is said to have been planted on the christening of Sir Philip Sidney but it is, in fact, much older. Acorns from the Oak have been planted all over the world by well-travelled members of the Sidney family although it was already 500 years old when the Sidney's first came to Penshurst.

Now nearly 1000 years old there are plans to genetically clone the Sidney Oak as it is currently in a very sorry state.

Technically speaking the Sidney line died out with Jocelyn Sidney, 7th Earl of Leicester in 1743. None of the sons of Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester, produced a male heir so Penshurst was passed through Elizabeth Sidney (1713 - 1781), the daughter of Thomas Sidney and Mary Reeve. She married William Perry and Penshurst passed through their daughter Elizabeth Jane Perry.

Elizabeth Perry became the second wife of Sir Bysshe Shelley, grandfather of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. He was descended from one of the grand-daughters of William Sidney and could claim Sidney blood in his veins. He obtained royal permission for his sons to use the Sidney name and crest. 

This request raised once more the question as to the legitimacy of Robert Dudley's son. This had been previously debated when Sir Robert Sidney was granted the title of Earl of Leicester by James I in 1618. Robert Dudley had not, apparently, acknowledged his son and James had wanted to reward the Sidney family for their services - they were, perhaps at the height of their political power.

It was Sir Bysshe Shelley's son John who began the name change back to Sidney by changing his name to Shelley-Sidney. His son, Philip Sidney, 1st Lord De L'Isle and Dudley (1800 - 1851), in turn, dropped the Shelley part of the name and after 100 years the Sidney's were back at Penshurst.

The Pheon - or broad arrow - was used as the symbol to identify government property by Henry Sidney, Earl of Romney who was Master of Ordnance to William and Mary.

Henry was asked to mark all government property in an attempt to reduce theft. He chose to use the Sidney family emblem which can be seen in many places at Penshurst and which is still in use by the government today. The best known use of this symbol is probably on prisoners uniforms but it is still in use by the military.

The Porcupine is used as the Sidney Family crest. The family coat of arms shows a porcupine and a lion on either side of the Sidney Pheon. Below is the motto "QUO FATA VOCANT" which translates as "Whither the Fates call".

The Penshurst village pub the Leicester Arms, was once called the Porcupine and Sir Philip Sidney's funeral helm (on display at Penshurst Place) is surmounted by a porcupine now, sadly, missing most of it's quills.

Robert Dudley was created Earl of Leicester by Queen Elizabeth I in 1564 but he had no direct heirs to inherit the title on his death in 1588.

Thirty years later the title was bestowed upon his nephew Sir Robert Sidney by King James I. Robert had inherited his uncle's property but not his title and James decided that a claim by Robert Dudley's illegitimate son for the title could not be upheld - perhaps for political reasons.

The Earldom of Leicester was passed through the Sidney family from Robert (1563 - 1626) until Jocelyn Sidney (1684 - 1743).

In 1837 - ninety four years after the death of Jocelyn Sidney - the Earldom of Leicester was bestowed upon the Coke family of Holkham Hall in Norfolk. The first Earl of Leicester in The Coke family was Thomas William Coke of Leicester (b. 5 May 1754).

There are many theories about the identity of the real author of the works of William Shakespeare. One of the contenders is Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, with whom Philip argued at court during a tennis match. It was this incident that caused Philip's departure from court - he was, after all, just a commoner. Philip went to stay with his sister at Wilton House and wrote perhaps his most famous work Arcadia during this period. Of course it would not have been permitted for De Vere to be writing plays so, the theory goes, he used William Shakespeare as a front for his highly political works. Could Philip have exchanged words with the real Shakespeare?

Another contender for the rôle of Shakespeare is Christopher Marlowe who may have been page-boy to Sir Philip Sidney about 1572-78 and travelled with him on his European Tour. It is difficult to imagine that Marlowe would not have been influenced by Philip and after Philip's death Christopher kept in close contact with his sister Mary at Wilton House. For more information on this contact Peter Zenner or read about his book The Shakespeare Invention and Christopher Marlowe's relationship with Philip Sidney.

Of course all the current theories could be partially correct. William Shakespeare could have been an invention or at least a front for a group of writers none of whom wished to be too closely connected with the political issues in the plays. Why would one person write such a diversity of work? How could a writer such as Shakespeare, without connections or social standing, be so conversant with the subtleties of court? Could Shakespeare be the creation of a committee?

You can find more information about the life and works of Sir Philip Sidney, Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and other contemporary writers and poets at the excellent Old Arcadia and Luminarium websites.