Description:As Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, Sir John Leveson was given the responsibility of raising volunteers to provide security at the coronation of King James I in 1603. The documents relating to Sir John’s professional responsibilities reflect his important role in the Jacobean Court.
A letter from the Privy Council at Hampton Court written to the Deputy Lieutenants of Kent in July 1603 provides an insight into arrangements for the King’s coronation.
Sir John Leveson is requested to ‘putt in readines some competent numbers of men armed to serve for the better assurance of peace & quietnes’ at ‘the Kings coronacon’. It is amusing to consider the similarity between the preparations made for the King’s Coronation in 1603 and those made for modern royal events. This is particularly apparent where the letter suggests that security was required to ensure ‘ageinst anie troublesome or sedicous persons that might move anie disturbance at that time’.
‘Troubleson or sedicious’ disturbance was not the only problem to be considered in organising the King’s coronation. Indeed, in 1603 England was suffering from virulent outbreaks of plague. The letter instructs Sir John Leveson ‘yow are to haue speciall regard that none of the said men maie be taken out of Kentrstreete or anie part of the Countie neere vnto London, but out of places …more remote & free from the infeccon of the Plague’. Preventing the spread of plague was an extremely important concern for Court and City authorities, particularly at an event where crowds of spectators would be gathered together to see the new King.
Owing to his responsibilites as Deputy Lieutenant, many of Sir John's papers reflect the wider social and cultural issues surrounding events. Documents such as the letter featured above are therefore extremely valuable for telling us about national events and the lives of people living through them.