derived from a 17th-century manuscript illustration). Neville grew up at
Billingbear House at
Waltham St Lawrence in Berkshire. At the age of fifteen, he matriculated from
Merton College, Oxford, on 20 December 1577. His tutor was
Henry Savile, later warden of Merton. In 1578 Neville accompanied Savile on a continental tour, visiting
Padua, Venice, and
Prague and meeting scientists and humanists, including
Johannes Praetorius,
Andreas Dudith, and
Gian Vincenzo Pinelli. Neville sat in
Parliament as the member for
New Windsor (1584, 1586 and 1593),
Sussex (1589),
Liskeard (1597) and
Berkshire (1604, 1614). He served as
High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1595. Before his father's death, he lived at the old
Archbishop's Palace at
Mayfield in
Sussex, inherited from his great-uncle
Sir Thomas Gresham (died 1579), where he ran a highly successful cannon manufactury. He was appointed
Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire in 1596 and moved to Billingbear the next year. He was knighted in 1599. In 1599, Neville was appointed Ambassador to France and attended the court of
Henri IV. Although
knighted for his services in France, he was unhappy with the way he was treated by the French and in 1600, complaining of
deafness, he asked to be recalled to England. After his return he became involved with the
Essex Rebellion of 1601 and was imprisoned in the
Tower of London. His close friend
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, was also imprisoned there at this time in connection with the plot. He was stripped of his position and fined £5,000, which he agreed to pay in annual instalments of £1,000. After the death of
Elizabeth I of England and the accession of
James I a
Royal Warrant was issued for his release. In June 1604 Neville was briefly arrested with the Earl of Southampton and Lord Danvers amid rumours of a plot against Scots close to James I, but the three men were released after examination the following day. He continued to played a greater role in the political life of the nation, but earned the antagonism of King James by advocating the King surrender to the demands of the
House of Commons. In the first session of 1610, and again in 1612, he advised the king to give way to the demands of the House of Commons. It was these actions that, on the death of
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, in May 1612, lost him the possibility of becoming the
Secretary of State. Although offered the position of
Treasurer of the Chamber he turned it down. Neville died in 1615 and was buried at the church of
St Lawrence in
Waltham St Lawrence. ==Shakespeare authorship==