Very little is known of Stefan's career, however he was mentioned as a gentleman of Moravia, and subject of Bohemia, in a letter from the Regent of the Netherlands to Henry VIII in 1544. He spoke in Polish to sailors of a fleet of Charles V in 1539. He seems to have first offered his services as armourer and architect to Henry VIII in 1535; giving a note to the Duke of Suffolk to pass to Thomas Cromwell and the King. Stefan was part of the design team for the device forts at Sandgate and Camber Castles, and the gun emplacements made of earth on the Downs. In November 1540 he went to the Pale of Calais. The French ambassador in London, Charles de Marillac, heard of this and reported to Francis I of France that the 'German' engineer had gone to design new bulwarks. Stefan 'the Almain' crosse