George Throckmorton
Encyclopedia
Sir George Throckmorton of Coughton Court
(bef. 1489 – 6 August 1552) was an English
politician and a member of Parliament
during the reign of Henry VIII
. Born by 1489, first son of Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court
by Catherine Marrow, daughter of William Marrow of London
.
The Throckmortons
took their name from a manor in the parish of Fladbury, Worcestershire, where in the 12th century they were tenants of the Bishop of Worcester. They acquired Coughton
, in Warwickshire
, by marriage in the early 15th century.
and was to claim when seeking office there that the greater part of his inheritance lay in that shire, but his father seems to have made Coughton Court
the family seat and George was to be the first of his line to sit in Parliament
as knight of the shire for Warwickshire; his grandfather had done so for Worcestershire. George's father, Robert Throckmorton, soldier, courtier and Councillor to Henry VII
, sent his eldest son to the Middle Temple
, which George entered on the same day as a Northamptonshire kinsman, Edmund Knightley; before his death in Italy while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Sir Robert had seen his son launched at court and in local government and in enjoyment of numerous leases and stewardships.
This early advancement may have owed something to Throckmorton's marriage to a daughter of another courtier, Sir Nicholas Vaux
, whose stepson Sir Thomas Parr
, comptroller of the Household to Henry VIII
, was further related to him by marriage. Throckmorton served with his father in the French war of 1513
as captain of the Great New Spaniard. Seven years later he was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
, which he had been in part devised by his father-in-law. Vaux appointed Throckmorton one of his executors and as such in September 1523 he was commissioned to deliver Guisnes
to William, first Baron Sandys of the Vyne
.
by 1528. The younger Throckmorton engaged in some land transactions with Wolsey. Thus when in 1525 Wolsey had license to dissolve several small and decayed monasteries in order to endow his new college at Oxford
, one of them, the Buckinghamshire priory of Ravenstone (three miles from Olney), passed on a 100-year lease to Throckmorton for a rent of 100 marks. As Wolsey was seeking further land and Throckmortons a reorganization of his estates - in particular he had his eye on Sir William Gascoigne
's manor of Oversley
, Warwickshire - he suggested to the Cardinal an exchange of several manors, including Ravenstone, for Oversley and some neighboring manors. The plan did not materialize, but in May 1528, Throckmorton sold Ravenstone to Wolsey at 20 years purchase. He evidently felt that he deserved well of the Cardinal, for in April 1528, on the death of Sir Giles Greville - and curiously, at a time when his own imminent death was rumoured - he asked for Greville's office of comptroller to Princess Mary
, and three months later, on the death of Sir William Compton
, he sought to become sheriff and custos rotulorum of Worcestershire, steward of the see of Worcester and (as his great-grandfather Sir John Throckmorton had been) under treasurer of England. Although the shrievalty went to Sir Edward Ferrers, later Throckmorton's fellow-knight for Warwickshire, he was successful in respect of the stewardship.
It cannot have been, as he says it was, 'shortly after' receiving this [sic] tribute from Sir Thomas More
that he discussed the Acts of Annates
, Appeals and Supremacy, and the Petrine claims
, with Bishop Fisher
, who referred him to Nicholas Wilson, once the King's confessor, although it may well have been after the Act of Supremacy
(26 Hen. VIII, c.I) that he made his own confession to Richard Reynolds, 'the Angel of Syon', (Throckmorton had at least one other connection with the Bridgettines
of Syon Abbey
, his kinswoman Clemence Tresham, sister of Sir Thomas, having entered the order by 1518). Both Fisher and Wilson conceded that if he were sure nothing was to be gained by his speaking out in Parliament, 'then I might hold my peace and not offend', but Reynolds added that he could not know beforehand whether others might not follow his example if he should 'stick in the right way'.
Throckmorton also admitted to reporting a conversation he had with Thomas Dingley, a knight of St. John, to his brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Englefield at Serjeants' Inn as well as, he believed, to Sir William Barentyne and Sir William Essex
. He had been in the habit of meeting with Barentyne, Essex and other members, including Sir Marmaduke Constable
and Sir John Giffard (whose son Thomas married Throckmorton's sister Ursula), at the Queen's Head to discuss parliamentary affairs.
Sir George Throckmorton was also associated with Sir Marmaduke Constable in the Parliament of 1529 and is mentioned in the notes under other Sir Marmaduke Constable. The relationship between these Constable's needs to be clarified.
Robert Beale, Clerk of the Privy Council
, added a note on his copy of a letter from Thomas Cromwell
, 'I have heard that the cause was touching the denouncing of the Queen Catherine
dowager first wife to King Henry the 8th'. It is interesting to speculate on the source of Cromwell's (and Beale's) knowledge of the episode.
During the interval of 50 years no less than a dozen of Throckmorton's descendants sat in the Commons
, although only one of them, his grandson Job Throckmorton, was a Member in 1586. At the time of Cromwell's intervention, Job Throckmorton was himself in deep trouble for having maligned James VI of Scotland in a speech to the House, a misfortune which could have well have revived the memory of his grandfather's brush with an earlier monarch. There was even one Member in 1586, Sir Francis Knollys
, whose career in the Commons had begun in the Parliament of 1529 (to which he had been by-elected by 1533) and who could have remembered the episode.
break with Rome. Of the King's divorce and pending marriage to Anne Boleyn
, Sir George said that the King had 'meddled with both the mother and the sister'. He had to bring his aunt Elizabeth, Abbess of Denny
, to live with him when her convent was closed in 1537 under the Dissolution of the Monasteries, making 25 nuns homeless. She brought with her a dole-gate, through which help was given to the poor, and upon which her name is carved. This can still be seen today in the Dining-Room.
He consistently opposed the changes in religion, and although the vast majority of his 19 children and 112 grandchilden were ardent Catholics, there were some who were staunch Protestants, including his sons Clement, who founded a puritan
family branch, and Sir Nicholas, who was unfortunate enough to be an avid champion of Protestantism during the reign of Mary I
(although it is written that his Protestantism was said to wax and wane). Sir Nicholas was found not guilty on a charge of treason in connection with Thomas Wyatt's
rebellion (he was freed, but the jury was arrested), and went on to be a minor player in the court of Queen Elizabeth
, bringing her the ring as proof of her sister's death, and acting as an emissary to Mary, Queen of Scots.
While on the way to keep an appointment with Sir Anthony Hungerford at Essex's house in Berkshire, Throckmorton met Thomas Vachell who convinced him of the danger of possessing the document, which he thereupon burned at Reading. Passing the night at Englefield, he received a further warning and then went on to Essex's house where he learned the full story of Gunter's foolhardiness. Both he and Essex were soon in the Tower
. Cromwell then sat out to collect all possible evidence of their treasonable behavior. For a while both his life and Essex's hung in the balance: on 14 Jan 1537 John Hussey reported as much to Viscount Lisle
, and one of Throckmorton's family was later to write that his foes 'gaped to joint his neck'.
The charges, however, could not be sustained and Throckmorton was released. Sir Thomas Dingley, whose execution two years later makes him accounted a Catholic martyr, revealed what Throckmorton had told him of the earlier episodes. When Throckmorton was again taken into custody, his wife appealed for advice to her half-brother William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton, who may have persuaded him to make a confession.
, could suggest that he should receive building materials from the dissolved Bordesley Abbey
, Worcestershire.
His part in the toppling of Cromwell in 1540 is too obscure, and may have been too small, to be given much weight. The fall of Cromwell did enable Throckmorton to acquire several properties which he had long coveted, including Oversley, and so to continue the consolidation of his estates which had been one of his principal concerns since his succession. He
also built up extensive leasehold interests and acquired several valuable wardships, including that of Richard Archer whose execution for murder gave Throckmorton the opportunity to buy from the crown his most valuable property, Tamworth
.
Throckmorton lived to see some of his younger sons occupy high office in the state and others comfortably established. During his lifetime he settled small freehold estates on most of his younger sons and by his will of 20 Jul 1552 he left Kenelm an annuity of £40, (£ as of ),,
Nicholas and Clement annuities of £20 each, and Clement a further £400 (£ as of ), for land purchase. The eldest son Robert had control of part of his inheritance, the manors of Sheldon and Solihull, from his second marriage in 1542, and by the will he obtained a full third of the estate and the reversion of two manors after the executors had held them for three years for the payment of debts: the residue was settled on the widow for life. At his death, Throckmorton is said to have had 116 living descendants, including among his grandsons such diverse figures as Job Throckmorton and William Gifford, Archbishop of Rheims and first Peer of France.
. The costly recusancy of Robert Throckmorton
and his heirs kept down later rebuilding, so that much of the house still stands largely as he left it.
and Lady Elizabeth FitzHugh, with whom he had eight sons and nine daughters. Through Katherine's mother's first marriage to William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal, Katherine's maternal half-siblings
were Sir Thomas Parr
, father of Queen consort Catherine Parr
; William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton; and Anne Parr, Lady Cheney.
Issue:
Coughton Court
Coughton Court is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building....
(bef. 1489 – 6 August 1552) was an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
politician and a member of Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
during the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. Born by 1489, first son of Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court
Coughton Court
Coughton Court is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building....
by Catherine Marrow, daughter of William Marrow of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The Throckmortons
Throckmorton Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for different branches of the Throckmorton family, 6th. cousins, both descended from Sir John Throckmorton, Under-Treasurer of England temp. King Henry VI. Both titles, which were in the Baronetage of England, are now extinct...
took their name from a manor in the parish of Fladbury, Worcestershire, where in the 12th century they were tenants of the Bishop of Worcester. They acquired Coughton
Coughton Court
Coughton Court is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building....
, in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, by marriage in the early 15th century.
Overview
Sir George Throckmorton was born in WorcestershireWorcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
and was to claim when seeking office there that the greater part of his inheritance lay in that shire, but his father seems to have made Coughton Court
Coughton Court
Coughton Court is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building....
the family seat and George was to be the first of his line to sit in Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
as knight of the shire for Warwickshire; his grandfather had done so for Worcestershire. George's father, Robert Throckmorton, soldier, courtier and Councillor to Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, sent his eldest son to the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
, which George entered on the same day as a Northamptonshire kinsman, Edmund Knightley; before his death in Italy while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Sir Robert had seen his son launched at court and in local government and in enjoyment of numerous leases and stewardships.
This early advancement may have owed something to Throckmorton's marriage to a daughter of another courtier, Sir Nicholas Vaux
Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden
Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden was a soldier and courtier in England and an early member of the House of Commons...
, whose stepson Sir Thomas Parr
Sir Thomas Parr
Sir Thomas Parr was an English knight, courtier and Lord of the Manor of Kendal in Westmorland during the Tudor period. He is best known as the father of Catherine Parr, queen consort of England and the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII.-Life:Thomas was the son of Sir William Parr of Kendal...
, comptroller of the Household to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, was further related to him by marriage. Throckmorton served with his father in the French war of 1513
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...
as captain of the Great New Spaniard. Seven years later he was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold
Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...
, which he had been in part devised by his father-in-law. Vaux appointed Throckmorton one of his executors and as such in September 1523 he was commissioned to deliver Guisnes
Guînes
Guînes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:Guînes is located on the border of the two territories of the Boulonnais and Calaisis, at the edge of the now-drained marshes, which extend from here to the coast. The Guînes canal connects with...
to William, first Baron Sandys of the Vyne
William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys of the Vyne
William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys of the Vyne was an English Tudor diplomat, Lord Chamberlain and favourite of King Henry VIII....
.
Politics
During the 1520s, Throckmorton seems to have attached himself to Wolsey, although the first notice of their connection does not suggest a happy relationship. In July 1524, Throckmorton, styled of Olney, Buckinghamshire, was bound in 100 pounds to appear before the Council and to pay whatever fine the Cardinal should impose. The connection may have been made through his uncle Dr. William Throckmorton, a trusted servant of the Cardinal whose name appears on important papers relating to embassies and treaties and who was a master in ChanceryCourt of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
by 1528. The younger Throckmorton engaged in some land transactions with Wolsey. Thus when in 1525 Wolsey had license to dissolve several small and decayed monasteries in order to endow his new college at Oxford
Colleges of the University of Oxford
The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges...
, one of them, the Buckinghamshire priory of Ravenstone (three miles from Olney), passed on a 100-year lease to Throckmorton for a rent of 100 marks. As Wolsey was seeking further land and Throckmortons a reorganization of his estates - in particular he had his eye on Sir William Gascoigne
William Gascoigne
Sir William Gascoigne Kt. was Chief Justice of England during the reign of King Henry IV. Sir William Gascoigne was born in Gawthorpe W-Riding, Yorks. In 1369, William married Elizabeth de Mowbray...
's manor of Oversley
Wixford
Wixford is a hamlet and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England, situated south of Alcester. The name derives from a compound of the Old English personal name Whitlac with the noun for a river crossing "ford"...
, Warwickshire - he suggested to the Cardinal an exchange of several manors, including Ravenstone, for Oversley and some neighboring manors. The plan did not materialize, but in May 1528, Throckmorton sold Ravenstone to Wolsey at 20 years purchase. He evidently felt that he deserved well of the Cardinal, for in April 1528, on the death of Sir Giles Greville - and curiously, at a time when his own imminent death was rumoured - he asked for Greville's office of comptroller to Princess Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, and three months later, on the death of Sir William Compton
William Compton (courtier)
Sir William Compton was one of the most prominent courtiers during the reign of Henry VIII of England. Born around 1482, Compton was about nine years older than his king, but the two became close friends. Compton was the eldest son of Edmund Compton of Warwickshire and became an attendant on young...
, he sought to become sheriff and custos rotulorum of Worcestershire, steward of the see of Worcester and (as his great-grandfather Sir John Throckmorton had been) under treasurer of England. Although the shrievalty went to Sir Edward Ferrers, later Throckmorton's fellow-knight for Warwickshire, he was successful in respect of the stewardship.
It cannot have been, as he says it was, 'shortly after' receiving this [sic] tribute from Sir Thomas More
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
that he discussed the Acts of Annates
Annates
Annates were the whole of the first year's profits of a benefice which were generally given to the papal treasury. They were also known as the "First Fruits" , a concept which dates back to earlier Greek, Roman, and Hebrew religions.-History:This custom was only of gradual growth...
, Appeals and Supremacy, and the Petrine claims
Petrine doctrine
The Petrine Doctrine is based upon Catholic tradition, which proclaims the legitimacy and supremacy of the Pope over all other bishops of the Catholic Church. This Doctrine is founded upon the book of Matthew in the Bible. Matthew 16: 18-19 states: "18 And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter,...
, with Bishop Fisher
John Fisher
Saint John Fisher was an English Roman Catholic scholastic, bishop, cardinal and martyr. He shares his feast day with Saint Thomas More on 22 June in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and 6 July on the Church of England calendar of saints...
, who referred him to Nicholas Wilson, once the King's confessor, although it may well have been after the Act of Supremacy
Acts of Supremacy
The first Act of Supremacy was a piece of legislation that granted King Henry VIII of England Royal Supremacy, which means that he was declared the supreme head of the Church of England. It is still the legal authority of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom...
(26 Hen. VIII, c.I) that he made his own confession to Richard Reynolds, 'the Angel of Syon', (Throckmorton had at least one other connection with the Bridgettines
Bridgettines
The Bridgettine or Birgittine Order is a monastic religious order of Augustinian nuns, Religious Sisters and monks founded by Saint Birgitta of Sweden in approximately 1350, and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370...
of Syon Abbey
Syon Abbey
Syon Monastery , was a monastery of the Bridgettine Order founded in 1415 which stood until its demolition in the 16th c. on the left bank of the River Thames within the parish of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex on or near the site of the present Georgian mansion of Syon House...
, his kinswoman Clemence Tresham, sister of Sir Thomas, having entered the order by 1518). Both Fisher and Wilson conceded that if he were sure nothing was to be gained by his speaking out in Parliament, 'then I might hold my peace and not offend', but Reynolds added that he could not know beforehand whether others might not follow his example if he should 'stick in the right way'.
Throckmorton also admitted to reporting a conversation he had with Thomas Dingley, a knight of St. John, to his brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Englefield at Serjeants' Inn as well as, he believed, to Sir William Barentyne and Sir William Essex
William Essex
Sir William Essex was the High Sheriff and MP for Berkshire in England.Sir William was the son of Thomas Essex of Lambourn in Berkshire and his wife, Elizabeth daughter of William Babthorpe of Elstone in Leicestershire. He married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Thomas Rogers of Beckett Hall in...
. He had been in the habit of meeting with Barentyne, Essex and other members, including Sir Marmaduke Constable
Marmaduke Constable
Sir Marmaduke Constable, "the little" was an English soldier descended from the Hereditary Constables of Chester, hence the surname of the family...
and Sir John Giffard (whose son Thomas married Throckmorton's sister Ursula), at the Queen's Head to discuss parliamentary affairs.
Sir George Throckmorton was also associated with Sir Marmaduke Constable in the Parliament of 1529 and is mentioned in the notes under other Sir Marmaduke Constable. The relationship between these Constable's needs to be clarified.
Robert Beale, Clerk of the Privy Council
Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)
The Clerk of the Privy Council is a civil servant in the government of the United Kingdom. He or she is the most senior civil servant in the Privy Council Office....
, added a note on his copy of a letter from Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, , was an English statesman who served as chief minister of King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540....
, 'I have heard that the cause was touching the denouncing of the Queen Catherine
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
dowager first wife to King Henry the 8th'. It is interesting to speculate on the source of Cromwell's (and Beale's) knowledge of the episode.
During the interval of 50 years no less than a dozen of Throckmorton's descendants sat in the Commons
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, although only one of them, his grandson Job Throckmorton, was a Member in 1586. At the time of Cromwell's intervention, Job Throckmorton was himself in deep trouble for having maligned James VI of Scotland in a speech to the House, a misfortune which could have well have revived the memory of his grandfather's brush with an earlier monarch. There was even one Member in 1586, Sir Francis Knollys
Knollys (family)
Knollys, the name of an English family descended from Sir Thomas Knollys , Lord Mayor of London. The first distinguished member of the family was Sir Francis Knollys , English statesman, son of Sir Robert Knollys, or Knolles , a courtier in the service and favour of Henry VII and Henry VIII...
, whose career in the Commons had begun in the Parliament of 1529 (to which he had been by-elected by 1533) and who could have remembered the episode.
Religion
Sir George Throckmorton opposed Henry VIII'sHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
break with Rome. Of the King's divorce and pending marriage to Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, Sir George said that the King had 'meddled with both the mother and the sister'. He had to bring his aunt Elizabeth, Abbess of Denny
Denny Abbey
Denny Abbey is a former abbey near Waterbeach, six miles north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England which was inhabited by a succession of three different religious orders during its history serving as a monastery....
, to live with him when her convent was closed in 1537 under the Dissolution of the Monasteries, making 25 nuns homeless. She brought with her a dole-gate, through which help was given to the poor, and upon which her name is carved. This can still be seen today in the Dining-Room.
He consistently opposed the changes in religion, and although the vast majority of his 19 children and 112 grandchilden were ardent Catholics, there were some who were staunch Protestants, including his sons Clement, who founded a puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
family branch, and Sir Nicholas, who was unfortunate enough to be an avid champion of Protestantism during the reign of Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
(although it is written that his Protestantism was said to wax and wane). Sir Nicholas was found not guilty on a charge of treason in connection with Thomas Wyatt's
Thomas Wyatt the younger
Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion".-Birth and career:...
rebellion (he was freed, but the jury was arrested), and went on to be a minor player in the court of Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, bringing her the ring as proof of her sister's death, and acting as an emissary to Mary, Queen of Scots.
Rebellion
Before 1536 was out, Throckmorton was in worse trouble. He had come to London in Nov to transact legal business and falling in with an old friend, Sir John Clarke, had rashly discussed the demands of the rebels in the North; whereas Throckmorton had only seen the printed answer to the Lincolnshire rebels, Clarke had a manuscript account of Aske's new demands and sent Throckmorton a copy of it.While on the way to keep an appointment with Sir Anthony Hungerford at Essex's house in Berkshire, Throckmorton met Thomas Vachell who convinced him of the danger of possessing the document, which he thereupon burned at Reading. Passing the night at Englefield, he received a further warning and then went on to Essex's house where he learned the full story of Gunter's foolhardiness. Both he and Essex were soon in the Tower
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. Cromwell then sat out to collect all possible evidence of their treasonable behavior. For a while both his life and Essex's hung in the balance: on 14 Jan 1537 John Hussey reported as much to Viscount Lisle
Viscount Lisle
The title of Viscount Lisle has been created six times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, on 30 October 1451, was for John Talbot, 1st Baron Lisle. Upon the death of his son Thomas at the Battle of Nibley Green in 1470, the viscountcy became extinct and the barony abeyant.In 1475, the...
, and one of Throckmorton's family was later to write that his foes 'gaped to joint his neck'.
The charges, however, could not be sustained and Throckmorton was released. Sir Thomas Dingley, whose execution two years later makes him accounted a Catholic martyr, revealed what Throckmorton had told him of the earlier episodes. When Throckmorton was again taken into custody, his wife appealed for advice to her half-brother William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton, who may have persuaded him to make a confession.
Later life
As early as July 1538 his kinsman, Richard RichRichard Rich, 1st Baron Rich
Sir Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich , was Lord Chancellor during the reign of King Edward VI of England. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated alms houses in Essex in 1564....
, could suggest that he should receive building materials from the dissolved Bordesley Abbey
Bordesley Abbey
Bordesley Abbey was a 12th century Cistercian abbey near the town of Redditch, in Worcestershire, England.The abbey's foundation has been attributed to Queen Maud, but it is actually down to Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan who gave the monks of Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire some more land....
, Worcestershire.
His part in the toppling of Cromwell in 1540 is too obscure, and may have been too small, to be given much weight. The fall of Cromwell did enable Throckmorton to acquire several properties which he had long coveted, including Oversley, and so to continue the consolidation of his estates which had been one of his principal concerns since his succession. He
also built up extensive leasehold interests and acquired several valuable wardships, including that of Richard Archer whose execution for murder gave Throckmorton the opportunity to buy from the crown his most valuable property, Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
.
Throckmorton lived to see some of his younger sons occupy high office in the state and others comfortably established. During his lifetime he settled small freehold estates on most of his younger sons and by his will of 20 Jul 1552 he left Kenelm an annuity of £40, (£ as of ),,
Nicholas and Clement annuities of £20 each, and Clement a further £400 (£ as of ), for land purchase. The eldest son Robert had control of part of his inheritance, the manors of Sheldon and Solihull, from his second marriage in 1542, and by the will he obtained a full third of the estate and the reversion of two manors after the executors had held them for three years for the payment of debts: the residue was settled on the widow for life. At his death, Throckmorton is said to have had 116 living descendants, including among his grandsons such diverse figures as Job Throckmorton and William Gifford, Archbishop of Rheims and first Peer of France.
Death and legacy
Throckmorton died on 6 Aug 1552 and was buried in the stately marble tomb which he had prepared for himself in Coughton church. The most impressive monument which he left, however, was the gatehouse of Coughton court. Throckmorton spent most of his life rebuilding the house: in 1535 he wrote to Cromwell that he and his wife had lived in Buckinghamshire for most of the year, ‘for great part of my house here is taken down’. In 1549, when he was planning the windows in the great hall, he asked his son Nicholas to obtain from the heralds the correct tricking of the arms of his ancestors’ wives and his niece by marriage Queen Catherine ParrCatherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
. The costly recusancy of Robert Throckmorton
Robert Throckmorton
Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court, MP, KG was a distinguished English Tudor courtier.-Overview:...
and his heirs kept down later rebuilding, so that much of the house still stands largely as he left it.
Marriage and Family
In 1512, he married Hon. Katherine Vaux, daughter of Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of HarrowdenNicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden
Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden was a soldier and courtier in England and an early member of the House of Commons...
and Lady Elizabeth FitzHugh, with whom he had eight sons and nine daughters. Through Katherine's mother's first marriage to William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal, Katherine's maternal half-siblings
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
were Sir Thomas Parr
Sir Thomas Parr
Sir Thomas Parr was an English knight, courtier and Lord of the Manor of Kendal in Westmorland during the Tudor period. He is best known as the father of Catherine Parr, queen consort of England and the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII.-Life:Thomas was the son of Sir William Parr of Kendal...
, father of Queen consort Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
; William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton; and Anne Parr, Lady Cheney.
Issue:
- Sir Robert ThrockmortonRobert ThrockmortonSir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court, MP, KG was a distinguished English Tudor courtier.-Overview:...
of Coughton CourtCoughton CourtCoughton Court is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building....
(c. 1513-12 Feb 1581), married 1st: Muriel Berkeley (d. 1542) c. 1527; 2nd: Elizabeth Hussey, Baroness Hungerford of Heystesbury (c. 1510 - 23 Jan 1554), their daughter Muriel married Thomas Tresham IIThomas Tresham IISir Thomas Tresham was a Catholic recusant politician at the end of the Tudor dynasty and the start of the Stuart dynasty in England....
, the two are ancestors of prominent nobility and royalty, such as Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, Sarah, Duchess of YorkSarah, Duchess of YorkSarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...
, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and HM Elizabeth II. - Sir Kenelm Throckmorton (c. 1512-1564/1587), married and had issue.
- Sir Clement ThrockmortonClement ThrockmortonClement Throckmorton was an English landowner and Member of Parliament in the middle years of the 16th century.A member of a distinguished Warwickshire family, son of Sir George Throckmorton and the brother of the influential diplomat Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Robert Throckmorton and cousin of...
Esq of Haseley (c. 1512-1573), married Katherine Neville, daughter of Sir Edward Neville of Addington and Eleanor Windsor, daughter of Sir Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron WindsorAndrew Windsor, 1st Baron WindsorSir Andrew Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor was an English nobleman. He inherited the manor of Stanwell in Middlesex. In 1542, during a visit by King Henry VIII, he was obliged to surrender the manor to the crown. In return he was offered the lands of Tardebigge and the seat of Hewell Grange in modern...
. Had issue. - Sir Nicholas ThrockmortonNicholas ThrockmortonSir Nicholas Throckmorton was an English diplomat and politician, who was an ambassador to France and played a key role in the relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots.-Early years:...
(1515–1571), father of Elizabeth "Bess" ThrockmortonElizabeth RaleighElizabeth, Lady Raleigh , née Throckmorton, was Sir Walter Raleigh's wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Their secret marriage precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for Raleigh....
who married Sir Walter Raleigh and was lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth IElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. - Thomas Throckmorton (born c. 1522)
- Elizabeth Throckmorton, wife of 1st: Sir John Gifford, 2nd: William Lygon, and 3rd: George Peyto.
- Sir John ThrockmortonJohn ThrockmortonSir John Throckmorton was a lawyer and member of the English Parliament during the reign of Queen Mary I. He was also a witness to Queen Mary's will.-Biography:...
(c. 1524-22 May 1580), father of the conspirator Francis ThrockmortonFrancis ThrockmortonSir Francis Throckmorton was a conspirator against Queen Elizabeth I of England.He was the son of Sir John Throckmorton and a nephew of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, one of Elizabeth's diplomats. Sir John had held the post of Chief Justice of Chester but was removed in 1579, a year before his death...
. - Anthony Throckmorton (born c. 1528)
- Mary Throckmorton, wife of Sir John Hubard. (born c. 1530)
- Katherine Throckmorton
- Anne Throckmorton, wife of Sir John Digby. (c. 1532-21 Dec 1553)
- George Throckmorton (c. 1533-1612)
- Margaret Throckmorton (b. c. 1536), married Brian Cave of Ingarsby, had issue.
- Katherine Throckmorton, married Thomas Winter and Thomas Smith.
- Margery Throckmorton
- Amy Throckmorton
- Elizabeth Throckmorton