John Thynne
Encyclopedia
Sir John Thynne was the steward to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
(c. 1506–1552) and a member of parliament
. He was the builder of Longleat House and his descendants became Marquesses of Bath
.
Thynne was born in Church Stretton
, Shropshire
, in 1515, and was the eldest son of Thomas Thynne, otherwise Botevile, and of his wife Margaret, a daughter of Thomas Eynns. His uncle William Thynne was a courtier in the household of King Henry VIII
and a literary editor.
However, there is no other information about Thynne's youth, which may have been influenced by his uncle at court.
. In a surviving account book kept by Lord Vaux's steward, he is listed among forty-six people 'ordinary of Household' who attended Lord Vaux's family at Harrowden
between 2 August and 28 October 1535.
Between March and November 1538, Thynne, described as Lord Hertford's servant, brought an action in the Court of Chancery
concerning the parsonage of Wilby
, Northamptonshire
, claiming he had wrongly been excluded from it by Lord Vaux.
In 1536, Thynne became steward to Edward Seymour, 1st Viscount Beauchamp
, during the short period when Seymour's sister Jane Seymour
was the Queen of Henry VIII of England
. Seymour was later Marquess of Hertford
and Duke of Somerset
. Thynne continued in his place as steward until Seymour's execution for treason
in 1552.
Seymour built up great estates in London
and the west of England
, not least after he became Lord Protector
of England and the first Duke of Somerset
in 1547, while his nephew Edward VI
was king. Thynne, a hard-working servant, prospered as his master did.
In 1542 and 1544, Thynne was with Seymour on military expeditions to the north. He was probably at the Battle of Solway Moss
in 1542 and was knighted after the victory of the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
of 1547.
Also in 1547, Thynne became a freeman of the City of London
and a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers
.
Before he had long been Seymour's steward, Thynne began to build up his own estates in the west of England and Oxfordshire
.
On 11 April 1539, he took a twenty-one-year lease of the rectory
of Clawton in Devon
, when he was described as a resident of London. His greatest prize was the former Carthusian
priory at Longleat
, together with land in three parishes on the borders of Wiltshire
and Somerset
, which he bought on his own account in 1540. Other possessions of the former priories of Longleat and Hinton Charterhouse
were granted by the Crown to Seymour, who sold them to his steward Thynne on 25 June 1541. This made a substantial estate near to Seymour's own at Maiden Bradley
. Beginning in 1546, Thynne spent more than thirty-five years building a great house at Longleat.
Thynne became member of parliament
for Marlborough
in 1545 (and perhaps also in 1539 and 1542), and for Salisbury
in 1547. A historian of Marlborough, James Waylen, states that Thynne was twice member for Marlborough before 1545. This is supported by a bond for £
33 from the Corporation of Marlborough which Thynne was holding in March 1544, roughly equal to his parliamentary wages of two shillings a day for the three sessions of the Parliament of 1539 and the first two sessions of the one of 1542. He was also High sheriff
of Somerset
and Dorset
for 1548-1549.
In 1549, he made a rich match in marrying Christian, a daughter of Sir Richard Gresham
.
The Duke of Somerset fell from power in 1549, and Thynne was twice imprisoned in the Tower of London
. Somerset was arrested at Windsor
on 11 October 1549, and on 13 October Thynne was sent to the Tower with William Grey, Sir Thomas Smith
, Sir Michael Stanhope and Edward Wolf, these being described as the Duke's "principal instruments and counsellors... in the affairs of his ill government". In August 1550, he was pardoned and all his goods and offices were restored, but he was put into the Tower again on 16 October 1551. After Somerset's execution, like his other followers who were spared, Thynne lost his offices and much of his land, and he was heavily fined. He retired to Longleat and led a country life there.
Thynne responded to Queen Mary
's orders of 19 July 1553, by proclaiming her queen at Warminster
, where he was high steward, but under her reign he continued to live in Wiltshire.
When Queen Elizabeth I
inherited the throne, many of Thynne's friends returned to power, and he was again able to expand his estates and to recover some of his offices.
Thynne was again a member of parliament, for Wiltshire
in 1559, for Great Bedwyn
in 1563, for Wiltshire again in 1571, and for Heytesbury
in 1572. He was High Sheriff of Wiltshire
for 1568–1569, and Custos rotulorum
and a Justice of Peace for Wiltshire from 1558–1559 until his death.
When he died in 1580, Thynne left manors
in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire
, Somerset
and Oxfordshire, and property in the cities of London, Westminster
, and Bristol
. He was entombed in the parish church at Longbridge Deverill
, Wiltshire. At his funeral, gowns were given to sixty poor men, mourning suits to sixty-one servants, and cloaks to a great many gentlemen, and the funeral expenses came to £380, 8s & 3d.
Thynne supervised Seymour's planned great house on a hill called Bedwyn Brail at Great Bedwyn
in Wiltshire, intended to replace his ancestral seat of Wolf Hall. The house was unfinished when Seymour fell from power, but a correspondence survives, dated between November 1548 and June 1549, which shows Thynne directing the plans. He also played a part in the building of Seymour's neo-classical Somerset House
in London.
At Longleat, Thynne took thirty-seven years to design and build his own great neo-classical house with four facades, Doric
, Ionic
, and Corinthian
pilasters, and regularly spaced bay window
s. A perfectionist, he employed only the best craftsmen, including the English master mason and architect Robert Smythson
and the French mason Alan Maynard. He suffered a setback in 1567, when there was a major fire at the house. However, during the long process of construction, Longleat became the centre of a new school of building. Smythson went on to design Hardwick Hall
, Wollaton Hall
, Burghley House
, and Burton Agnes Hall
, and is described by Mark Girouard
in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as "the strongest architectural personality to have survived from the Elizabethan and Jacobean age".
and a sister of Sir Thomas Gresham
, founder of the Royal Exchange
. Their marriage settlement was entered into in January 1549, and they had three sons and six daughters.
Thynne's nine children with Christian Gresham were: John (who married Joan Hayward); Dorothy (who married John Strangeways and was buried 25 September 1592); Anne (who married John Cole); Francis (who married Alice Knocker); Thomas (who married Emily Bembridge); Elizabeth (who married John Chamberlayne); Catherine (who married firstly Walter Long
and secondly Hugh Fox); Frances; and Maria.
In about 1566, after the death of his first wife, Thynne married secondly Dorothy, a daughter of Sir William Wroughton, of Broad Hinton
, and of his wife Eleanor Lewknor. Together they had five sons: Egremont (married Barbara Calthorpe); Henry (married Elizabeth Chudleigh); Charles; Edward (married Theodosia Manners); and William (married Alice Talbot). Dorothy survived her husband and married secondly Carew Raleigh
of Downton House near Salisbury
, member of parliament
for Downton
in 1604, and the brother of Sir Walter Raleigh
.
Thynne's eldest son, John, was knighted by King James I
on 11 May 1603, four days after James arrived to take up the English crown. The new Sir John Thynne's wife, Joan, was the daughter of Sir Rowland Hayward, twice Lord Mayor of London
, and of Joan, daughter and heiress of Sir William Tyllsworth. She brought the Thynne family new estates in Shropshire
and elsewhere.
In 1641, Thynne's great-grandson Henry Frederick Thynne (1615–1680) was created a baronet
in the Baronetage of England, and in 1682 his son, Sir Thomas Thynne, 2nd Baronet, was created Viscount Weymouth. In 1789, Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth
(1734–1796) became the first of the Marquesses of Bath
, a line which continues to the present-day Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath
(born 1932).
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
(c. 1506–1552) and a member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. He was the builder of Longleat House and his descendants became Marquesses of Bath
Marquess of Bath
Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier Sir John Thynne , who constructed Longleat House between 1567 and 1579...
.
Early life
Thynne's family also used the surname Boteville (or Botfield), so was often called Thynne alias Boteville.Thynne was born in Church Stretton
Church Stretton
Church Stretton is a small town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the town was recorded as 2,789 in 2001, whilst the population of the wider parish was recorded as 4,186...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, in 1515, and was the eldest son of Thomas Thynne, otherwise Botevile, and of his wife Margaret, a daughter of Thomas Eynns. His uncle William Thynne was a courtier in the household of King 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...
and a literary editor.
However, there is no other information about Thynne's youth, which may have been influenced by his uncle at court.
Career
The first record of Thynne is in 1535, when he was in the service of Lord Vaux of HarrowdenThomas Vaux, 2nd Baron Vaux of Harrowden
Thomas Vaux, 2nd Baron Vaux of Harrowden , English poet, was the eldest son of Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux and Anne Green, daughter of Sir Thomas Green and Lady Joan Fogge.-Life:...
. In a surviving account book kept by Lord Vaux's steward, he is listed among forty-six people 'ordinary of Household' who attended Lord Vaux's family at Harrowden
Great Harrowden
Great Harrowden is a village in Northamptonshire, near the town of Wellingborough - the population is approximately 70. The village sits astride the busy A509 running between Kettering and Wellingborough - although a bypass is due to be built shortly...
between 2 August and 28 October 1535.
Between March and November 1538, Thynne, described as Lord Hertford's servant, brought an action in the Court of Chancery
Court 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...
concerning the parsonage of Wilby
Wilby, Northamptonshire
Wilby is a linear village and civil parish in Northamptonshire. It is directly south-west of the town of Wellingborough on the former trunk road, the A4500, to the county town of Northampton...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, claiming he had wrongly been excluded from it by Lord Vaux.
In 1536, Thynne became steward to Edward Seymour, 1st Viscount Beauchamp
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
, during the short period when Seymour's sister Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
was the Queen of Henry VIII of England
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...
. Seymour was later Marquess of Hertford
Marquess of Hertford
The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain.The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Seymour, who was simultaneously created Baron Beauchamp of Hache...
and Duke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset is a title in the peerage of England that has been created several times. Derived from Somerset, it is particularly associated with two families; the Beauforts who held the title from the creation of 1448 and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547 and in whose name the title is...
. Thynne continued in his place as steward until Seymour's execution for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
in 1552.
Seymour built up great estates in 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...
and the west of England
West of England
The West of England is a loose and locationally unspecific term sometimes given to the area surrounding the city and county of Bristol, England, and also sometimes applied more widely and in other parts of South West England.-Use in the Bristol area:...
, not least after he became Lord Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
of England and the first Duke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset is a title in the peerage of England that has been created several times. Derived from Somerset, it is particularly associated with two families; the Beauforts who held the title from the creation of 1448 and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547 and in whose name the title is...
in 1547, while his nephew Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
was king. Thynne, a hard-working servant, prospered as his master did.
In 1542 and 1544, Thynne was with Seymour on military expeditions to the north. He was probably at the Battle of Solway Moss
Battle of Solway Moss
The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish Border in November 1542 between forces from England and Scotland.-Background:...
in 1542 and was knighted after the victory of the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...
of 1547.
Also in 1547, Thynne became a freeman of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers
Worshipful Company of Mercers
The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in order of precedence. It is the first of the so-called "Great Twelve City Livery Companies". It was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1394...
.
Before he had long been Seymour's steward, Thynne began to build up his own estates in the west of England and Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
On 11 April 1539, he took a twenty-one-year lease of the rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
of Clawton in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, when he was described as a resident of London. His greatest prize was the former Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
priory at Longleat
Longleat
Longleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...
, together with land in three parishes on the borders of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, which he bought on his own account in 1540. Other possessions of the former priories of Longleat and Hinton Charterhouse
Hinton Charterhouse
Hinton Charterhouse is a small village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, England. The parish, which includes the village of Midford, has a population of 477....
were granted by the Crown to Seymour, who sold them to his steward Thynne on 25 June 1541. This made a substantial estate near to Seymour's own at Maiden Bradley
Maiden Bradley
Maiden Bradley with Yarnfield is a small Wiltshire civil parish near the Somerset border and the home of the Duke of Somerset. The B3092 road that joins Frome to Mere runs through the middle of the village of Maiden Bradley....
. Beginning in 1546, Thynne spent more than thirty-five years building a great house at Longleat.
Thynne became member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Marlborough
Marlborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Marlborough was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1868, and then one member from 1868 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.e-1295-1640:-1640-1868:...
in 1545 (and perhaps also in 1539 and 1542), and for Salisbury
Salisbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Salisbury is a county constituency centred on the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system....
in 1547. A historian of Marlborough, James Waylen, states that Thynne was twice member for Marlborough before 1545. This is supported by a bond for £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
33 from the Corporation of Marlborough which Thynne was holding in March 1544, roughly equal to his parliamentary wages of two shillings a day for the three sessions of the Parliament of 1539 and the first two sessions of the one of 1542. He was also High sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
for 1548-1549.
In 1549, he made a rich match in marrying Christian, a daughter of Sir Richard Gresham
Richard Gresham
Sir Richard Gresham was an English merchant, Lord Mayor of London, and member of parliament. He was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham.-Family:...
.
The Duke of Somerset fell from power in 1549, and Thynne was twice imprisoned in the Tower of London
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...
. Somerset was arrested at Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
on 11 October 1549, and on 13 October Thynne was sent to the Tower with William Grey, Sir Thomas Smith
Thomas Smith (diplomat)
Sir Thomas Smith was an English scholar and diplomat.He was born at Saffron Walden in Essex. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow in 1530, and in 1533 was appointed a public reader or professor. He lectured in the schools on natural philosophy, and on Greek in...
, Sir Michael Stanhope and Edward Wolf, these being described as the Duke's "principal instruments and counsellors... in the affairs of his ill government". In August 1550, he was pardoned and all his goods and offices were restored, but he was put into the Tower again on 16 October 1551. After Somerset's execution, like his other followers who were spared, Thynne lost his offices and much of his land, and he was heavily fined. He retired to Longleat and led a country life there.
Thynne responded to Queen 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...
's orders of 19 July 1553, by proclaiming her queen at Warminster
Warminster
Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...
, where he was high steward, but under her reign he continued to live in Wiltshire.
When Queen Elizabeth I
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...
inherited the throne, many of Thynne's friends returned to power, and he was again able to expand his estates and to recover some of his offices.
Thynne was again a member of parliament, for Wiltshire
Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Wiltshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of England from 1290 to 1707, of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote...
in 1559, for Great Bedwyn
Great Bedwyn (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Bedwyn was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-1295–1640:-1640–1832:Notes...
in 1563, for Wiltshire again in 1571, and for Heytesbury
Heytesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Heytesbury was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire which elected two Members of Parliament. From 1449 until 1707 it was represented in the House of Commons of England, and then in the British House of Commons until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Reform Act 1832.-History:The borough...
in 1572. He was High Sheriff of Wiltshire
High Sheriff of Wiltshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...
for 1568–1569, and Custos rotulorum
Custos Rotulorum of Wiltshire
This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Wiltshire.* Sir Richard Lyster bef. 1544–1553* Sir John Thynne bef. 1558–1580* Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke bef. 1584–1601...
and a Justice of Peace for Wiltshire from 1558–1559 until his death.
When he died in 1580, Thynne left manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and Oxfordshire, and property in the cities of London, Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. He was entombed in the parish church at Longbridge Deverill
Longbridge Deverill
Longbridge Deverill is a village and civil parish about south of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. The village is one of the Lower Deverills....
, Wiltshire. At his funeral, gowns were given to sixty poor men, mourning suits to sixty-one servants, and cloaks to a great many gentlemen, and the funeral expenses came to £380, 8s & 3d.
Builder
Great Bedwyn
Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in the east of the English county of Wiltshire.-Location:Great Bedwyn is on the River Dun about south-west of Hungerford and south-east of Marlborough, Wiltshire. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the West of England Main Line railway follow the Dun and pass...
in Wiltshire, intended to replace his ancestral seat of Wolf Hall. The house was unfinished when Seymour fell from power, but a correspondence survives, dated between November 1548 and June 1549, which shows Thynne directing the plans. He also played a part in the building of Seymour's neo-classical Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
in London.
At Longleat, Thynne took thirty-seven years to design and build his own great neo-classical house with four facades, Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
, Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
, and Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
pilasters, and regularly spaced bay window
Bay window
A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room, either square or polygonal in plan. The angles most commonly used on the inside corners of the bay are 90, 135 and 150 degrees. Bay windows are often associated with Victorian architecture...
s. A perfectionist, he employed only the best craftsmen, including the English master mason and architect Robert Smythson
Robert Smythson
Robert Smythson was an English architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing—his first mention in historical records comes in 1556, when he was stonemason for the house at Longleat, built by Sir John Thynne...
and the French mason Alan Maynard. He suffered a setback in 1567, when there was a major fire at the house. However, during the long process of construction, Longleat became the centre of a new school of building. Smythson went on to design Hardwick Hall
Hardwick Hall
Hardwick Hall , in Derbyshire, is one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England. In common with its architect Robert Smythson's other works at both Longleat House and Wollaton Hall, Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of the Renaissance...
, Wollaton Hall
Wollaton Hall
Wollaton Hall is a country house standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton, Nottingham, England. Wollaton Park is the area of parkland that the stately house stands in. The house itself is a natural history museum, with other museums in the out-buildings...
, Burghley House
Burghley House
Burghley House is a grand 16th-century country house near the town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England...
, and Burton Agnes Hall
Burton Agnes Hall
Burton Agnes Hall is an Elizabethan manor house in the village of Burton Agnes, near Driffield in Yorkshire. It was built by Sir Henry Griffith in 1601–10 to designs attributed to Robert Smythson...
, and is described by Mark Girouard
Mark Girouard
Dr Mark Girouard MA, PhD, DipArch, FSA is a British architectural writer, an authority on the country house, leading architectural historian, and biographer of James Stirling.- Family life :...
in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as "the strongest architectural personality to have survived from the Elizabethan and Jacobean age".
Marriages and descendants
In 1549, Thynne made a rich match in marrying Christian, a daughter of Sir Richard GreshamRichard Gresham
Sir Richard Gresham was an English merchant, Lord Mayor of London, and member of parliament. He was the father of Sir Thomas Gresham.-Family:...
and a sister of Sir Thomas Gresham
Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I.-Family and childhood:...
, founder of the Royal Exchange
Royal Exchange (London)
The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham to act as a centre of commerce for the city. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and is trapezoidal, flanked by the converging streets of Cornhill and...
. Their marriage settlement was entered into in January 1549, and they had three sons and six daughters.
Thynne's nine children with Christian Gresham were: John (who married Joan Hayward); Dorothy (who married John Strangeways and was buried 25 September 1592); Anne (who married John Cole); Francis (who married Alice Knocker); Thomas (who married Emily Bembridge); Elizabeth (who married John Chamberlayne); Catherine (who married firstly Walter Long
Walter Long (1565-1610)
Sir Walter Long was an English knight and landowner, born in Wiltshire, the son of Sir Robert Long and his wife Barbara Carne.-Public Service:He was elected knight of the shire for Wiltshire in 1593....
and secondly Hugh Fox); Frances; and Maria.
In about 1566, after the death of his first wife, Thynne married secondly Dorothy, a daughter of Sir William Wroughton, of Broad Hinton
Broad Hinton
Broad Hinton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the hamlet of The Weir. The village is about southwest of Swindon....
, and of his wife Eleanor Lewknor. Together they had five sons: Egremont (married Barbara Calthorpe); Henry (married Elizabeth Chudleigh); Charles; Edward (married Theodosia Manners); and William (married Alice Talbot). Dorothy survived her husband and married secondly Carew Raleigh
Carew Raleigh
Sir Carew Raleigh or Ralegh , elder brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, was an English naval commander who served on the expedition led by his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1578, and was on the list of sea-captains drawn up to meet the threat of a Spanish invasion in 1586; from 1591 to 1603 he...
of Downton House near Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, member of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Downton
Downton (UK Parliament constituency)
Downton was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
in 1604, and the brother of Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
.
Thynne's eldest son, John, was knighted by King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
on 11 May 1603, four days after James arrived to take up the English crown. The new Sir John Thynne's wife, Joan, was the daughter of Sir Rowland Hayward, twice Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
, and of Joan, daughter and heiress of Sir William Tyllsworth. She brought the Thynne family new estates in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and elsewhere.
In 1641, Thynne's great-grandson Henry Frederick Thynne (1615–1680) was created a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in the Baronetage of England, and in 1682 his son, Sir Thomas Thynne, 2nd Baronet, was created Viscount Weymouth. In 1789, Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth
Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath
Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath KG was a British politician who held office under George III serving as Southern Secretary, Northern Secretary and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Between 1751 and 1780 he was known as Lord Weymouth...
(1734–1796) became the first of the Marquesses of Bath
Marquess of Bath
Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier Sir John Thynne , who constructed Longleat House between 1567 and 1579...
, a line which continues to the present-day Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath
Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath
Alexander George Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath , styled Viscount Weymouth between 1946 and 1992, is an English politician, artist and author...
(born 1932).
External links
- Longleat House - official site