Sir Thomas Copley
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Copley was a prominent English Roman Catholic politician and exile of the reign of Elizabeth I
. Knighted, perhaps by the king of France, and created ennobled by Philip II of Spain
, he was often known by contemporaries as "Lord Copley".
of Michelgrove, judge of the common pleas, and was one of the coheirs of Thomas Hoo, Baron Hoo and Hastings, whose title he claimed and sometimes assumed. Lord Hoo's daughter Jane married his great-grandfather, Sir Roger Copley. Another daughter married Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, and was the great-grandmother of Anne Boleyn
. Sir Thomas was of Gatton, Surrey
, and Roughay, Sussex
, and of the Maze, Southwark,
The lords of the manor of Gatton then, as for nearly three centuries afterwards, returned the members of parliament for the borough of Gatton
, and in 1554 Copley, when only twenty years of age, was returned ‘by the election of Dame Elizabeth Copley’ (his mother) as M.P. for Gatton. He sat for the same place in the later parliaments of 1556, 1557, 1559, and 1563, and distinguished himself in 1558 by his opposition to the government of Philip and Mary. He was then a Protestant, and was much in favour with his kinswoman Queen Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign. In 1560 she was godmother to his eldest son Henry.
According to Robert Parsons, in Relation of a Trial between the Bishop of Evreux and the Lord Plessis Mornay, 1604, falsehoods he found in John Jewel
's Apology (1562) led to Copley's conversion to the Church of Rome. After suffering imprisonment as a recusant, he left England without license in or about 1570, and spent the rest of his life in France, Spain, and the Low Countries. He was in constant correspondence with William Cecil
and other ministers, and sometimes with the queen herself, desiring pardon and permission to return to England and to enjoy his estates; but at the same time he was acting as the leader of the English expatriate Catholics, and sometimes was in the service of the king of Spain, from whom he had a pension, and by whom he was created baron of Gatton and grand master of the Maze. He also received letters of marque against the Dutch.
He died in Flanders in 1584, and in the last codicil to his will styled himself "Sir Thomas Copley, knight, Lord Copley of Gatton in the county of Surrey".
.
John Copley (1577–1662), the youngest son of Sir Thomas, was born at Leuven
and became a Catholic priest, but in 1611 left the church of Rome for the Church of England
. Thomas Copley
(1594–1652?), the eldest son of William Copley of Gatton (the heir and successor of Sir Thomas, and elder brother of Anthony and John), became a Jesuit, and took an active part in the foundation of the colony of Maryland.
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...
. Knighted, perhaps by the king of France, and created ennobled by Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, he was often known by contemporaries as "Lord Copley".
Life
He was the eldest son of Sir Roger Copley by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William ShelleySir William Shelley
-Life:Born about 1480, he was the eldest son of Sir John Shelley and his wife Elizabeth , daughter and heir of John de Michelgrove in the parish of Clapham, Sussex...
of Michelgrove, judge of the common pleas, and was one of the coheirs of Thomas Hoo, Baron Hoo and Hastings, whose title he claimed and sometimes assumed. Lord Hoo's daughter Jane married his great-grandfather, Sir Roger Copley. Another daughter married Sir Geoffrey Boleyn, and was the great-grandmother of 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 Thomas was of Gatton, Surrey
Gatton, Surrey
Gatton was a village near Reigate in Surrey, England. The village lay within the Reigate hundred.-History:Gatton appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Gatone. It was held by Herfrid from the Bishop of Bayeux. Its domesday assets were: 2½ hides; 1 church, of meadow, woodland and herbage worth 7 hogs...
, and Roughay, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and of the Maze, Southwark,
The lords of the manor of Gatton then, as for nearly three centuries afterwards, returned the members of parliament for the borough of Gatton
Gatton (UK Parliament constituency)
Gatton was a parliamentary borough in Surrey, one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1450 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act...
, and in 1554 Copley, when only twenty years of age, was returned ‘by the election of Dame Elizabeth Copley’ (his mother) as M.P. for Gatton. He sat for the same place in the later parliaments of 1556, 1557, 1559, and 1563, and distinguished himself in 1558 by his opposition to the government of Philip and Mary. He was then a Protestant, and was much in favour with his kinswoman Queen Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign. In 1560 she was godmother to his eldest son Henry.
According to Robert Parsons, in Relation of a Trial between the Bishop of Evreux and the Lord Plessis Mornay, 1604, falsehoods he found in John Jewel
John Jewel
John Jewel was an English bishop of Salisbury.-Life:He was the son of John Jewel of Buden, Devon, was educated under his uncle John Bellamy, rector of Hampton, and other private tutors until his matriculation at Merton College, Oxford, in July 1535.There he was taught by John Parkhurst,...
's Apology (1562) led to Copley's conversion to the Church of Rome. After suffering imprisonment as a recusant, he left England without license in or about 1570, and spent the rest of his life in France, Spain, and the Low Countries. He was in constant correspondence with William Cecil
William Cecil
William Cecil may refer to:* Lord William Cecil , British royal courtier* William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , English politician and advisor to Elizabeth I* William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter , Knight of the Garter...
and other ministers, and sometimes with the queen herself, desiring pardon and permission to return to England and to enjoy his estates; but at the same time he was acting as the leader of the English expatriate Catholics, and sometimes was in the service of the king of Spain, from whom he had a pension, and by whom he was created baron of Gatton and grand master of the Maze. He also received letters of marque against the Dutch.
He died in Flanders in 1584, and in the last codicil to his will styled himself "Sir Thomas Copley, knight, Lord Copley of Gatton in the county of Surrey".
Family
By his wife Catherine, daughter and coheiress of Sir John Luttrell of Dunster, Somerset, he had four sons and four daughters. His eldest son Henry, Queen Elizabeth's godson, died young; William succeeded at Gatton. The third son was Anthony CopleyAnthony Copley
Anthony Copley was an English Catholic poet and conspirator. He reproached the Jesuits and their meditations on martyrdom, and loyally praised Queen Elizabeth...
.
John Copley (1577–1662), the youngest son of Sir Thomas, was born at Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
and became a Catholic priest, but in 1611 left the church of Rome for the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. Thomas Copley
Thomas Copley
Thomas Copley, alias Philip Fisher was an English Jesuit missionary in North America.-Life:He was the eldest son of William Copley of Gatton, England, of a recusant family...
(1594–1652?), the eldest son of William Copley of Gatton (the heir and successor of Sir Thomas, and elder brother of Anthony and John), became a Jesuit, and took an active part in the foundation of the colony of Maryland.