Thomas Legh (lawyer)
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Legh was an English jurist and diplomat, a principal agent of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell in the Dissolution of the Monasteries
.
was a cousin. Legh proceeded B.C.L. in 1527, and D.C.L. in 1531. He became an advocate 7 October 1531. In December 1532 he was appointed ambassador to the king of Denmark
; Eustace Chapuys
was unimpressed with him at this time. He returned from Denmark in March 1533, and was employed in 1533 by his cousin the bishop. He cited Catherine of Aragon
to appear before Thomas Cranmer
and hear the final divorce sentence in 1533, and in the same year also conducted an inquiry at Rievaulx Abbey
which led to the resignation of the abbot. In January 1553-4 he went on another embassy to the Low Countries, passing to Antwerp and Lübeck
. He returned to England in April, went again to Hamburg
in May, and must have returned once more in the summer.
On 4 June 1535 Richard Layton
wrote to Cromwell recommending Legh and himself as visitors for the northern religious houses. Legh, however, was first sent with John ap Rice; in July 1535 they went to Worcester, and then visited, 3 July Malvern, 20 August Lacock Abbey
(after Malmesbury, Bradstock, and Stanley), 23 August Bruton Abbey
, 3 September Wilton, 11 September Wherwell, 24 September Witney, 25 September Reading, 29 September Haliwell, 17 October Royston, and 19 October Walden. Legh made a large profit out of the visitation, and complaints of his conduct were numerous. Legh was always accompanied by fourteen men in livery
and his brother, all of whom had to be rewarded. His style was flamboyant, and Cromwell found fault with him. Ap Rice, who thought his treatment of the monks needlessly severe, describes his insolence. To Legh's suggestion was due the suspension of the bishops' authority during the visitation.
At Cambridge Legh's changes were few; he ordered (22 October 1535) the charters to be sent up to London with a rental of the university possessions, tried to pacify the strife among the nations, and established a lecture in divinity. Thomas Goodrich
, Bishop of Ely
, wrote approvingly of his proceedings. Legh went on to Bury, 4 November; Westacre, 11 November, after West Dereham; Norwich, 19 November; Ipswich, 27 November; and meeting Richard Layton at Lichfield
at Christmas 1535 he proceeded with him to the northern visitation.
The mastership of Sherburn Hospital
in Durham was granted to Legh on 14 September 1535. He also acquired the advowson
of Birmingham
from Gisborough Priory
in March 1536; Calder Abbey
in Cumberland
was granted to him in 1539, and Nostell Priory
in Yorkshire
, with its cell at Stowkirke, in 1539-40. A letter of May 1536 to Johannes Aepinus
shows that he was acquainted with Melanchthon and Oldendorpius. In 1536 he assisted at the trial of Anne Boleyn
.
During the Pilgrimage of Grace
in 1536 he was as unpopular as his colleague Layton; they sang ballads about him and Legh as one of the three L's (Layton and John Longland
, bishop of Lincoln, were the other two) one ballad; and they hanged his cook. He meanwhile was busy taking money to the forces, and when the rebellion was over he tried the prisoners. In August 1536 he had made a tour through the Midlands archdeaconries of Coventry and Stafford, and was much distressed by the open adultery of the country gentlemen. He married in 1536, and was reprimanded by his friends for not informing them of it.
Some time in the early part of 1537 he became a master in chancery, and throughout 1538, 1539, and 1540 he was engaged in suppressing religious houses. In 1543 Legh went from York to Canterbury to investigate the plot against Thomas Cranmer
. He was knighted at Leith
by the Earl of Hertford
, on 11 May 1544, seemingly on the Scottish expedition.
Legh died 25 November 1545, having been elected MP that year for Windsor
, and was buried in the church of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, London, where a tomb with a rhyming inscription was erected to his memory. His widow Joanna remarried Sir Thomas Chaloner the elder, and died 11 January 1557.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
.
Life
Rowland LeeRowland Lee
Bishop Rowland Lee was an English administrator and bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.He belonged to a Northumberland family and was educated at Cambridge. Having entered the Church he obtained several livings owing to the favour of Cardinal Wolsey; after Wolsey's fall he rose high in the esteem of...
was a cousin. Legh proceeded B.C.L. in 1527, and D.C.L. in 1531. He became an advocate 7 October 1531. In December 1532 he was appointed ambassador to the king of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
; Eustace Chapuys
Eustace Chapuys
Eustace Chapuys was a Savoyard diplomat who served as the Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 and is best known for his extensive and detailed correspondence.-Life:...
was unimpressed with him at this time. He returned from Denmark in March 1533, and was employed in 1533 by his cousin the bishop. He cited Catherine of Aragon
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...
to appear before Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
and hear the final divorce sentence in 1533, and in the same year also conducted an inquiry at Rievaulx Abbey
Rievaulx Abbey
Rievaulx Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey headed by the Abbot of Rievaulx. It is located in Rievaulx , near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, England.It was one of the wealthiest abbeys in England and was dissolved by Henry VIII of England in 1538...
which led to the resignation of the abbot. In January 1553-4 he went on another embassy to the Low Countries, passing to Antwerp and Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
. He returned to England in April, went again to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in May, and must have returned once more in the summer.
On 4 June 1535 Richard Layton
Richard Layton
Richard Layton was an English churchman, jurist and diplomat, dean of York and a principal agent of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.-Life:...
wrote to Cromwell recommending Legh and himself as visitors for the northern religious houses. Legh, however, was first sent with John ap Rice; in July 1535 they went to Worcester, and then visited, 3 July Malvern, 20 August Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England, was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order.- History :...
(after Malmesbury, Bradstock, and Stanley), 23 August Bruton Abbey
Bruton Abbey
Bruton Abbey in Bruton, Somerset was originally founded as a Benedictine priory by Algar, Earl of Cornwall in about 1005. It was subsequently refounded as a house of Augustinian canons in 1135, by William de Mohun, who later became the Earl of Somerset. The village used the north aisle of the...
, 3 September Wilton, 11 September Wherwell, 24 September Witney, 25 September Reading, 29 September Haliwell, 17 October Royston, and 19 October Walden. Legh made a large profit out of the visitation, and complaints of his conduct were numerous. Legh was always accompanied by fourteen men in livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
and his brother, all of whom had to be rewarded. His style was flamboyant, and Cromwell found fault with him. Ap Rice, who thought his treatment of the monks needlessly severe, describes his insolence. To Legh's suggestion was due the suspension of the bishops' authority during the visitation.
At Cambridge Legh's changes were few; he ordered (22 October 1535) the charters to be sent up to London with a rental of the university possessions, tried to pacify the strife among the nations, and established a lecture in divinity. Thomas Goodrich
Thomas Goodrich
Thomas Goodrich was an English ecclesiastic and statesman.-Life:He was a son of Edward Goodrich of East Kirkby, Lincolnshire and brother of Henry Goodricke of Ribston Hall, North Yorkshire....
, Bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
, wrote approvingly of his proceedings. Legh went on to Bury, 4 November; Westacre, 11 November, after West Dereham; Norwich, 19 November; Ipswich, 27 November; and meeting Richard Layton at Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
at Christmas 1535 he proceeded with him to the northern visitation.
The mastership of Sherburn Hospital
Sherburn Hospital
Sherburn Hospital is a medieval hospital located in the hamlet of Sherburn House to the southeast of Durham, England....
in Durham was granted to Legh on 14 September 1535. He also acquired the advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
from Gisborough Priory
Gisborough Priory
Gisborough Priory is a ruined former Augustinian priory in the town of Guisborough, now in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1119 as the Priory of St. Mary by Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale, an ancestor of the...
in March 1536; Calder Abbey
Calder Abbey
Calder Abbey in Cumbria was a Savigniac monastery founded in 1134 by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester and moved to this site following a refoundation in 1142. It became Cistercian in 1148. It is near to the village of Calder Bridge.- History :...
in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
was granted to him in 1539, and Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton close to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, approached by the Doncaster road from Wakefield...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, with its cell at Stowkirke, in 1539-40. A letter of May 1536 to Johannes Aepinus
Johannes Aepinus
Johannes Aepinus was a German Protestant theologian, the first Lutheran superintendent of Hamburg.-Life:He was born at Ziesar or Ziegesar, north-east of Magdeburg, in the march of Brandenburg. He was under the instruction of Johannes Bugenhagen...
shows that he was acquainted with Melanchthon and Oldendorpius. In 1536 he assisted at the trial 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...
.
During the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
in 1536 he was as unpopular as his colleague Layton; they sang ballads about him and Legh as one of the three L's (Layton and John Longland
John Longland
John Longland was the English Dean of Salisbury from 1514 to 1521 and bishop of Lincoln from 1521 to his death in 1547.He was King Henry VIII's confessor and was said to have been one of those who first persuaded the King that he should annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon.During the English...
, bishop of Lincoln, were the other two) one ballad; and they hanged his cook. He meanwhile was busy taking money to the forces, and when the rebellion was over he tried the prisoners. In August 1536 he had made a tour through the Midlands archdeaconries of Coventry and Stafford, and was much distressed by the open adultery of the country gentlemen. He married in 1536, and was reprimanded by his friends for not informing them of it.
Some time in the early part of 1537 he became a master in chancery, and throughout 1538, 1539, and 1540 he was engaged in suppressing religious houses. In 1543 Legh went from York to Canterbury to investigate the plot against Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
. He was knighted at Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
by the Earl of Hertford
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....
, on 11 May 1544, seemingly on the Scottish expedition.
Legh died 25 November 1545, having been elected MP that year for Windsor
Windsor (UK Parliament constituency)
Windsor is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In its modern form, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, and was buried in the church of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, London, where a tomb with a rhyming inscription was erected to his memory. His widow Joanna remarried Sir Thomas Chaloner the elder, and died 11 January 1557.