Thomas Wyatt (abt. 1503 - bef. 1542)

Born about 1503 in Allington Castle, Kent, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Brooke) Warner — married 1520 in England

Descendants

Died before 11 Oct 1542 before about age 39 in Clifton Maybank, Sherborne, Dorset, England

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Biography

Thomas Wyatt is Notable.

Sir Thomas Wyatt, of Allington, Boxley Abbey, Newnham Court, etc., Kent, was born about 1503/4 at Allington Castle, the first son of Sir Henry Wyatt by Anne, daughter of John Skinner of Reigate, Surrey.^[1][2][3]

Thomas attended St. John’s College, Cambridge.^[1][4] Sources vary on whether he obtained a degree, some say he did not^[2] and that the degrees attributed to Thomas are actually those earned by John Wyatt.^[4] Others state he received a B.A. in 1518, and a M.A. in 1520.^[3][5] Thomas was later known as the poet of the court of Henry VIII.^[1][2] He was a student of foreign literature and, with Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is known for having introduced the sonnet from Italy into England. As a poet, his works include rondeaus, epigrams, lyrics and satires.^[4]

Timeline

• 1516: Served as a sewer extraordinary (attendant) at Princess Mary's christening^[2]
• 21 October 1524: Clerk of the king’s jewels^[2][3]
• 1524/5: Esquire of the body (personal attendant and courtier)^[1][2][3]
• 1526: Diplomatic service in France with Sir Thomas Cheyne,^[3] negotiating England's position relating to the league of Cognac^[2]
• 1527: Visited the papal court with Sir John Russell in January, went on to Venice and was captured in Ferrara by imperial troops and held for ransom, eventually being released 1 April^[2] or perhaps escaping by that time^[3][5]
• 1528: Presented Katherine of Aragon with a translation of Plutarch^[2]
• 1528/29 - 1530: Marshal of Calais,^[1] perhaps as early as 1528 or September/October 1529 (his patent of appointment wasn't issued until June 1530)^[3] serving until November 1530^[2][3]
• September 1529: Granted a license to import wine and woad from France,^[2] as marshall of Calais^[3]
• 1532: Appointed a commissioner of the peace for Essex^[2]
• June 1533: Made sewer extraordinary^[3] at the coronation of Anne Boleyn, in the place of his father^[2]
• May 1534: Briefly imprisoned in the Fleet for being a part of a riot in London^[3] that resulted in a death^[2]
• June 1534: Granted license to have twenty men in his livery^[2]
• 1535: Nominated high steward of the abbey of West Malling, Kent in February and, in July of that year, he was granted an eighty year lease on Arygden Park in Yorkshire^[2]
• 1535: Knighted on Easter day (probably - the records give incorrect date of 18 March 1536)^[2] perhaps 28 Mar 1535^[3]
• 5 May 1536: Imprisoned in the Tower of London,^[3] possibly for his family's allegiance with the Boleyns^[2] (see Anne Boleyn below)
• June 1536: Released from imprisonment by mid June^[2][3]
• October 1536: Made steward of Conisbrough Castle and was ordered to provide 200 men to resist an uprising^[2]
• 10 November 1536: Succeeded his father^[3] (Henry's date of death)
• 1536/7: Sheriff of Kent^[1][2][3]
• February 1537: Granted livery of his father's lands^[2]
• March 1537: Ambassador to the court of emperor^[1] Charles V^[2] serving 1537-1540^[3]
• 1540: He was a Councillor by 1540, but he is not recorded in the register as attending^[3]
• 1540: Named to a commission of sewers in Kent^[3]
• April 1540: Completed his ambassadorship^[2]
• 1540/1: Rewarded for his embassy with an exchange of lands with the king, by a private Act,^[3] receiving the estates at Boxeley and Lambeth^[5] in exchange for the manor of Pole and other lands in Southfleet, Kent^[1]
• 28 July 1540: Sir Thomas Cromwell was arrested and executed^[2]
• 1541: Imprisoned at the Tower from 17 January 1541 through 19 March 1541^[3] as an ally of Cromwell^[4] (see Ambassadorship below)^[2]
• April 1541: Possibly appointed to command 300 horse in Calais^[2][3]
• December 154[1]: Knight of the shire and MP for Kent^[2][3]
• January 1542: Appointed bailiff of the manor of South Firth and given the manor of Bayhall, Kent^[3]
• March 1542: Granted stewardship for the manor of Maidstone, Kent, and three former monastic properties, including the priory at Aylesford,^[2] in exchange for other lands in the county^[3]
• before August 1542: Possibly appointed vice-admiral of the fleet against France^[2][3]
• 3 October 1542: Sent to Falmouth ro meet the imperial envoy and escort him to London, but Thomas died en route^[2][3]

Anne Boleyn

Sir Thomas Boleyn and Sir Henry Wyatt had been colleagues at Norwich (they were named as joint constables of Norwich Castle in 1512)^[6] and had remained friends in the years afterwards. The families were also neighbors, the Boleyns residing at Hever Castle in Kent.^[5] Essentially, Thomas Wyatt and Anne Boleyn had known each other since childhood. It is thought that Thomas accompanied Henry VIII and his then-mistress, Anne Boleyn, to Calais in October 1532.^[2] As Thomas had been arrested at the time Anne Boleyn's infidelities were proclaimed, it was rumored that Anne had been Thomas' mistress.^[3] A detailed analysis of Thomas and Anne's relationship can be found HERE.^[7]

Despite the rumors, it is more likely that Thomas' imprisonment served as a warning that the friends of the Boleyns were also under suspicion. It is also thought that Thomas had been held as a possible witness against the queen.^[5] In May 1536, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas' father, Henry Wyatt (the two being previously acquainted), corresponded about Thomas and, by mid-June, Thomas was released from the Tower.^[2][3]

Ambassadorship and Arrest

Thomas, as ambassador to Emperor Charles V, was given the task of improving relations between England and the empire by negotiating the marriage of Princess Mary to the infant of Portugal. More importantly, it was his mission to prevent the French king and the emperor form forming an alliance that did not include England. He may have resorted to unscrupulous measures to obtain his goals but, unfortunately, he failed on both accounts.^[2]

Allegations of Thomas' impropriety during his term as ambassador had been ignored by Cromwell. However, Thomas lost the protection of his friend when Cromwell was arrested and executed 28 July 1540. The allegations resurfaced and Thomas was arrested and taken to the Tower on 17 January 1541, accused of (verbal) treason for wishing for the king's death and having referred to him as a tyrant. He was also accused of conspiring with papal legate Cardinal Pole^[2] in treasonous correspondence.^[3]

On 19 March 1541, Thomas was released, perhaps after Catherine Howard became involved on his behalf. It is said that Thomas confessed his guilt and received a pardon from the king, the terms of which included Thomas returning to his wife, Elizabeth Brooke, "from whom he had been separated for upwards of fifteen years".^[2]

Marriage and Children

He married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Brooke, 8th Baron Cobham^[1] by 1520/1,^[2][3] They had a son together:

• Sir Thomas^[3] the younger, born by 1521/2^[1][2]

The marriage was an unhappy one, and it is thought that they became estranged by the mid 1520's, perhaps due to her infidelity. By 1537, Elizabeth's brother, George, had asked for Cromwell's help to ensure Thomas provided for his wife.^[2]

Before 1537, Thomas had a mistress, Elizabeth,^[8] daughter of Sir Edward Darrell of Littlecote, with whom he had at least one illegitimate child.^[2] When Thomas was arrested in 1541, Elizabeth was pregnant and living at Allington when his property was confiscated.^[2] Their possible children include:

• a son,^[3] Francis Darrell (aka Henry), born before 1537^[2]
• possibly, a daughter^[3]

Will

Thomas had suffered from intense headaches since March 1539 and was in poor health when he made his will on 12 Jun 1541. He named his son Thomas as his heir and also gave land to Elizabeth Darrell and her son Francis (also called Henry in some documents).^[2]

Death and Burial

Thomas died on 10 October 1542 in Clifton Maybank, Dorset,^[1] at the home of Sir John Horsey, having fallen ill while making a trip to Falmouth.^[2][3] He was buried in the great church of Sherborne, Dorset^[1] in the Horsey family vault, on 11 October 1542.^[2][3]

After Thomas' death, his widow married Sir Edward Warner,^[3] as his first wife.^[1] They had three sons, all dying in infancy. Elizabeth died in 1560.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13} Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011), vol. IV, page 382 WYATT 14.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 2.41 2.42 2.43 2.44} Burrow, Colin. "Wyatt, Sir Thomas (c. 1503–1542), poet and ambassador" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. May 28, 2015. Oxford University Press. Accessed online 21 Nov 2019 at OxfordDNB.com with subsc.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 3.36} History of Parliament Online: Sir Thomas Wyatt I
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Venn, John. Alumni Cantabrigienses. Part I, vol. IV (Cambridge University Press, 1922). Online at Archive.org, page 480.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4} Stephen, Sir Leslie, ed. Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922. 22 vols. (London, England: Oxford University Press, 1921–1922), online with subsc. at Ancestry.com, Vol. 21, pages 1098-1102: Thomas Wyatt (?1503-1542).
6. ↑ TudorPlace.com: Henry Wyatt.
7. ↑ Warnicke, Retha M. “The Eternal Triangle and Court Politics: Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and Sir Thomas Wyatt” in Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, vol. 18, no. 4, 1986, pages. 565–579. Online at JSTOR.
8. ↑ Nicola Shulman. Graven with Diamonds, First U.S. Edition, Steerforth Press, 2013.

See also:

• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. V, page 411. Not available online.
• Cave-Browne, John. The History of Boxley Parish. (Maidstone: E. J. Dickinson, 1892), online at Archive.org, page 139-144.
• Notes and Queries (London, England: G. Bell, 1850-). Online at Archive.org, c.1, ser 3, vol. 3 (3 Jan 1863) page 9-10: transcribed inscription of the Wiat family monument at Boxley, Kent.
• Brydges, Samuel. The British Bibliographer. Vol. 1. (London, 1810). Online at Archive.org, pages 403-405.
• Chalmers, Alexander. The General Biographical Dictionary. Vol. 32 (London: Printed for J. Nichols, 1812-1817). Online at HathiTrust, pages 343-348.
• Foster, Joseph. Alumni Oxonienses. (Parker and Co., 1892). Online at Archive.org, page 1690: educated at Oxford and Cambridge.
• Wikipedia: Thomas Wyatt (poet)
• Flower, Robin. “The Wyatts of Allington Castle” in The British Museum Quarterly, vol. 9, no. 4, 1935, pp. 117–119.Online at JSTOR.