Sir Thomas Palmer – a question of date of birth

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Angmering, Sussex, England
Surname/tag: sir_thomas_palmer

Thomas Palmer is widely described as the youngest of three sons born to Sir Edward Palmer (abt.1450-). The two eldest were John Palmer MP (bef.1495-1563) and Henry Palmer MP (bef.1496-1559). The dates of birth of these brothers are given as such by their respective pages of The History of Parliament.^[1][2] The History of Parliament entry for John Palmer gives evidence for these dates in Note 1 as:

(John) Aged 52 or thereabouts in February 1549, Req.2/17/65, f. 9, but younger brother Henry aged 60 ‘and above’ in 1559. Vis. Suss. (Harl. Soc. liii), 24, 211; Suss. Rec. Soc. iii. 23; LP Hen. VIII, ii; H. H. Leonard, ‘Knights and knighthood in Tudor Eng.’ (London Univ. Ph.D. thesis, 1970), 322; PCC 5 Jankyn.

It is reasonable to assume that Sir Thomas was born in a later year but there is no direct evidence of the actual date. It has been variously stated that he was born about 1499 or 1500.

An alternative account of all the brothers’ birth years was given in "The pedigree of the ancient family of the Palmers of Sussex [by R. Jenyns ...", printed 1671. The following is taken from the digitized version of this publication:^[3]

...tioned in their Bundles on the other side which sons were all of one Conception and borne 3 Sundayes successively Whitsunday being the prat, ihia happened about Anno Domini 1487 in the 3 d yeare of Henry 7 th * Raigne & they all lived to be men of great age & note as may be seen by the following particulars.

John the eldest of these 3 sons so strangely borne was heire of this great estate & maried the Daughter of William the famous Lord Sands & Knight of the Garter in the reign of Henry 8. He was twice high Sheriffe of Sussex & Surrey viz. In the 25 & 35 of King H. 8.

Henry the 2 d son was a Souldier & had 1500" per ann. (by the gift I suppose of his Uncle S r Thomas de Calis aforesaid) about that Towne and Guisnes where he was Master of the Ordnance. Grafton mentions him at the surrendry of the s d place which made great resistance eren after Calis itselfe was lost. Here he was shot in the arnre of which wounde afterwards he died Anno 1555 & in the 70 th yeare of his age as appeares by his Picture still at Wingham He was also buried there of which place Philpot in his Viuare Cantianura says thus The CoUedge of Wingham was founded by John de Peckham Arch Bp of Cantr. Anno 1278 to be a Seminary of secular Priests the head of w ch Fraternity was call'd Propositus. This upon the suppression of Abbeys being w th the whole Revenue invested in the Crown K* Hen. 8 granted the College to S r Henry Palmer descended from an antient Family of that surname in Sussex ancestor ro Sr Henry P. now Proprietor of it.

S r Thomas the youngest of the said 3 sons was a souldier also & did many brave exploits against the French as may be seen in Grafton and others. Henry VIII. made him Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, a place then equall to the Bed-Chamber now. This King much esteemed him & knowing him bold & couragious sent him with private orders (contrary to those agreed upon in Councel) to my Lord Grey at Bulloigne to destroy Chattillons Garden. The particulars of which may be seen in Baker. He got a vast estate under this liberal Prince & built in the reign of Edward VI. most past of that house in the Strand now called Exceter House, as appeares by several monumentes of this Family : but joyning with the Duke of Northumberland in behalf of Jane Gray was (as may be seen in our Historians) beheaded with him on the same scaffold by Queen Mary, anno 1553 being the 66 th yeare of his age.

The account of their births on successive Sundays of the same year can be taken with a pinch of salt so no conclusive indication of year comes from that although the account of them being born about 1487 remains of interest. The ages at death given for Henry and Thomas were presumably simply calculated from this supposed birth date provided in the Pedigree.

Sources

1. ↑ John Palmer (by 1495-1563) "History of Parliament"
   By R. J.W. Swales. Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982 History of Parliament. Accessed and entered on 27 June 2023 by Keith Bowden.
2. ↑ PALMER, Sir Henry (by 1496-1559), of London and Wingham, Kent. "History of Parliament"
   Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982 History of Parliament Accessed and entered on 27 June 2023 by Keith Bowden.
3. ↑ Pedigree "The pedigree of the ancient family of the Palmers of Sussex"
   By R. Jenyns ... Internet Archive Printed by J. B. Taylor and Co., Printers, Little Queen Street, Lincoln Inn Fields, 1671. Digitized by Google. Accessed and entered on 27 June 2023 by Keith Bowden.