Joan Thynne

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Joan, Lady Thynne (also Joan Hayward ) (* before August 28, 1558 , † March 3, 1612 in London ) was an English noblewoman.

Life

Joan Thynne was born as Joan Hayward as the third daughter of Sir Rowland Hayward (around 1520–1593) and his first wife Joan Tillesworth († 1580). Her father, a wealthy cloth maker, was Alderman and in 1570 and 1591 Lord Mayor of London . Joan was baptized on August 28, 1558 in London. Her own father described her as not particularly attractive, but she was a co-heir of the wealthy goldsmith William Tillesworth through her mother. Her father bought several properties in Shropshire , including Caus Castle, as a dowry for her in 1573 . Probably before February 26, 1576, she was betrothed to John Thynne , heir to Sir John Thynne of Longleat . There was a long-standing dispute with the previous owner of Caus Castle, Lord Edward Stafford, because he did not vacate the property despite the sale of the house. Only with violence and with the help of the Shrewsbury Sheriff could the Thynnes drive Stafford out in 1591. After that, Joan lived primarily in Caus Castle, while her husband lived in the Longleat mansion inherited from his father or in Westminster .

Joan Thynne was a strong, able woman who quickly made friends in Shropshire as well as in Wiltshire and London. While her husband was elected several times as a member of the House of Commons and was therefore often in London, she directed the fortunes of her family, administered the estates of her husband and took care of the agriculture, the livestock and the maintenance of their property . She led the lawsuit against Stafford, who tried several trials to regain Caus Castle, and negotiated with the sheriffs and jury. Rifles were stored in her bedroom, she bought gunpowder and went hunting herself. In 1594, however, she tried in vain to have the secret marriage of her eldest son Thomas canceled. He had secretly married Maria Tuchet , a granddaughter of her political opponent Sir James Marvyn.

Just a few months after her husband was knighted, he died on November 21, 1604 without leaving a will. Joane left Longleat to her widowed brother-in-law, Sir Henry Townshend, as a residence while she continued to live in Caus. Townshend opened a lead mine in Somerset and Joan tried to convince him not to be too strict with the tenants. On the other hand, she did not forgive her son Thomas; in 1605 she filed a lawsuit against him and in favor of her three other children. She herself led a befitting life and took care of the upbringing of her children, in her household she employed John Maynard as a musician. Maynard dedicated his satirical songs The XII Wonders of the World to her in 1611 . She died unexpectedly while visiting London.

Family and offspring

She left two sons and two daughters.

  • Thomas Thynne
  • John Thynne
  • Dorothy Thynne ⚭ Charles Roscorrock from Roscorrock, Cornwall
  • Christian Thynne ⚭ Francis Leigh from Addington, Surrey

Against her will, her eldest son, Thomas Thynne, inherited Longleat and his father's estates, while her younger son, John, inherited their estates in Shropshire.

literature

  • Alison D. Wall (Ed.): Two Elizabethan women. Correspondence of Joan and Maria Thynne, 1575-1611 . Wiltshire Record Society, Devizes 1983. ISBN 0-901333-15-8
  • Anne Lawrence-Mathers; Phillipa Hardman: Women and writing, c.1340-c.1650. The domestication of print culture. York Medieval Press, Woodbridge 2010. ISBN 978-1-903153-32-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History of Parliament online: THYNNE, Sir John (1555-1604), of Caus Castle, Salop; Longleat, Wilts. and Cannon Row, Westminster. Retrieved September 19, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Thynne, Joan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hayward, Joan; Thynne, Joan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobles
DATE OF BIRTH before August 28, 1558
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 1612
Place of death London