Thomas Parry (father)

Sir Thomas Parry on the drawing by Hans Holbein the Elder J. , worked around 1538/40

Sir Thomas Parry , actually ap Harry , (* around 1515 in Cwmdu , Wales ; † December 15, 1560 ) was an English courtier and holder of various offices, especially under Elizabeth I , as well as four times elected member of the House of Commons .

Early years

Parry was born in Wales to Henry Vaughan, his grandfather Sir Thomas Vaughan was born under King Richard III. executed. Through his friends and distantly related William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , he probably came to the court of King Edward VI. He first appeared in 1536, possibly as Sir John Dudley's secretary , which gave him access to Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex . Around this time he changed his Welsh baptismal name to Parry . He carried out various commissions for Cromwell, such as the investigation into a jewel theft from Winchester Cathedral in March 1536 . He remained in his service until 1540. The portrait of Parry, a drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger, now kept in Windsor Castle as part of the Royal Collection , dates from this period .

Marriage and courtier of Princess Elisabeth

In 1539 Parry married Anne Fortescue, the widow of the executed and later Roman Catholic Blessed Sir Adrian Fortescue , with her, who already had five children. He was the father of two sons and two daughters. It was Anne's third marriage after Fortescue, her first husband being Sir Gilles Greville. The marriage does not seem to have been happy at first, she left him temporarily after the wedding and did not return until 1540.

Parry came from a Protestant family, but during the reign of Mary I he was allowed to serve at the court of her half-sister Princess Elisabeth, who later became Queen Elisabeth I. Elisabeth seems to have trusted him, she appointed him steward .

Member of the House of Commons

His first election to the House of Commons was in 1547, he was elected as Burgess for Wallingford , a second time in 1553, the third in 1555, his last election, a year before his death in 1559, as Knight of the Shire for Hertfordshire .

Accolade, offices and last years

1558 was for Parry to the high point of his career, Elisabeth proposed him on the occasion of her coronation to the Knight Bachelor and appointed him Comptroller of the Household on November 20, 1558 as well as a member of the Privy Council . A year later, he was appointed Master of the court of wards and liveries .

Parry died on December 15, 1560, he was buried in Westminster Abbey .

His firstborn son, named Thomas Parry after him , also became a member of the House of Commons. He was also ambassador to France and was ennobled in 1601.

literature

• Gordon Goodwin: Parry, Thomas (d.1560) . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 43, Smith, Elder & Co., London 1895, pp. 384-385.
• TFT Baker: PARRY (AP HARRY), Thomas (by 1515-60), of Welford and Wallingford, Berks., Hatfield, Herts. and Oakley Park, Glos. In: Stanley Thomas Bindoff: The House of Commons 1509–1558. Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd., London 1982, ISBN 0-436-04282-7 .