Thomas Wydeville

Thomas Wydeville (also Wydville or Woodville ; * around 1364, † after July 1435 ) was an English politician.

origin

Wydeville came from a family of the gentry of Northamptonshire . The family was long-established, but it was his grandfather, Sir Richard Wydeville , who became the first family member to hold public offices such as sheriff and member of parliament. Thomas Wydeville was believed to be the eldest son of John Wydeville and his first wife Katherine Fermbrand .

Life

Wydeville is first mentioned in April 1394. As a follower of Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick , one of the Lords Appellants , he was pardoned in October 1398. He himself later served his son Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick . Under Captain Edward, Duke of Aumâle , he took part in the unsuccessful campaign of King Richard II to Ireland in 1399 . Before February 1401 his father died, leaving him Grafton Regis , Stoke Bruern and other properties in Northamptonshire. In addition, he inherited the Bow Brickhill and Caldecote estates in Buckinghamshire from him , as well as other small estates. Over the years he expanded his holdings by buying land in Paulerspury and Elulcote in Northamptonshire and at Burton in Buckinghamshire. By his first wife he had become Lord of Figheldean, Wiltshire . In contrast to many of his contemporaries, he did not have to lead any major lawsuits over his inheritance claims. As a wealthy landlord, he was often a witness to contracts signed by his neighbors in Northamptonshire, and he also took over the management of estates and possessions several times in the event of inheritance disputes or when the heirs were under the age of majority. In 1415, King Henry V entrusted him with guarding the French Raoul de Gaucourt and Jean d'Estouteville , who had been captured by the English during the siege of Harfleur . Gaucourt remained in captivity until 1422 and d'Estouteville until May 1419.

A total of six times, from November 1406 to November 1407, from November 1410 to December 1411 and from December 1415 to November 1416 and from November 1420 to November 1423 and from November 1428 to February 1430 and finally from November 1430 to November 1434, Wydeville was sheriff of Northamptonshire . This was from March 1413 to February 1422 and from February to July 1432 Justice of the Peace of Northamptonshire. From December 1416 to the end of November 1437 he was escheator of Northants. and Rutland. In April 1414 and 1426 he represented Northamptonshire as a member of the House of Commons .

Family and inheritance

He married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Lyons and Margaret Lyons , around 1396 . After the death of his parents-in-law, he and his brother-in-law inherited their estates, including sizable estates in Ashton , Burton, Milton and Woolvershill in Somerset , together with properties in Bristol , and in 1412 he had an annual income of £ 80.

In his second marriage he married Alice. However, he survived both his only son from his first marriage and his two wives. He was buried in St Owen's Church in Bromham , Bedfordshire , where his tombstone is preserved. Since he died with no surviving descendants, his sister, the widowed Elizabeth Ragon , and the children of his late sister Agnes Halewell became his main heirs. His younger half-brother Richard inherited Grafton Regis and land at Cleyley .

Web links

• CR: WYDEVILLE, Thomas (prob. By 1364-1435), of Grafton Regis, Northampton. (History of Parliament Online)

Individual evidence

1. ^ History of Parliament Online: WYDEVILLE, John (bef.1341-c.1400), of Grafton Regis, Northants. Retrieved March 28, 2015 .