Henry Fanshawe (1506–1568) was a

Member of the English Parliament The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. He also served as

Queen's Remembrancer The King's Remembrancer (or Queen's Remembrancer) is an ancient judicial post in the legal system of England and Wales. Since the Lord Chancellor no longer sits as a judge, the Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in continual existence ...

from 1565 to his death in 1568.

Valence House Museum Valence House Museum is the only surviving of the five manor houses of Dagenham. The timber-framed museum building, partially surrounded by a moat, is situated in Valence Park off Becontree Avenue, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, L ...

has a portrait of him (c. 1560) that was donated by Aubrey Fanshawe.

Background

A member of the minor gentry of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, Henry was born around 1506 at Fanshawe Gate Hall. After completing his education at Beauchief Abbey, Henry moved to London in the 1520s and obtained a clerkship within the Exchequer, possibly through the influence of Sir Christopher More.

Public life

Little is known about Henry's career between his move to London and his elevation to the position of the Queen's Remembrancer in 1565. He was the first of nine members of the Fanshawe family to hold this position between 1565 and 1716, when the eldest branch of the Fanshawe family died out. In the 1561 patent for the reversion of the office of Remembrancer to Henry, his "good, true, and faithful service" is mentioned during every reign from

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

to Elizabeth I. In 1566, Henry is first mentioned as Member of Parliament for

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

, although it is thought that he had entered Parliament at an earlier date. It was also around this time that Henry became

Lord of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of several estates, including Jenkins, which would remain in the Fanshawe family for over a century. Shortly before his death, Henry secured reversion of the office of Remembrancer for his nephew,

Thomas Fanshawe Sir Thomas Fanshawe KB (1580 – 17 December 1631) was an English government official and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1601 and 1629. Fanshawe was the second son of Thomas Fanshawe and first son by his second wife Jo ...

. In his will, Henry left a sum of money for the founding of a school in the parish in which he was born, which would come to be known as

Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School The Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School is a mixed, state comprehensive school for 11- to 18-year-olds, in the town of Dronfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom. History Dronfield Grammar School, later renamed the Henry Fanshawe School, was founded i ...

. The profits of several of the estates he had accumulated over the years was dedicated to this end. Upon his death, Henry was buried at St Margaret's Church, Barking on November 8, 1568.

Family

Henry was married twice. His first wife was Thomasine Hopkins, daughter of William Hopkins. After his first wife's death circa 1561/1562, Henry remarried to Dorothy Stonard, daughter of George Stonard. They had three daughters: Darraty who died as an infant, Anne and Susanna.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry Fanshawe (1506-1568) 1506 births 1568 deaths English MPs 1563–1567 Fanshawe family