Sir John Cheyne, Baron Cheyne, ( – 30 May 1499) was

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...

to King Edward IV of England and personal bodyguard to King

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beauf ...

Biography

John was the third but second surviving son of John Cheyne (or Cheney) of Shurland Hall in Kent, by his wife, Eleanor, daughter and sole heiress of Sir Robert Shottesbrooke of

Faringdon Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. It extends to the River Thames in the north; the highest ground is on the Ridg ...

in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). He was the uncle of Thomas Cheyne, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and grand-uncle of Tudor soldier and MP John Cheyne. In the 1460s he was appointed Esquire of the body to Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of Edward IV. He was MP for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in 1478, and in 1479 was appointed

. In the same year he married Margaret Chideock, eldest daughter of Sir John Chideock, and widow of William Stourton, 2nd Baron Stourton; some sources say that they had a son who predeceased his father. He was present when the

Treaty of Picquigny The Treaty of Picquigny was a peace treaty negotiated on 29 August 1475 between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France. It followed from an invasion of France by Edward IV of England in alliance with Burgundy and Brittany. It left Lou ...

was signed in 1475, and remained behind as a hostage of King Louis XI of France until King Edward IV had gone back to Calais and thence to England. Also in that year, he was granted the manor of Faulstone near Salisbury (now in Bishopstone parish) which had been confiscated from Sir Robert Baynton for his support of Henry VI. After the death of Edward, and the seizure of the crown by Richard III, Cheyne switched sides to support Henry Tudor's claim to the throne, joining him in exile in Brittany. Henry knighted him in 1483 after their return to England. He fought in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field. When Richard III launched his last charge directly at Henry, Cheyne was part of Henry's personal bodyguard. Richard unhorsed him with a blow from his broken lance. He fought again at the

Battle of Stoke The Battle of Stoke Field on 16 June 1487 may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was the last major engagement between contenders for the throne whose claims derived from descent from the houses of Lancaster and Yo ...

in 1487. In 1486 he was made a

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the

Garter A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking f ...

and was called to

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

as Baron Cheyne. In later life he lived at

Enborne Enborne is a village and civil parish, in West Berkshire, England that bounds to the east, across a road from Newbury. The River Enborne shares its name, although it does not run through the village; rather, it runs through and rises near the ne ...

in Berkshire. Nicknamed the "Vigorous Knight" by contemporaries, he was a massive man of redoubtable strength. A 21" thighbone, found in his tomb at Salisbury Cathedral in the 18th century, puts his estimated height at 6 feet 8 inches. He had no surviving issue and the title died with him. His wife predeceased him, and his estates passed to his brother William or that brother's son Francis.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheyne, John 1440s births 1499 deaths Barons in the Peerage of England

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

English MPs 1478 Knights of the Garter Medieval English knights People from West Berkshire District People from Wiltshire People of the Tudor period