John Poyntz (ca. 14851544) was an English courtier and politician, Member of Parliament for Devizes in 1529.
Poyntz was the second son of Sir Robert Poyntz of
Iron Acton
Iron Acton is a village, civil parish and former manor in South Gloucestershire, England. The village is about west of Yate and about northeast of the centre of Bristol. The B4058 road used to pass through the village but now by-passes it jus ...
, Gloucestershire, by Margaret, an illegitimate daughter of
Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, making Margaret a first cousin, once removed, to
King 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 disag ...
. Dame Margaret Poyntz was appointed to wait on
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
in October 1501.
He was the brother of vice-admiral
Anthony Poyntz and the uncle of
Nicholas Poyntz
Sir Nicholas Poyntz (1510—circa 28 November 1556) was a prominent English courtier during the latter part of Henry VIII's reign. There is a portrait drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger in the Royal Collection and an oil portrait after the ...
. John Poyntz was
sewer to
Queen Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
in 1520. He was friends with the poet
Sir Thomas Wyatt
Sir Thomas Wyatt (150311 October 1542) was a 16th-century English politician, ambassador, and lyric poet credited with introducing the sonnet to English literature. He was born at Allington Castle near Maidstone in Kent, though the family was ...
who wrote a satire on ‘mine own John Poyntz’. A painting and a drawing of Poyntz by
Holbein Hans Holbein may refer to:
* Hans Holbein the Elder
Hans Holbein the Elder ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Ältere; – 1524) was a German painter.
Life
Holbein was born in free imperial city of Augsburg (Germany), and died in Issenheim, Alsa ...
survive.
His family home was at
Alderley, Gloucestershire
Alderley (also previously known as ''Alderleigh'') is a village and civil parish in the Stroud (district), Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England, about fourteen miles southwest of Stroud, Gloucestershire, Stroud and two miles south of Wotto ...
. John Poyntz married, by 1528, Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Matthew Browne of
Betchworth Castle, Surrey. He married, secondly, Margaret Saunders. His eldest son, Nicholas Poynts married Winifred Wylde
John Poyntz died in 1544, after taking part in the first
siege of Boulogne. His widow Margaret married
James Skinner (MP)
James Skinner (by 1489 – 30 July 1558), of Reigate, Surrey, was an English politician.
He was a Member of Parliament, Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Reigate (UK Parliament constituency), Reigate in 1542 and November 1554. His thi ...
.
There was another contemporary courtier of this name, John Poyntz (died 1547) of
North Ockendon, whose wife
Anne Poyntz was "
mother of the maids" in the household of
Mary I of England
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...
.
[David Loades, ''Mary Tudor: A Life'' (Oxford, 1992), p. 355.]
References
1485 births
1544 deaths
English MPs 1529–1536
John
{{1529-England-MP-stub