Philip Butler or Boteler (by 1493 – 6 June 1545), of Watton at Stone, Hertfordshire, was an English politician.

Family

Butler was the eldest son of John Butler of Watton at Stone and his second wife Dorothy, a daughter of William Tyrrell of

Gipping Gipping is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around three miles north north-east of Stowmarket, in 2005 its population was 80. At the 2011 Census the population remained less than 100 ...

, Suffolk. The Butlers of Hertfordshire claimed descent from Ralph le Boteler, butler to Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan and Earl of Leicester in the time of Henry I, and by the 15th century they had been seated at Watton for some time. Philip Butler married Elizabeth Drury in 1510, a daughter of Sir Robert Drury of

Hawstead Hawstead is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located south of Bury St. Edmunds between the B1066 road, B1066 and A134 roads, in a fork formed by the River ...

, Suffolk. They had twelve sons including Sir John Butler, and seven daughters.

Career

He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England 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 t ...

for

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

in 1529 and 1539. Sir Philip was one of the Knights of the Body to King Henry VIII in 1516. He was Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1533 and 1540. In 1530 he was one of the commissioners for Hertfordshire to inquire into the possessions of Wolsey. In 1537 he was present at the christening of Prince Edward, who later became King

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. In 1539–40 he was among the knights appointed to meet

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...

, and was one of those who 'stood from the park pales upon the heath (

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

) to the meeting-place' (at Shooter's Hill). In 1544 his name was enrolled as supplying men for the rearguard in the army against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and later in the same year he was appointed to levy recruits.

Lord of the Manor

At the dissolution of the monasteries 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 disa ...

gave the manor of

Aston, Hertfordshire Aston is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 844, increasing to 871 at the 2011 Census. Located on a ridge between Stevenage and the Bea ...

for the tenth part of a Knight's fee, and a rent of seventeen shillings and eleven pence, to his local favourite, Sir Philip Boteler, Sheriff of Hertford. Sir Philip ruled at Woodhall in the contiguous parish of Watton. To establish himself on his new territory, he chose the site of a ruined building, probably of monastic origin and, using some of the structure and stone from the ruin, he built the manor house which we now know as

Aston Bury Aston Bury is a manor house near Aston, Hertfordshire, England. It is Grade I listed building. It was built in the mid 17th century, possibly by the Boteler family, restored in 1883 for Captain William Edward Freeman O'Brien and restored again ...

. He died on 6 June 1545 before his new manor house was completed. He was buried in Watton church where fragments of a brass on his tomb survive.William Frampton Andrews: ''Memorial Brasses in Hertfordshire Churches''. 1903

References

15th-century births 1545 deaths Burials in Hertfordshire Members of the Parliament of England for Hertfordshire English MPs 1529–1536 English MPs 1539–1540 People from Watton-at-Stone {{1529-England-MP-stub