Sir Thomas Banastre KG (c. 1334 - 16 December 1379) was a Knight of the Garter from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Lineage

He was the son of Sir Adam Banastre (of

Bretherton Bretherton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, situated to the south west of Leyland and east of Tarleton. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 669. Its name suggests pre-con ...

) and his wife Joan Petronilla (of Claughton) and was born at

Bank Hall Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building and is at the centre of a private estate, surrounded by parkland. The hall was built on the site of an older house in 1608 by the Banastres ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

in 1334 and was the eldest of five children.Duchess of Cleaveland (1889
"The Battle Abbey Roll - with some account of the Norman Lineages"
Vol 1, London.The Medieval Combat Society, (2003

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Career

In 1360, he was fighting in France in the campaign led by

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

, who also knighted at

Bourg-la-Reine Bourg-la-Reine () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History In 1792, during the French Revolution, Bourg-la-Reine (meaning "Town of the Queen") was renamed Bourg-l'Égalité (meani ...

. Thomas was in Prince Edward's Spanish campaign in 1367 and fought at the

battle of Najera A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

on 3 April 1367. During 1369, he was in

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

and was captured by the French and was exchanged for Sire Caponnel de Caponnat, who was held by the English. During the same year, the Hamlet of

Thorp ''Thorp'' is a Middle English word for a hamlet or small village. Etymology The name can either come from Old Norse ''þorp'' (also ''thorp''), or from Old English (Anglo-Saxon) ''þrop''. There are many place names in England with the suffi ...

was sold by the heirs of Thorp to Thomas, which became completely merged in his

moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...

, and ceased to be noticed. This added to his estate, which consisted of farms and land which provided him with his riches. He became Knight 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 ...

in 1375, and became a member of the

order of the garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

after the death of

Walter Paveley Sir Walter Paveley KG (1319–1375) was an English knight from Kent, a Knight Founder of the Order of the Garter. He was the son of Sir Walter Paveley (d. 1327), a Kentish landholder, and Maud (1304 – c. 1366), daughter and heir of Sir Stephe ...

Death

On 16 December 1379, Thomas Banastre was on board a fleet led by Sir John Arundel which encountered a storm in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

, and his ship struck a rock; Thomas was drowned.

Sir Hugh Calveley Sir Hugh Calveley (died 23 April 1394) was an English knight and commander, who took part in the Hundred Years' War, gaining fame during the War of the Breton Succession and the Castilian Civil War. He held various military posts in Brittany an ...

was aboard the same ship but survived.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banastre, Thomas 14th-century English people People of the Hundred Years' War Medieval English knights Bank Hall 1379 deaths Year of birth uncertain Garter Knights appointed by Edward III