Thomas Boleyn,
LL.B
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
(c. 1400-1472), (often Master Thomas Boleyn, clerk; by some now designated Thomas Boleyn II
), was the
Master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
of
Gonville Hall, Cambridge Gonville may refer to:
* Gonville, New Zealand, suburb of Whanganui
* Gonville Bromhead (1845–1891), British Army officer awarded the Victoria Cross
* Gonville ffrench-Beytagh (1912–1991), Anglican priest and anti-apartheid activist
* Edmund Go ...
from 1454 to 1472, the seventh to hold that position. During the later 1440s, through three separate acts of foundation, he was one of the small group appointed to formulate the statutes of what became
Queens' College
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
in Cambridge.
[W.G. Searle, ''The History of the Queens' College of St Margaret and St Bernard in the University of Cambridge, 1446-1560'', 2 volumes (Deighton Bell & Co./Macmillan & Co., Cambridge 1867), I]
pp. 3-35, passim
(Google). His brother Sir
Geoffrey Boleyn
Sir Geoffrey Boleyn (1406–1463; also Jeffray Bulleyn, Bullen, etc) was an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London from 1457 to 1458. He purchased the manor of Blickling, near Aylsham, in Norfolk from Sir John Fastol ...
,
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...
1457-58, was the great-grandfather of
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
,
Queen consort of England
The English royal consorts listed here were the spouses of the reigning monarchs of the Kingdom of England, excluding the joint rulers, Mary I of England, Mary I and Philip II of Spain, Philip who reigned together in the 16th century, and Willi ...
.
['Thomas Boleyn' in J. Venn, ''Biographical History of Gonville and Caius College'' (Cambridge University Press 1901), III]
p. 18
(Internet Archive).
Origins
Thomas Boleyn was the eldest surviving son of Geoffrey Boleyn (died 1440),
yeoman
Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...
, of
Salle, Norfolk,
[W.L.E. Parsons, 'Some notes on the Boleyn family', ''Norfolk Archaeology'', XXV Part 3 (1934)]
pp. 386-407
(archaeology data service pdf), at pp. 396-97. and his wife Alice, daughter and heiress of Sir John Bracton of Norfolk. Geoffrey and Alice Boleyn of Salle are commemorated by a
monumental brass
A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...
in Salle Church, which shows the two figures frontally, standing, set side by side, with a memorial inscription beneath (referring also to their children) and a scroll flying between them with a Latin prayer, "God be merciful to us sinners". Around 1730
Thomas Martin of Palgrave
Thomas Martin (8 March 1696/7 – 7 March 1771), known as "Honest Tom Martin of Palgrave", was an antiquarian and lawyer.
Early life
Martin was born at Thetford in the school house of St. Mary's parish, which is the only parish of that town si ...
saw two subsidiary brass groups in the slab showing their five sons and their four daughters: these have long been missing.
[F. Blomefield, ''An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk'' VIII (William Miller, London 1808)]
p.275
Thomas was the grandson of Thomas Boleyn I (died 1411) of Salle and his wife Agnes.
Life
Early career
Thomas was ordained as
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
on 8 March 1421, and at the time of his ordination as a priest later in 1421 he was a fellow of
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...
.
[ E. Norton, ''The Boleyn Women'' (Amberley Publishing, 2013)]
pp. 14 ff
(Google). He then became rector of the church of
Reepham, just south-west of Salle, from 1422 to 1429. He is titled ''Magister'' in the commission for him to attend the
Council of Basle
The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...
in 1434 upon the King's affairs in the suite of
Edmund Beaufort, who presented him to the rectory of Hackford next Reepham in 1436.
[ His degree of ''Legum Baccalaureus'', or "]Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
" indicates some grounding in both Civil and Canon Law (mainly for scholarly and philosophical purposes and not as a legal training), presumably in the University of Cambridge, and remained his identifying qualification throughout his career, although he is generally referred to as "Master", and "clerk".
Diocese of Chichester
In the Chichester bishopric of Richard Praty
Richard Praty (or Pratty, c. 1390 – August 1445) was a medieval university Chancellor and Bishop.
After serving as the King's chaplain from 1430, including two years with him in France, Praty was made Dean of the Chapel Royal in 1432. H ...
(1438-1445), Boleyn was presented to various benefices, some of which he may have occupied for administrative purposes. On 9 May 1439 he was present at the bishop's palace at Aldingbourne
Aldingbourne is a mixed rural and residential civil and ecclesiastical parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England. It is centred north of Bognor Regis and east of Chichester.
The civil parish, named after the small village of Aldingb ...
to witness the resignation of Prior John Baker of Calcetto Priory near Arundel
Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England.
The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...
(Pynham Priory, West Sussex). On 23 March 1439, "the venerable and discreet Master Thomas Boleyn LL.B" was present as witness at the profession of Abbot Thomas Shorham of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Begham (Bayham) in the Chichester diocese. In February 1439, for the Commissary in the Archdeaconry of Chichester, he inducted William Daniell as a chaplain at Sefford, and was himself installed as chaplain in East Itchenor
East Itchenor is the site of a demolished 'manor' house, on the Manhood Peninsula, in West Sussex, England. There was never an actual manor (in the legal sense) nor is it an abandoned village. This is an area of dispersed settlements rather than ...
(then in the gift of Boxgrove Priory
Boxgrove Priory is a ruined priory in the village of Boxgrove in Sussex, England. It was founded in the 12th century.
History Origins
The Priory was founded in the reign of Henry I, about 1123 by Robert de Haia (or de la Haye), Lord of Halnacr ...
) on 26 June of that year. In June of 1440 Master Thomas Boleyn LL.B and John Langport, Bachelor of Decrees, of the Norwich and Chichester dioceses, were especially summoned and requested to witness the proceedings surrounding the death of the Prior of Tortington Priory and the election of his successor.
On 23 March 1440/41 he was inducted to the rectory of Tolyton. On 17 April 1441 the Bishop of Chichester declared the parish of East Itchenor, then vacant, to be impoverished, having insufficient revenues to maintain it. The Prior and convent of Boxgrove prayed him that it might be united with Bridham, West Sussex, where Richard Swan had been inducted as chaplain on the same 23 March. Boleyn's occupation of East Itchenor and relocation to Tolyton was therefore preparatory to this development.
Boleyn had more direct and enduring responsibilities following Bishop Praty's visitation of Easebourne Priory
Easebourne Priory was a priory in Easebourne, West Sussex, England.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built as an Augustinian nunnery for a prioress and ten nuns. It was founded before 1238 by the de Bohun family of St. Ann's Hill in ne ...
, a Benedictine nunnery near Midhurst
Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester.
The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...
, in January 1441. The prioress, who had led a profligate life, was admonished by the bishop and ordered to submit to the administrative oversight of Master Thomas Boleyn and John Lylis, Esquire. All the temporal goods of the priory were to be committed to them until the priory was free from debt, and the nuns were no longer to be compelled to manual labour. The prioress was to diminish her excessive household and to retain only those deemed absolutely necessary by the advice and assent of Thomas and John: neither was she to have any guests at her table to sojourn there without their assent. Furthermore if Thomas and John deemed it expedient that she should go out on the priory's business, she should not make lengthened stays away or incur any unnecessary expenses, and must content herself with four horses only. Her expensive fur trimmings were to be sold to defray the priory's debts.
It was then on 13 July 1442 that Boleyn was inducted to the rectory of Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
(Chelchehethe), in the diocese of London, in the gift of the Abbot and convent of Westminster, which he received from Alexander Brown in exchange for his rectory of Tolyton (belonging to the Prior and convent of Lewes). In this transaction, in the Calendar of Admissions of Bishop Praty, Thomas Boleyn is designated M.A. (Magister in Artibus).
London and Westminster
From 1441 he was prebendary
A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...
of Morton Parva in the Cathedral church of Hereford, which in 1446 he exchanged with William Saunders for the prebend of the free chapel of St Stephen's, Westminster (within the Old Palace of Westminster), holding it until his death in 1472.[J. Venn and J.A. Venn, ''Alumni Cantabrigienses'' I Part 1 (Cambridge University Press 1921)]
p. 174
(Internet Archive). He appears to have been rector of Doddington, Cambridgeshire
__NOTOC__
Doddington is a village and civil parish lying just off the A141 in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, approximately half way () between Chatteris (to the south) and March (to the north)
History
St Mary's Church, Doddington is a G ...
in 1446, when he exchanged Doddington for Chart Magna in Kent. He had also held the benefice of St Michael Abergele
Abergele (; ; ) is a market town and community, situated on the north coast of Wales between the holiday resorts of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl, in Conwy County Borough and in the historic county of Denbighshire. Its northern suburb of Pensarn lies on ...
, Denbighshire (a prebendal church annexed to the Archdeaconry of St Asaph), and in 1447 he exchanged this for the London prebend of Portpool
Portpool was a manorialism, manor or Soke (legal), soke in the district of Holborn, London. It is not recorded in the Domesday Book but references to it occur from the 12th century onwards. For many years it was owned by the Dean and Chapter of ...
, belonging to St Paul's. It appears that in 1451 the prebendary of Portpool created a vacancy by death, but Boleyn himself may have vacated it before this since he received fresh presentations in the Bath and Wells diocese in 1449 (below). It was in 1449/50 that Bishop Reginald Pecock
Reginald Pecock (or Peacock; c. 1395– c. 1461) was a Welsh prelate, scholastic, and writer.
Life
Pecock was probably born in Laugharne and was educated at Oriel College, Oxford.
Having been ordained priest in 1421, Pecock secured a master ...
was translated from the see of St Asaph to Chichester.
;The statutes of Queens' College, Cambridge
During the later 1440s Boleyn was closely involved with formulating the statutes for the foundation of Queens' College
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
in the University of Cambridge.[ Henry VI had newly founded ]King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
when, in 1446, plans for a college consisting of a President and four fellows were set in motion. Land was made over to the King for this purpose in November 1446 and the charter for the first foundation of St Bernard's College, or Hall, was issued on 3 December, naming the founding President, Andrew Dokett
Andrew DuckettAlso Doket, Dokket or Ducket, Doget or Dogett. (died 4 November 1484) was an English churchman and academic, who became the first President of Queens' College, Cambridge.
Life
He was principal and owner of St. Bernard's Hostel, of wh ...
, and the fellows, and appointing a committee of six to draw up the statutes for the college's governance. This was headed by John Somerset
John Somerset or Somerseth (died 1454) was an English physician and administrator.
He was born in London and attended Oxford University, but moved to Cambridge University to avoid the plague, graduating master in 1418.
Thomas Beaufort, Duke of ...
, Chancellor of the King's Exchequer, and John Langton, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
1428-1447 and Chancellor of the University 1436-1443, 1444-1445 and 1447, both of whom had prepared ordinances for King's College before the king dispensed with his advisors in 1443. By the charter of 1446 these six, including Thomas Boleyn, were licensed to formulate, emend or alter completely the statutes by which the President and fellows were to be ruled and governed, then and in the future.
It was then decided that more favourable land for the development of the college lay towards the river and the house of Carmelites
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites
, abbreviation = OCarm
, formation = Late 12th century
, founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel
, founding_location = Mount Car ...
in Cambridge, and in August 1447 this additional land was made over and the king revoked the first charter and issued a fresh one. This was in most other respects similar to the first, and the committee for the formulation of ordinances is named several times: of the original six, John Langton and Gilbert Worthington had since died, and were replaced by John Sperhauk and Hugh Damlet (Langton's successor as Master of Pembroke), but Thomas Boleyn remained as before.
In the next months the King's consort, Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou (french: link=no, Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England and nominally Queen of France by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Born in the Duchy of Lorrain ...
, made a petition that she should become the patroness of the new college, and accordingly the second charter was revoked, and by a third charter of 30 March 1448 St Bernard's Hall was re-founded as "The Queen's College of St Margaret and St Bernard". In this recension the statutes committee had increased to seven, led by William Booth
William Booth (10 April 182920 August 1912) was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first "General" (1878–1912). His 1890 book In Darkest England and The Way Out outli ...
, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...
1447-1452, John Somerset and Richard Cowedray, with Peter Hirford and Thomas Boleyn also remaining from the original group, Hugh Damlet from the second, and William Millington (founding Provost of King's College, 1441-1447) now introduced. Margaret d'Anjou produced a further charter identifying herself as patroness, but in most respects it is identical to the third. Peter Hirford later became a fellow of Queens' College, and details of the other statute-makers are given by Searle. Both Millington and Damlet were notable opponents of Bishop Pecock's: both Gilbert Worthington and Peter Hirford had espoused the Wycliffite views before renouncing them.
Diocese of Bath and Wells
It was probably through the advancement of Thomas Beckynton (an associate of John Somerset's) to the Bishopric of Bath and Wells (1443-1465) that Thomas Boleyn became associated with Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...
. Beckynton, the King's Secretary, had been the administrative architect of Henry's foundation of Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
, the sister institution to King's College, in 1440. Boleyn was already a canon of Wells in May 1448 when he witnessed the institution of John Rigge to South Cadbury. He was collated by Beckynton to the prebend of Dultyngcote in November 1449 (for which he took his oath of obedience at his hospice in London), and he was appointed to the rectory of Wrington
Wrington is a village and a civil and ecclesiastical parish on the north slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England. Both include nearby Redhill. Wrington lies in the valley of the Congresbury Yeo river, about east of Weston-super-M ...
by the Abbot and convent of Glastonbury three months later.
In April 1450 he was collated to the subdeanery of Wells, to which the parish church of Wookey
Wookey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wells, Somerset, Wells, on the River Axe (Bristol Channel), River Axe in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton ...
was annexed, and was granted the canonical house vacant by the death of the former subdean, John Reynolds. In May 1451, as president of the Chapter in the absence of the dean, he took part in the presentation of a perpetual chaplain to the chantry of Henry Husee, former dean, at the altar of St Calixtus. Boleyn became Precentor
A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...
of Wells Cathedral on 25 October 1451, a position vacant by the resignation of John Bernard, to which the church of Pilton, Somerset
Pilton is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road in the Mendip District, Mendip district, 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Shepton Mallet and 6 miles (10 km) east of Gl ...
, was attached. In December 1451 he sought patents to enclose and build upon two plots of land near the cathedral church which were then in profane uses, implementing Beckynton's "New Works". He presented vicars to Pilton in 1461 and 1468, and occupied the office of Precentor until his death in 1472.
Master of Gonville Hall
It was then in 1454 that he was elected Master of Gonville Hall in Cambridge. This was a natural progression from his former college of Trinity Hall: the two colleges were allied foundations, William Bateman (Bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher.
The see is in the ...
, died 1355) having founded Trinity Hall in 1350, and also having placed his friend Edmund Gonville Edmund Gonville (died 1351) founded Gonville Hall in 1348, which later was re-founded by John Caius to become Gonville and Caius College. Gonville Hall was his third foundation. Before this he had founded two religious houses, a College at Rushford, ...
's college (of 1348) on a sound footing. Bateman himself had been a distinguished maker of statutes, not least for Bruisyard Abbey
The Abbey of Bruisyard was a house of Minoresses (Poor Clares) at Bruisyard in Suffolk. It was founded from Campsey Priory in Suffolk on the initiative of Maud of Lancaster, Countess of Ulster, assisted by her son-in-law Lionel of Antwerp, in 136 ...
(in its gestation at Campsey Priory
Campsey Priory, (''Campesse'', ''Kampessie'', etc.), was a religious house of Augustinian canonesses at Campsea Ashe, Suffolk, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) south east of Wickham Market. It was founded shortly before 1195 on behalf of two of his ...
for Maud of Lancaster
Maud of Lancaster, Countess of Ulster (c. 1310 – 5 May 1377) was an English noblewoman and the wife of William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster. She was the mother of Elizabeth de Burgh, ''suo jure'' Countess of Ulster. Her second husband w ...
) and for Flixton Priory in Suffolk.
Boleyn's election appears to have been contested: William Booth, since 1452 Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
, gained control of the title to the office, but was much disturbed and opposed by Thomas Boleyn and others. Booth made a complaint to the Pope, who on 31 August 1456 appointed two abbots and a prior to make a decision about the Mastership. They decided in favour of Thomas Boleyn, for he occupied that dignity until his death in 1472. In 1455/56 it is noticed in the registers of the proctors (one of whom was named Henry Boleyn) that Master Robert Calton has paid 12d. for appealing against the election of the Master of Gonville Hall, and that ''dominus'' Thomas Boleyn had paid 20d. for having complained of an injury done to him at the same time.
This sustained a former grievance, for Thomas Boleyn and two others had been executors to the will of John Langton (whom Bishop Booth had replaced on the statutes committee), and in 1449 Booth brought a complaint that the executors had failed to fulfil a 100 mark bond owing to him from Langton's estate. Boleyn had answered that they had administered fully, but Booth disputed this. "Magister" Thomas Boleyn, "in legibus bacallarius", also became Master of the College of All Saints, Maidstone
The College of All Saints was an ecclesiastical college in Maidstone, Kent, England, founded in 1395 by Archbishop Courtenay. It was part of the establishment of the nearby Archbishop's Palace, but was closed in 1546. The College church was ...
in 1458, as his brother Sir Geoffrey completed his term as Lord Mayor of London, and presided there until 1470.
Estate
In 1460-61 Master Thomas Boleyn, clerk, was associated with Sir Geoffrey as the recipient of a grant at Hever, Kent
Hever village is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the River Eden, a tributary of the River Medway, east of Edenbridge. It is by in extent, and in area. The parish includes the ...
from Sir William Fiennes, Lord of Say (1428-1471). Geoffrey and Thomas, clerk, also joined in acquiring lands around Horsham
Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
at that time, secured to the heirs of the said Thomas. Thomas was executor in the will of Sir Geoffrey Boleyn in 1463, where he is called "my brother Master Thomas Boleyn".
It was in the year of his brother's death that Thomas successfully laid claim to the manor of Hook Hall at Calthorpe, Norfolk
Calthorpe is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Erpingham, in the North Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. The village is located west of the village of Erpingham, north of the nearest town of Aylsh ...
, which (as shown in a lawsuit) had been in his family in the time of 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 ...
,[ but which in that year was conveyed to him by fine by Richard Dorward and his wife Joan, daughter and coheir of Sir Roger Harsyke. (Hook Hall passed to his nephew Sir ]William Boleyn
Sir William Boleyn, KB (1451 – 10 October 1505) of Blickling Hall in Norfolk and Hever Castle in Kent, was a wealthy and powerful landowner who served as Sheriff of Kent in 1489 and as Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1500. He was the father ...
, who died seised of it in 1505.) Thomas was prebendary of Sarum from 1465-1472.[
His own will has not been found, but his is not to be confused with that of his nephew Thomas Boleyn of London, eldest son of Sir Geoffrey, who died in 1471. The two Thomases acted together as pledges (as "Thomas Boleyn, clericus" and "Thomas Boleyn, Gentilman") in c. 1465-68 when the four daughters and heirs of Lord Hoo and Hastings (including the elder Anna, widow of Sir Geoffrey Boleyn) brought suit against the feoffees of their father's estate. Again in 1469, with Roger Copley (husband of the younger Anna Hoo) and others, they held the manor of Vera Worthy (]Pancrasweek
Pancrasweek is a civil parish and hamlet in the far west of Devon, England forming part of the local government district of Torridge and lying about three miles north west of the town of Holsworthy.Ordnance Survey mapping
It is bordered clockwise ...
) in Devon from the Archbishops of Canterbury and of York, the Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the United Kingdom. The title has been created four times in English history, and the name refers to Warwick Castle and the town of Warwick.
Overview
The first creation c ...
and others (feoffees for Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
and Anna Ormond alias Butler), to release an annuity of 20 marks to Geoffrey Boleyn's son William Boleyn
Sir William Boleyn, KB (1451 – 10 October 1505) of Blickling Hall in Norfolk and Hever Castle in Kent, was a wealthy and powerful landowner who served as Sheriff of Kent in 1489 and as Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1500. He was the father ...
and his wife Lady Margaret, daughter of Anne Butler.
Grave and monument
To Thomas Boleyn LL.D is attributed a fine tomb with recumbent effigy in St Calixtus's chapel, off the south transept of Wells Cathedral.[Julia Keld]
Thomas Boleyn
''www.findagrave.com'', 19 Aug 2007, #21018412 The monument is especially notable for its alabaster work including figures of canons in choir habits, and images of the Holy Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
and the Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
. These latter presumably allude to his association with the colleges of Trinity Hall and Gonville Hall (''The Hall of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary''). However, although evidently a Bolleyn tomb, this presents the difficulty that the heraldic arms shown on the tomb-chest are ''Argent, fretty sable, on a chief of the same three plates'', for the family of Boleyn or Bullen of Stickford
Stickford is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated near the A16 road and approximately south-west from the town of Spilsby.
Stickford is first recorded in the Domesday Book o ...
, Lincolnshire, and not ''Argent, a chevron gules, between three bulls' heads couped sable'', which were those of the Norfolk family.[B. Burke, ''The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales'' (Harrison, London 1884)]
pp. 96-97
(Internet Archive).
The identification of Thomas the cleric as the rector of Chelsea in 1442 was at first questioned by Venn: but since Bishop Praty's Register specifies that Thomas Boleyn, LL.B., was inducted to Tolyton, and that it was this rectory which was afterwards exchanged for Chelsea, there can be little doubt that the same man was concerned in both preferments.
References
Offices Held
Further reading
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boleyn, Thomas
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
Fellows of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Masters of Gonville Hall, Cambridge
1400 births
Year of birth uncertain
1472 deaths
People from Broadland (district)