Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy of Chiche (4 December 1506 – 28 June 1558) was an English courtier during the reign of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

. He served as

Vice-Chamberlain of the Household The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The officeholder is usually a senior government whip in the British House of Commons ranking third or fourth after the Chief Whip and ...

and

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a Government of the United Kingdom, UK Government post usually held by the Government Whip (politics), Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is Margaret Whe ...

between 1550 and 1551 before his appointment as

Lord Chamberlain of the Household Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. He was placed under house arrest for his support of

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

as Edward's successor.

Early and family life

Thomas Darcy, born in 1506, was the only son and heir of Roger Darcy (d. 30 September 1508) by Elizabeth Wentworth, the daughter of Sir Henry Wentworth, and aunt of Queen

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

. After the death of Roger Darcy, Elizabeth (née Wentworth) married secondly, as his second wife, Sir Thomas Wyndham (d. 1522) of Felbrigg, Norfolk, by whom she was the mother of

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Thomas Wyndham. She married thirdly, as his third wife,

John Bourchier, 1st Earl of Bath John Bourchier, 1st Earl of Bath (20 July 1470 – 30 April 1539) was created Earl of Bath in 1536. He was the feudal barony of Bampton, feudal baron of Bampton in Devon. Origins Bourchier was born in Essex, England, the eldest son and heir of F ...

. Through his mother he was the first cousin not only of Henry VIII's Queen for a short time, and the mother of his

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

, and her siblings, but of also Thomas Wentworth, 1st Baron Wentworth. After his father's death, Thomas Darcy became the ward of Sir John Raynsford. He married Raynsford's daughter Audrey in 1521. She died childless in 1527 and he later married Elizabeth, daughter of

John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, Lord Great Chamberlain Order of the Garter, KG Privy Council of England, PC (). was an English peerage, peer and courtier. Early life John de Vere, born around 1482, was the son of John de Vere and Alice Kilri ...

and Elizabeth Trussell. They had five or eight children, including John, who succeeded as 2nd Baron Darcy of Chiche. He married Frances, daughter of

Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He was ...

, and they had issue, including

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 A ...

, 3rd Baron and 1st

Earl Rivers Earl Rivers was an England, English title, which has been created three times in the Peerage of England. It was held in succession by the families of Woodville (or Wydeville), Darcy and Savage. History The first creation was made for Richard Wo ...

Political career

He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

at Calais in November 1532. Darcy sat in parliament for

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in 1539, 1545 and 1547, and possibly in 1536. Following the death of the Earl of Oxford in 1540, he held offices usually held by the de Veres: Steward of St. Osyth's, Keeper of

Colchester Castle Colchester Castle is a Norman architecture, Norman castle in Colchester, Essex, England, dating from the second half of the eleventh century. The keep of the castle is mostly intact and is the largest example of its kind anywhere in Europe, d ...

and Keeper of Tendring Hundred. His position in court was assisted though his relations with the de Veres and his cousin,

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King E ...

. Darcy was appointed to attend

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

in 1539. He was appointed a Carver of the King's Table in 1540, a

Gentleman of the Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

by 1544, and a Principal Gentleman of the Privy Chamber in 1549. He was sworn of the Privy Council on 24 January 1550, and on 2 February he was appointed

and

. On 5 April 1551, he was created Baron Darcy of Chiche to serve as

, and in this role, he led a commission to reform the revenue courts. He was elected to 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. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

on 6 October. Following the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

and execution for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

of Sir Nicholas Carew in 1539, Darcy was granted the principal Carew estate at

Beddington Beddington is a suburban settlement in the London Borough of Sutton on the boundary with the London Borough of Croydon. Beddington is formed from a village of the same name which until early the 20th century still included land which became ...

, which he later sold back to Carew's heirs. He was one of the signatories to the

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

enabling

to succeed

, and this support led to his

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

. He was pardoned, but lost his offices and council membership. He died on 28 June 1558 at

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Colchester, Colchester district, in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the Riv ...

and was buried at

St Osyth St Osyth is an English village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Tendring District of north-east Essex, about west of Clacton-on-Sea and southeast of Colchester. It lies on the B1027, Colchester–Clacton road. The village is ...

's Priory. He was succeeded by his eldest son John as 2nd Baron Darcy of Chiche.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Darcy, Sir Thomas (1506-58), of Danbury, Wivenhoe and St. Osyth (Chiche), Essex
A biography at

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

Thomas Darcy, Baron Darcy of Chiche
Family tree {{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy of Chiche, Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron 1506 births 1558 deaths Members of the Privy Council of England Knights Bachelor Knights of the Garter 1 Peers of England created by Edward VI English MPs 1539–1540 English MPs 1545–1547 English MPs 1547–1552 16th-century English nobility Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber Masters of the Buckhounds