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Thomas Knyvet, 1st Baron Knyvet (; or Knevytt, Knyvett, Knevett, Knevitt; 1545 – 27 July 1622) was an English courtier and Member of Parliament who played a part in foiling the Gunpowder Plot.


Family

Thomas Knyvet was the second son of Sir Henry Knyvet of
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,
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, and Anne Pickering, daughter of Sir Christopher Pickering of Killington, Westmorland. His niece, Catherine Knyvet, was married to Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk. On 21 July 1597 Knyvet married Elizabeth Hayward, the daughter of
Sir Rowland Hayward Sir Rowland Hayward (c. 15205 December 1593) was a London merchant, and Lord Mayor of the City in both 1570 and 1591. Through his commercial activities he acquired considerable wealth, and was able to loan money to Queen Elizabeth I and pu ...
and widow of Richard Warren of Claybury,
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.


Career

Knyvet attended Jesus College,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...
. He was a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to
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, and in 1592 was made Master at Arms. He was elected
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
for Thetford in 1601. He served as Warden of the Royal Mint from 1599 to 1621. He was granted the manor of Stanwell in 1603, and was knighted in 1604.


Jewels of Queen Elizabeth

In December 1603 and January 1604 Knyvett had orders from King James concerning jewels that had belonged to
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. on Christmas Eve 1603 he brought to Hampton Court some chests of jewels which he had kept at
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on the instructions of
Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 ...
. Four chests had been the responsibility of Katherine Howard, Countess of Nottingham. The others boxes were open and the jewels examined. After discussion with Sir George Home, Roger Aston, and the
Earl of Nottingham :''See also Earl of Winchilsea'' Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard II. As this creation could only pass to ...
, some jewels were sent to the goldsmiths
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and William Herrick for valuation, with an ivory coffer, and a "great rich glass set with diamonds rubies emeralds and pearls, made in the form of a woman upon a pillar or case holding a clock with diverse motions" brought from the
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. Knyvett also took some of the old queen's jewels to Peter Vanlore to exchange for a new piece with a large table ruby and two great lozenge diamonds.


Gunpowder plot

Knyvet was the most active intervener in foiling the Gunpowder Plot. On the evening of 26 October 1605, the Catholic Lord Monteagle received an anonymous letter warning him to stay away from Parliament during the opening, and to "retyre youre self into yowre contee whence yow maye expect the event in safti for ... they shall receyve a terrible blowe this parleament". Monteagle's letter was shown to King James. The
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...
ordered Knyvet to conduct a search of the cellars underneath Parliament, which he carried out with Edmund Doubleday in the early hours of 5 November. Guy Fawkes was arrested by Knyvet whilst leaving the cellar shortly after midnight. Inside, the barrels of gunpowder were discovered hidden under piles of firewood and coal.


Princess Mary

After foiling the plot Knyvet was given charge of the education of the short-lived Princess Mary. By royal grant of a peerage he entered the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...
as Baron Knyvet of Escrick,
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in 1607. He was appointed a Privy Councillor, member of the council to Queen Anne, and Warden of the Mint. In 1613, the manor of Staines was granted him outright. He maintained a long-running feud with Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Knyvet's niece, Anne Vavasour, was the Earl's mistress, and on 21 March 1581 bore his illegitimate son, Edward Vere. On numerous occasions, servants on either side were killed. On one occasion, Knyvet injured Oxford, apparently in the leg. When Lord Knyvet died in July 1622 his will provided for the foundation of a free-school in Stanwell — the Lord Knyvet School was founded in 1624. An effigy of him and his wife features in the
chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...
of Stanwell's St Mary's parish church.


Knyvet House

Knyvet occupied as his London
townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
the first house known on the site of 10 Downing Street, the modern-day residence of the
British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...
, in a large timber and brick building with an L-shaped garden. It was first leased to him in 1581 by
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
at which point it became known as Knyvet House, and his lifetime lease was extended in 1604 to extend to his heirs. The house was described by the parliamentary commissioners in 1650 as: :"...built part wth Bricke and part wth Tymber and Flemish qalle and covered with Tyle, consistinge of a Large and spacious hall, wainscoted round, well Lighted, and Paved wth brick Pavements, two parls whereof one is Wainscoted round from the seelinge to ye floor, one Buttery, one seller, one Large kitchen well paved with stone and well fitted and Joynted and well fitted wth dreser boards…. :"And above stayres in the first story one large and spacious dyneinge Roome, Wainscoted round from the seelinge to the floore, well flored, Lighted and seeled, and fitted wth a faire Chimney wth a foote pace of Paynted Tyle in the same. Also 6 more Roomes and 3 Closetts in the same flore all well lighted and seeled. And in the second story 4 garretts..." Knyvett built new lodgings for the women of Princess Mary's household in 1605, and he supervised improvements to St James's Park. Mary Anne Everett Green
''Calendar State Papers Domestic, Addenda 1580-1625'' (London, 1872), p. 469
The house passed to his niece, Elizabeth Hampden, aunt of
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
, and in her lifetime it adopted her surname. After the lease expired on Hampden House and garden in 1682, George Downing redeveloped the site and adjoining premises.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knyvet, Thomas 16th-century births 1622 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of England High Sheriffs of Norfolk Members of the Privy Council of England Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber Thomas People associated with the Gunpowder Plot English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611