MerchantMarks ThomasSpring LavenhamChurch Suffolk

Thomas Spring (c. 1474 – 1523), (''alias'' Thomas Spring III or The Rich Clothier), of

Lavenham Lavenham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is noted for its Guildhall, Little Hall, 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walks. In the medie ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

cloth merchant In the Middle Ages or 16th and 17th centuries, a cloth merchant was one who owned or ran a cloth (often wool) manufacturing or wholesale import or export business. A cloth merchant might additionally own a number of draper's shops. Cloth was ext ...

.Phil W Kaufman, ''American Traces in Anglian Places'' (Lulu.com), 19. He consolidated his father's business to become one of the most successful in the booming wool trade of the period and was one of the richest men in England.The Cloth Industry of Lavenham
Retrieved 25 April 2013.

Origins

Thomas III Spring was the eldest son and heir of Thomas II Spring (died 7 September 1486). of Lavenham (whose

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 ...

survives in Lavenham Church), by his wife Margaret Appleton. His father's will mentions Thomas and two other sons, William and James (slain 1493), as well as a daughter, Marian. He had another brother, John Spring, whose daughter, Margaret Spring, married Aubrey de Vere, second son of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford and was the grandmother of

Robert de Vere, 19th Earl of Oxford Robert de Vere, 19th Earl of Oxford (b. after 23 August 1575 – 7 August 1632) was a British soldier, and the penultimate Earl of Oxford. Life Robert was the son of Hugh de Vere (a great-grandson of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford) and Ele ...

. The will of Thomas Spring's grandfather, Thomas I Spring (died 1440), mentions his wife, Agnes, his eldest son and heir, Thomas (d. 7 September 1486), another son William, and two daughters, Katherine and Dionyse.

Career

Thomas inherited the family wool and cloth business from his father, and during his lifetime the cloth trade was at its most profitable. By the time of his death, Spring was believed to be the richest man in England outside the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

, having invested much of his money in land.. In 1512, 1513 and 1517 his name appears as one of the commissioners for collecting taxation in Suffolk. He played a large part in defeating supporters of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, who claimed the throne from King Henry VII. However, in 1517 during the reign of

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 ...

, Spring was given exemption from public duties, At which point he was probably at the height of his wealth. Spring is mentioned in

John Skelton John Skelton may refer to: *John Skelton (poet) (c.1460–1529), English poet. * John de Skelton, MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency) *John Skelton (died 1439), MP for Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency) *John Skelton (American footb ...

's satirical poem ''Why come ye not to Court'', which makes reference to a rich clothier with whom Skelton is said to have been friends: :''"Now nothing, but pay pay with laughe and lay downe Borough, Citie and towne good Springe of Lanam must count what became of his clothe makyng. My Lordes grace will bryng down thys hye Springe and brynge it so lowe it shal not ever flow."'' Like his father, Thomas Spring was closely involved in the rebuilding of St Peter and St Paul's Church in Lavenham. This was partly done in order to propitiate the 13th Earl of Oxford, who had ordered the reconstruction work and was the other principal donor. The rebuilding also gave Spring an opportunity to display his wealth and generosity, thus solidifying his position in Suffolk; a common motivation behind the construction of many similar so-called "

wool church A wool church is an English church financed primarily by donations from rich merchants and farmers who had benefitted from the medieval wool trade, hoping to ensure a place in heaven due to their largesse. Wool churches are common in the Cotswold ...

es".

Marriage and issue

Thomas Spring married twice: *Firstly, in 1493, to Anne King, of Boxford, Suffolk, by whom he had two sons and two daughters: **Sir John Spring (d. 12 August 1547), of Lavenham, eldest son and heir, who married Dorothy Waldegrave, a daughter of Sir William Waldegrave **Robert Spring (1502–1550), who left a will dated 10 October 1547 in which he mentions his wife Agnes, his eldest son and heir

Thomas Spring of Castlemaine Thomas Spring of Castlemaine (died 1597) was an English people, English Protestant soldier, politician and Constable of Castle Maine in County Kerry, Ireland. Biography Thomas Spring was born in Lavenham, Suffolk, the son of Robert Spring. He wa ...

, six other sons (Jerome, Robert, John, Nicholas, Stephen and Henry, Parson of

Icklingham Icklingham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It is located about north-west of Bury St Edmunds, south-east of Mildenhall and south-west of Thetford in Norfolk. The village is on the A110 ...

), and two daughters Dorothy and Frances. As overseer, he appointed Sir

William Cordell Sir William Cordell (about 1522 – 17 May 1581) of Melford Hall in the parish of Long Melford, Suffolk, was an English lawyer, landowner, administrator and politician who held high offices under both the Catholic Queen Mary I and the Pro ...

. **Anne Spring (1494–1528), who married Sir Thomas Jermyn (d.1552) of

Rushbrooke Rushbrook is a surname. The surname derives from Rushbrooke in Suffolk, England. Notable people with the surname include: * Claire Rushbrook (born 1971), English actress * Philip Rushbrook, governor of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ...

. After her death, Jermyn married secondly to Anne Drury. **Rose Spring (b.1496), who married Thomas Guybon. *Secondly he married a lady named Alice Appleton (died 1538), the widow of a man surnamed May, by whom he had a further daughter: **Bridget Spring (1498–c.1557), who married firstly

William Erneley William Erneley otherwise Ernley or Ernle (1501–1546), of Cakeham, near West Wittering, Sussex, was an English politician. He was the son and heir of Sir John Ernley, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas (d. 1520), and belonged to t ...

(21 December 1501 – 20 January 1546), son of Sir

John Erneley John Erneley (before 1522 – 1572), of Bishops Cannings, Wiltshire, was an English politician. He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South We ...

(c.1464–1520), Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, by whom she had two sons and two daughters, and secondly to Sir Henry Hussey (d. 28 August 1557) of

Slinfold Slinfold is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. Geography The village is almost west of Horsham, just off the A29 road. The parish covers . The 2001 Census recorded a population of 1,647 people living ...

in Sussex. Alice survived him by fifteen years. In her will, dated 13 April 1538, she mentions her daughter by Thomas Spring, Bridget, now the wife of

; her daughter Alice, now the wife of Richard Fulmerston, gentleman; and her daughter Margaret (died c. 1552), the wife of William Risby (died c. 1551). She appoints as executors her daughter Margaret and sons-in-law, William Risby and Richard Fulmerston, and requests "my Lord of Oxenford" ( John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford) to aid and defend my said executors.". In a codicil added 31 August 1538, she discharges Richard Fulmerston as executor, and appoints him supervisor. Both will and codicil were proved 5 September 1538.

Death and burial

Spring made his last will on 13 June 1523 as 'Thomas Spring of Lavenham, clothmaker', leaving to his wife Alice all her apparel and jewels, 1,000 marks in money and half his plate and implements of household, with the other half to go to John his eldest son and heir. Spring also left bequests to his son Robert, to his unmarried daughter Bridget, to the children of his married daughter Rose Guybon and to the children of his son-in-law Thomas Jermyn. To 'my wife's daughter, Alice May', he bequeathed £26 13s 4d, 'which I recovered for her of May's executors', to be paid to her at the age of sixteen. A further sum of 5,000 marks was left in trust for future generations of Spring family members. Thomas Spring was buried in the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Lavenham, before the altar of St Katherine, and his tomb was fenced in by the surviving elaborate wooden

parclose screen A parclose screen is a screen or railing used to enclose or separate-off a chantry chapel, tomb or manorial chapel, from public areas of a church, for example from the nave or chancel. It should be distinguished from the chancel screen which sepa ...

. which in his will he ordered his executors to erect. His widow commissioned Flemish wood carvers to create a ten-foot high parclose screen around his tomb, which is one of the most intricate of its type still in existence.

Notes

References

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External links

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 ...

1523 deaths 15th-century English businesspeople People from Lavenham 16th-century English businesspeople Year of birth uncertain Cloth merchants