William Thornhurst (1575-1606) was an English landowner. He was the son of Stephen Thornhurst, keeper of

Ford Park Ford Park is a 221-acre multi-purpose entertainment complex consisting of an arena, exhibit hall, amphitheater, midway, and 12 youth baseball fields located on I-10 South in Beaumont, Texas. The complex opened in 2003. It is owned by Jefferso ...

(died 1616) and his first wife. His second wife, Dorothy (1565-1620), was a daughter of Roger Drew of

Denchworth Denchworth is a village and civil parish about north of Wantage. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 171. The parish ...

. Her first husband was Dr Hippocrates d'Otthen of Holstein (died 1611). Their lands were at Romney and Agney. Stephen Thornhurst sold

Bramshill House Bramshill House, in Bramshill, northeast Hampshire, England, is one of the largest and most important Jacobean prodigy house mansions in England. It was built in the early 17th century by the 11th Baron Zouche of Harringworth but was partly ...

Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche (6 June 1556 – 18 August 1625) was an English diplomat. He is remembered chiefly for his lone vote against the condemnation of Mary, Queen of Scots, and for organising the stag hunt where his guest, the Arc ...

. A brother, Thomas Thornhurst was killed at the

siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré The siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, or siege of St. Martin's (French: ''siège de Saint-Martin-de-Ré''), was an attempt by English forces under George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, to capture the French fortress-city of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, ...

in 1627. His monument is at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

. William Thornhurst married Anne Howard (died 1633), a daughter of

Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon (c. 1520 – 1582), was an English peer and politician. He was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Lady Elizabeth Stafford. He served as Custos Rotulorum of Dorset and Vice-Admir ...

. She was a half-sister of Frances Howard, who, as Lady Hertford, became a lady in waiting to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

. Their children included: * Gifford Thornhurst (died 1627), knighted in 1622, who married

Susanna Temple Susanna Temple, Lady Lister (formerly Thornhurst; 1600-1669) was an English courtier. A daughter of Alexander Temple of Etchingham and Mary Penistone, or Mary Sommer, she is said to have been a maid of honour to Anne of Denmark. However, she i ...

. He was buried at Allington. * Grace Thornhurst, who married the poet

Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland (24 January 1602 – 12 February 1666), styled Lord le Despenser between 1624 and 1628, was an English nobleman, politician and writer. Life One of seven sons of Francis Fane by his wife Mary Mildmay, g ...

in 1620 * Frances Thornhurst, who married Robert Napier of

Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and Estate (land), estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Old English language, Saxon word wikt:hoo#Etym ...

He died on 24 July 1606 and was buried at Herne. A wall monument shows him kneeling at a desk. Above is a helmet and a heraldic carving of a stag hound. A local legend says the tomb was that of a hunter killed by his own dogs for Sabbath breaking.

Anne Turberville

After William Thornhurst's death, his widow Anne married John Turberville of Woolbridge and

Bere Regis Bere Regis () is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated north-west of Wareham. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 1,745. The village has one shop, a family-owned cheese barn, a post office, and two pubs ...

. Woolbridge is near to

Bindon Abbey Bindon Abbey (''Bindonium'') was a Cistercian monastery, of which only ruins remain, on the River Frome about half a mile east of Wool in the Purbeck District, Dorset, England. History The monastery was founded in 1149 by William de Glastoni ...

and

Lulworth Castle Lulworth Castle, in East Lulworth, Dorset, England, situated south of the village of Wool, is an early 17th-century hunting lodge erected in the style of a revival fortified castle, one of only five extant Elizabethan or Jacobean buildings of t ...

, a house built by her elder brother,

Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon Thomas Howard, 3rd Viscount Howard of Bindon (died 1611) was an English peer and politician. He was a Knight of the Garter, Lord Lieutenant of Dorset 25 April 1601 – 1 March 1611, Custos Rotulorum of Dorset before 1605–1611, and Vice-Admira ...

. Robert Napier's son, also called Robert, was born at Woolbridge in 1625, and John Turberville and Alice Fanshawe, Lady Hatton, were godparents. A legend of a phantom coach is attached to Woolbridge Manor, along with a story of Anne Howard and John Turberville's elopement. A "legend of the d'Urberville Coach" is mentioned by the character Angel Clare in

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

's, '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles''.Repairs begin on 'Thomas Hardy novel' bridge in Dorset, BBC 2018
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornhurst, William 1575 births 1606 deaths