Sir Humphrey Wingfield (died 1545) was an English lawyer and Speaker of the House of Commons of England between 1533 and 1536.

Early life

He was the twelfth son of Sir John Wingfield of

Letheringham Letheringham is a sparsely populated civil parish in the East Suffolk district (formerly Deben Rural District and then Suffolk Coastal) in Suffolk, England, on the Deben River. St Mary is a tiny church, the remains of the tower and nave of a ...

, Suffolk, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John FitzLewis of

West Horndon West Horndon is a village and civil parish in the south of the Borough of Brentwood, Essex on the boundary with Thurrock. It is located 20 miles (32 km) east north-east of Charing Cross in London. The civil parish also includes East Horndon ...

, Essex; Sir Richard Wingfield (1469–1525) and Sir Robert Wingfield were his brothers. Humphrey was educated at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

, where he was elected

Lent Reader A reader in one of the Inns of Court in London was originally a senior barrister of the Inn who was elected to deliver a lecture or series of lectures on a particular legal topic. Two readers (known as Lent and Autumn Readers) would be elected annu ...

in 1517. He had been on the commission of the peace both for Essex and Suffolk since 1509 at least.

Career

Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, (22 August 1545) was an English military leader and courtier. Through his third wife, Mary Tudor, he was brother-in-law to King Henry VIII. Biography Charles Brandon was the second ...

was a cousin of the Wingfields, Humphrey being one of his trustees. and probably through his influence Wingfield was introduced at court. In 1515 he was appointed chamberlain to Suffolk's wife

Mary Tudor, Queen of France Mary Tudor (; 18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533) was an English princess who was briefly Queen of France as the third wife of King Louis XII. Louis was more than 30 years her senior. Mary was the fifth child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth ...

, and was apparently resident in her house. On 28 May 1517 he was nominated upon the royal commission for inquiring into illegal inclosures in Suffolk. He appears to have acted in 1518, together with his eldest brother, Sir John Wingfield, as a financial agent between the government and the Duke of Suffolk. On 6 November 1520 Wingfield was chosen High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, and on 14 November was appointed a commissioner of

gaol delivery The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

for Essex. In 1523 and 1524 he was a commissioner of subsidy for Suffolk and for the town of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

and also MP for

, his main seat being at

Brantham Brantham is a village and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. It is located close to the River Stour and the border with Essex, around north of Manningtree, and around southwest of Ipswich. History The name Brantham i ...

nearby. On 26 June 1525 he was appointed a commissioner of assize for Suffolk, On 5 February 1526 he was a legal member of the king's council. He was in favour with

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the ...

, and he took an active part in the establishment of the "Cardinal's College" at Ipswich in September 1528. On 11 June 1529 he was nominated by Wolsey one of a commission of twenty-one lawyers presided over by John Taylor to hear cases in chancery, and on the following 3 November he was returned to parliament for

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

. In 1530 the fall of Wolsey brought with it the forfeiture of his college at Ipswich, and Wingfield was consulted as counsel, with a view to securing the exemption of the college from the penalties of Wolsey's ''

praemunire In English history, ''praemunire'' or ''praemunire facias'' () refers to a 14th-century law that prohibited the assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction, or any other foreign jurisdiction or claim of supremacy in England, against the suprem ...

''. On the other hand, he was nominated by the crown on 14 July 1530 a commissioner to inquire into Wolsey's possessions in Suffolk. In this capacity he, sitting with three other commissioners at Woodbridge, Suffolk, returned a verdict on 19 September that the college and its lands were forfeited to the king. He was at the same time high steward of St. Mary Mettingham, another Suffolk college, and under-steward in Suffolk of the estates of St. Osyth, Essex. On 9 February 1533 the commons presented Wingfield to the king as their speaker. According to

Eustace Chapuys Eustace Chapuys (; c. 1490/92 – 21 January 1556), the son of Louis Chapuys and Guigonne Dupuys, was a Savoyard diplomat who served Charles V as Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 and is best known for his extensive and detaile ...

, the king knighted him on this occasion. He is styled 'Sir' in a petition of this year, and frequently afterwards; but according to the list in

Walter Metcalfe Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

's ''Book of Knights'' he was not dubbed before 1537. During his speakership were passed the acts severing the church of England from the Roman obedience and affirming the royal supremacy; Wingfield supported Henry's policy. Parliament was dissolved on 4 April 1536. On the outbreak of the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...

in 1536 Wingfield was one of the Suffolk gentry upon whom the government relied for aid. He justified

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

's opinion of him by opposing the incitements of the friars and other disaffected ecclesiastics. He was nominated in 1536 a commissioner for the valuation of the lands and goods of religious houses in Norfolk and Suffolk. For these services he was rewarded by a grant in tail male, dated 29 June 1537, of the manors of Netherhall and Overhall in

Dedham, Essex Dedham is a village within the borough of Colchester in northeast Essex, England, on the River Stour and the border of Essex and Suffolk. The nearest town to Dedham is the small market town of Manningtree. Governance Dedham is part of the elect ...

, and all the lands in Dedham belonging to the suppressed nunnery of Campsey, Suffolk, also of the manor of Crepinghall in Stutton, Suffolk, and all lands there belonging to the late priory of Colne Comitis (

Earls Colne Earls Colne is a village in Essex, England named after the River Colne, on which it stands, and the Earls of Oxford who held the manor of Earls Colne from before 1086 to 1703. History Manor of Earls Colne In the time of Edward the Confesso ...

) in Essex. According to a letter written by him to Cromwell soon after this grant he had then lost half his estate by his wife's death. On 4 July 1538 he was nominated upon a special commission of

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French ''oyer et terminer'', which literally means "to hear and to determine") was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the ...

for treasons in six of the eastern counties. He was also commissioned to survey the defensive points of the coast when in 1539 there were apprehensions of an invasion. He was among the knights appointed to receive

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...

in January 1540. After the conviction of

Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, 2nd Earl of Devon (c. 1498 – 9 December 1538), KG, PC, feudal baron of Okehampton, feudal baron of Plympton, of Tiverton Castle, Okehampton Castle and Colcombe Castle all in Devon, was a grand ...

he received a grant of a lease of his lands in Lalford Says, Ardelegh,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

, and

Mile-End Mile End is a neighbourhood and municipal electoral district in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough in terms of Montreal's municipal politics. Description Since the 1980s Mile End has been known for ...

, in Essex and Suffolk. He was again returned to Parliament as the Member for Great Yarmouth in 1542. Wingfield died on 23 October 1545.

Family

Wingfield married between 1502 and 1512 Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir John Wiseman of Essex, and widow of Gregory Adgore, Edgore, or Edgar, serjeant-at-law. His son and heir,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

, married Bridget, daughter of Sir Thomas Pargeter, knt., alderman and lord mayor of London in 1530. His daughter Anne married Sir Alexander Newton.

Notes

References

History of Parliament WINGFIELD, Humphrey (by 1481–1545) of Brantham and Ipswich, Suffolk
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wingfield, Humphrey Year of birth missing 1545 deaths People from Suffolk Coastal (district) Speakers of the House of Commons of England English lawyers Humphrey High Sheriffs of Norfolk High Sheriffs of Suffolk English MPs 1523 English MPs 1529–1536 English MPs 1542–1544 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Ipswich 16th-century English lawyers People from Brantham