Farleigh Hungerford Castle wall painting

Sir Thomas Hungerford of Rowden (died 17 January 1469) was an English nobleman. He supported the Lancastrian cause in the

War of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

and was executed for supporting a conspiracy to restore Henry VI.Lee, Volume 28, p. 257

Origins and early life

He was the eldest son of Robert Hungerford, 3rd Baron Hungerford and Eleanor de Moleyns. He lived chiefly at Rowden, near

Chippenham, Wiltshire Chippenham is a market town in northwest Wiltshire, England. It lies northeast of Bath, west of London, and is near the Cotswolds Area of Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon and some form of settlement i ...

. Thomas was pardoned by

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

for participating in the rebellion of his father in November 1462 and was knighted not long afterward. He was allowed to inherit some of his attained father's lands after his execution following the

Battle of Hexham The Battle of Hexham, 15 May 1464, marked the end of significant Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV. The battle was fought near the town of Hexham in Northumberland. John Neville, ...

on 17 May 1464.

Execution

After giving some support to Edward IV and the

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

s, Thomas Hungerford was arrested with Henry Courtenay (brother of

Thomas Courtenay, 6th/14th Earl of Devon Thomas Courtenay, 6th/14th Earl of Devon (1432 – 3 April 1461), was the eldest son of Thomas de Courtenay, 5th/13th Earl of Devon, by his wife Margaret Beaufort, the daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and Margaret Holland, daughter ...

) in Wiltshire before 11 November 1468. They were tried on 12 January 1469 in Salisbury before a court headed by six peers including Richard, Duke of Gloucester and found guilty by a jury of 16. They were charged with having joined in a Lancastrian conspiracy to restore Henry VI and plotted with his wife

Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou (french: link=no, Marguerite; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England and nominally Queen of France by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Born in the Duchy of Lorrain ...

on 21 May 1468 and other occasions the "final death and final destruction...of the Most Christian Prince, Edward IV."Ross, pgs. 122-123 Both men were executed on 17 January 1469 in the presence of Edward IV and received the "fullest and protracted horrors" of a fifteenth century execution.Ross, pgs. 66, 123 Thomas Hungerford was buried in the chapel of

Farleigh Castle Farleigh Hungerford Castle, sometimes called Farleigh Castle or Farley Castle, is a medieval castle in Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset, England. The castle was built in two phases: the inner court was constructed between 1377 and 1383 by Sir T ...

Marriage and issue

Before 16 October 1460, still at a very early age, he married Anne Percy, daughter of

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, (25 July 1421 – 29 March 1461) was an English magnate. The Earldom of Northumberland was then one of the greatest landholdings in northern England; Percy also became Lord Poynings on his marr ...

. His wife survived him until 5 July 1522 and was buried in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. They had only one child,

Mary Hungerford Mary Hungerford, Baroness Botreaux, Hungerford and Moleyns (c.1468 – before 10 July 1533) was the daughter of Sir Thomas Hungerford and Anne, daughter of Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland. Titles Mary became ''suo jure'' 5th Baroness Bo ...

, who became the ward of

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings KG (c. 1431 – June 1483) was an English nobleman. A loyal follower of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, he became a close friend and one of the most important courtiers of King Edward IV, w ...

, and in 1480 married Edward Hastings, her guardian's son. The attainders on her father and grandfather were reversed in her favour in 1485, and her husband was summoned to Parliament as

Lord Hungerford Baron Hungerford is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Garter ...

Notes

References

*Lee, Sidney

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

(1885–1900) Volume 28, p. 257 **Dugdale's Baronage; **Hoare's Hungerfordiana; **Letters, &c., of Henry VIII; **Materials for the Reign of Henry VII (Rolls Ser.); **Paston Letters, passim, ed. Gairdner **Hoare's Modern Wiltshire, Heytesbury Hundred **Collinson's Somerset, iii. 355 ;Attribibution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hungerford, Thomas 1469 deaths

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 ...

15th-century English people People executed under the Yorkists Executed English people Year of birth unknown