Vice-Admiral Sir William Gonson (1482–1544), was a Naval Judge and Naval Administrator of the English

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

who served under

King 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 ...

Biography

Career

During the

Tudor Period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England that began wit ...

William Gonson's early career was as a private

Merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and

Shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

in the Royal Dockyards before he began his naval career. He was given command of ''Mary Grace'' in April 1513 as captain. In 1523 he was appointed Clerk of Marine Causes until 1533. In 1524 he was also appointed Paymaster or Treasurer of the Navy until 1544 William was a naval administrator of the English navy for over twenty years, he also held the title of Keeper of the Storehouses at

Erith Dockyard Erith Dockyard located at Erith, Kent, England was an early Tudor naval dockyard operated by the English Navy that opened in 1512 due to persistent flooding the dockyard closed in 1521. History The name Erith comes from the Saxon ‘Earhyth’ ...

and

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events ...

from 1524 to 1537 in effect he held the posts of three of the later principal officers of the

Council of the Marine The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

. He was appointed by Henry VIII as Vice-Admiral of Norfolk and

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 ...

in 1536. William eventually fell from grace and committed suicide in 1544 leaving the navy disorganized. It took two years for Henry to reorganize control and develop what became later known as 'The

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

'. He was probably along with

William of Wrotham William of Wrotham or William de Wrotham (died ) was a medieval English royal administrator and clergyman. Although a late 13th-century source says that William held a royal office under King Henry II of England (reigned 1154–1189), the first ...

, and Sir

Robert de Crull Sir Robert de Crull (or Sir Robert Crull) (1329–1378) was Clerk of the King's Ships (former title 'Keeper and Governor of the King's Ships and Warden of the Sea and Maritime Parts') under Edward III of England, the first English monarch to d ...

one of the three most important administrators of naval affairs of the English Navy prior to 1546.

Personal

William Gonson was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire in England he was the son of Christopher Gonson and Elizabeth Gonson (née: Trussell), and brother of Bartholomew Gonson. He married Bennett Walters and together they had six sons Anthony, Arthur,

Benjamin Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thi ...

, Christopher,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and Richard. They also had four daughters Avis, Elizabeth, Margaret and Thomasine. His son

Benjamin Gonson Benjamin Gonson (c. 1525–1577) was an English Naval Administrator, and the first Surveyor of the Royal Navy. He was a founding member of England's Navy Board during the Tudor period. Career Benjamin Gonson began his career as a private shipw ...

, who would go on to hold a career in the

English navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fra ...

and also became

Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. ...

His son Sir David Gonson was a Knight of Malta. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1540 and was condemned to death by an Act of Parliament in 1541 for denying the authority of the King in spiritual matters and refusing to recant his Catholic faith. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at St. Thomas' Waterings, Southwark on 12 July 1541. Pope Pius XI declared him Blessed on 15 December 1929.

References

Citations Sources * *Brewer, J. S. (2015). ''Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII''. Cambridge University Press. . *Childs, David (2009). ''Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness''. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. . *Loades, David (2011). ''Henry VIII''. Amberley Publishing Limited. . *Williamson, James A. (1965). ''The Age of Drake''. London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonson, William 1482 births 1544 deaths English admirals 16th-century Royal Navy personnel English civil servants Burials at St Dunstan-in-the-East People of the Tudor period People from Melton Mowbray Suicides in England