Sir William St Loe (1518–1565) was a 16th-century English soldier, politician and courtier. He was the third husband of

Bess of Hardwick Elizabeth Cavendish, later Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury ( Hardwick; c. 1527 13 February 1608), known as Bess of Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, was a notable figure of Elizabethan English society. By a series of well-made ...

, his second wife. His official positions included

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a UK Government post usually held by the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is The 9th Earl of Courtown, who was appointed to the position ...

Chief Butler of England The Chief Butler of England is an office of Grand Sergeanty associated with the feudal Manor of Kenninghall in Norfolk. The office requires service to be provided to the Monarch at the Coronation, in this case the service of ''Pincera Regis'', or C ...

and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Lineage

He was the eldest son of Sir John St Loe,

Sheriff of Gloucestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kn ...

, MP for Somerset and Gloucestershire, of an

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

warrior family first mentioned at the court of

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

in 1100, and his wife, Dame Margaret. Their seat was a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, Sutton Court,

Chew Magna Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,149. To the south of the village is Che ...

, Somerset, built upon the foundations of a 13th-century castle. Several generations of St Loes kept at the ready a force of a hundred mounted soldiers for the king's service and were repeatedly chosen as "Attendant Knights" at royal funerals.

Biography

Sir William's tutor was the distinguished scholar and grammarian

John Palsgrave John Palsgrave (c. 1485 – 1554) was a priest of Henry VIII of England's court. He is known as a tutor in the royal household, and as a textbook author. Life It is believed that John Palsgrave, who spelled his name in a variety of ways inclu ...

, who had a high opinion of him. Hardened by service with his father in Ireland, he received a courtly polish as a gentleman usher in the grand household of Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exeter. His first wife was Jane, daughter of Sir

Edward Bayntun Sir Edward Bayntun (c.148027 November? 1544), of Bromham, Wiltshire, was a gentleman at the court of Henry VIII of England. He was vice-chamberlain to Anne Boleyn, the King's second wife, and was the brother-in-law of Queen Catherine Howard, ...

of Bromham, Wiltshire, with whom according to the Baynton entry in the 1565 Visitation records for Wiltshire, he had two daughters. Jane died in 1548. There is no entry for the St Lowe's in the 1565 visitation record. No daughters are mentioned in his will and the 1623 entry for the St Lowe family states that William died without issue. He was knighted for his services in Ireland, in Dublin, January 1549. On his final return from Ireland he was appointed to head the security detail for the princess Elizabeth. The St Loe family, staunch Protestants, had been implicated in the movement to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne and in Wyatt's rebellion, for which he was held and examined in the Tower of London. Unlike others, he did not give anything away that might implicate Elizabeth. Immediately after her succession, she made him Captain of her Personal Guard.

Second Marriage

In January 1559, he married

. Their marriage was happy, but William's younger brother Edward, fearing that a son of their marriage would rob him of his inheritance, became their enemy. in 1560, Bess was poisoned, but recovered. Both William and his mother suspected Edward. In 1564, he was made Commissioner for the Peace in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and

. William died suddenly in the winter of 1565, in the company of his brother Edward, who had been visiting him. He was buried at the Church of Great St Helen's at Bishopsgate

References

The Peerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Loe, William 1518 births 1565 deaths English knights English MPs 1559 English MPs 1563–1567 Members of the Parliament of England for Derbyshire People from Bath and North East Somerset