Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond
PC (1426 – 3 August 1515) was the youngest son of
James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince Ja ...
. He was
attainted
In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...
, but restored by
Henry VII's first Parliament in November 1485, and the statutes made at Westminster, 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 ...
, which declared him and his brothers traitors, were abrogated.
Family

Thomas Butler was the third son of
James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince Ja ...
, by his first wife,
Joan de Beauchamp (d. 3 or 5 August 1430). He had two elder brothers,
James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, and
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond (died 14 December 1476) was considered one of the first gentlemen of the age in which he lived. He was an ambassador to the most important courts of Europe.
Family
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond was the second ...
, as well as two sisters, Elizabeth Butler, who married
John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, and Anne Butler (d. 4 January 1435), who was contracted to marry
Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, although the marriage appears not to have taken place.
Career
Thomas Butler, as an
Irish peer
The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
, should only have sat in the
Irish Parliament. However, as a personal friend of
Henry VII, he was summoned to the
English Parliament
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised th ...
in November 1488 as "Thomas Ormond de Rochford ''chevaler''". At this time he was already 8th Earl of Carrick and 7th Earl of Ormond, having succeeded his elder brothers
James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond and
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond (died 14 December 1476) was considered one of the first gentlemen of the age in which he lived. He was an ambassador to the most important courts of Europe.
Family
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond was the second ...
, neither of whom left legitimate issue.
He was afterwards sworn of the
Privy Council of England
The Privy Council of England, also known as His (or Her) Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (), was a body of advisers to the List of English monarchs, sovereign of the Kingdom of England. Its members were often senior members of the House ...
.
He was known as ''The Wool Earl'', due to his enormous wealth. Besides being in the possession of major lands in the Irish counties of
Kilkenny
Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
and
Tipperary, and other lands in north
County Dublin
County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...
, he owned 72 manors in England, making him one of the richest subjects in the realm. He relied heavily on the advice and political skills of
Walter Champfleur,
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of
St Mary's Abbey, Dublin, until the abbot's death in 1498 or 1499. Champfleur collected his
rents, stored money for him, and kept him informed of important political developments, especially in Parliament. Champfleur in return solicited favours for his relations, but on a more personal note wrote inquiring about the health of the Countess (Ormond's second wife Lora), who was pregnant with their only daughter Elizabeth. After Champfleur's death the Earl's relations with the Abbey, and particularly the new Abbot, John Orum, deteriorated markedly: Orum even refused to hand over money which he admitted was Ormond's property and was held in the Abbey only for safekeeping.
In 1509, he was appointed
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...
to
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine,
historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...
. He held this post until 1512.
Marriage and children
He married twice:
*Firstly in 1445 to
Anne Hankford (1431–1485), daughter and co-heiress of Sir
Richard Hankford (c. 1397 – 1431) of
Annery, Monkleigh
Annery was an historic estate in the parish of Monkleigh, North Devon.
It was one of the original endowments of Tavistock Abbey, founded in 961.Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, ...
, Devon, ''
jure uxoris
''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...
''
feudal baron of Bampton (grandson of Sir
William Hankford
Sir William Hankford ( 1350 – 1423), also written Hankeford, of Annery in Devon, was an English lawyer who acted as Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1413 until 1423.
Origins
Born about 1350, he came from a minor gentry family who took ...
(c. 1350 – 1423),
Chief Justice of the King's Bench
The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales.
Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...
) by his 2nd wife Anne Montagu (d. 1457), a daughter of
John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (c. 1350 – 1400). By Anne Hankford he had two daughters and co-heiresses who inherited the Butler estates in England:
**Lady Anne Butler (1455 - 5 June 1533), heiress through her mother of Annery,
[Prince, p. 462] who married firstly Ambrose Cressacre, esquire, by whom she had no issue, and secondly Sir James St Leger (d. 1509), by whom she had two sons, Sir George St Leger, and James St Leger.
**Lady
Margaret Butler (c.1454–1539), who married Sir
William Boleyn, by whom she had six sons and five daughters, including
Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire
Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltshire, 1st Earl of Ormond, 1st Viscount Rochford KG KB ( – 12 March 1539), of Hever Castle in Kent, was an English diplomat and politician who was the father of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, ...
, father of Queen
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
, second wife of
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 known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...
.
*Secondly before November 1496, he married Lora Berkeley (1454–1501), widow successively of
John Blount, 3rd Baron Mountjoy (by whom she had two sons and two daughters), and Sir Thomas Montgomery (d. 2 January 1495) of
Faulkbourne,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, and daughter of Edward Berkeley (d. March 1506) of
Beverston Castle
Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle or Tetbury Castle, was constructed as a medieval stone fortress in the village of Beverston, Gloucestershire, England. The property is a mix of manor house, various small buildings, extensive gar ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, by his wife Christian Holt (d.1468), second daughter and coheir of Richard Holt. By his second wife Lora Berkeley, Ormond had one daughter:
**Elizabeth Butler (d. 1510).
Death and succession
Ormond died on 3 August 1515 and was buried in the Mercers' Chapel of the
Hospital of St Thomas of Acre
The Hospital of St Thomas of Acre was the medieval London headquarters of the Knights of Saint Thomas, founded as a church (building), church in 1227 in the parish of St Mary Colechurch, birthplace of the order's patron saint, Thomas Becket, Saint ...
in the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
. As he died without male progeny the barony supposedly created in 1488 fell into abeyance. The Earldom devolved to his
heir male
In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral ...
and distant cousin
Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, 1st Earl of Ossory (1467–1539), the grandson of his first cousin Sir
Edmund MacRichard Butler (1420–1464) of Polestown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, a grandson of
James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond
James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond (c. 1359 – 7 September 1405), was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland. He acceded to the title in 1382, and built Gowran Castle three years later in 1385 close to the centre of Gowran, making it his usual reside ...
(c. 1359 – 1405) of
Gowran Castle in Ireland.
See also
Butler dynasty
Butler () is the name of a noble family whose members were, for several centuries, prominent in the administration of the Lordship of Ireland and the Kingdom of Ireland. They rose to their highest prominence as Dukes of Ormonde. The family ha ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
# Marie Louise Bruce, ''Anne Boleyn'', p. 11
# Antonia Fraser, ''The Wives of Henry VIII'', pp. 59, 117
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ormond, Thomas Butler, 7th Earl Of
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 A ...
1515 deaths
1420s births
15th-century Irish nobility
16th-century Irish nobility
Earls of Ormond (Ireland)