Thomas Chaucer (abt. 1367 - 1434)

Born about 1367 in London, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 18 Nov 1434 at about age 67 in Ewelme, Oxfordshire, England

Biography

Thomas was the son of Geoffrey Chaucer^[1] and Philippa Roet.^[2] He was his father's heir. He was born in about 1367.^[1]

Wife and Daughter

In about 1395 Thomas Chaucer married Maud Burghersh, daughter and coheir of Sir John Burghersh of Ewelme, Oxfordshire^[2] and Ismania Hanham, daughter and coheir of Sir Simon Hanham of Gloucestershire.^[1] They had one child:

• Alice, born in about 1404, whose third husband was William de la Pole and who as a result became Duchess of Suffolk^[3]

Life

Thomas's mother was lady-in-waiting to the second Duchess of John of Gaunt^[1] and his mother's sister Katherine Swynford was first mistress, and then wife, of Gaunt.^[2] From fairly early in his life Thomas continued the association with Gaunt. He accompanied him to Spain in 1386. He entered into Gaunt's service, and was rewarded with an annuity and with the posts of Master Forester and Constable of Knaresborough, Yorkshire.^[1][2] Following Gaunt's death in 1399, Richard II deprived him of these positions, but compensated him with another annuity.^[1]

In 1396 Thomas and others were sued for debt by Ralph Barton, a London skinner. Thomas appears to have settled out of court.^[4]

Thomas supported Henry IV's coup in 1399 and that year Henry appointed him Constable of Wallingford, Oxfordshire and steward of extensive lands in that county. (Henry IV's half-brother Thomas was a son of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt.) From 1402 to his death, Thomas was Chief Butler of England, a position which he held until his death, with two short breaks.^[1] He held many other positions of responsibility, including:

• Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire in 1400-1 and 1403-4^[1][5]
• Sheriff of Hampshire in 1413-4^[1][6]
• Constable of Taunton Castle, Somerset from 1406^[1]
• Constable of Banbury Castle, Oxfordshire from 1412 to 1419^[1]

His positions gave him opportunities to enrich himself through lands and wardships.^[1]

In 1403 Thomas helped Henry IV counter rebellion in Wales.^[1]

Thomas represented Oxfordshire in a number of Parliaments from 1401 onwards. He was Speaker of the House of Commons in 1407, 1410, 1411, November 1414 and May 1421.^[1] His role as Speaker brought him into some difficulties with Henry IV, who, in 1411, warned Thomas that he would not countenance any diminution of his royal rights. This did not however have any seriously adverse effect on Thomas.^[2]

After Henry V came to the throne in 1413, Thomas was entrusted with senior diplomatic missions to the Low Countries and France. In 1415 he was about to join in Henry V's invasion of France when he was taken ill, so he remained in England. There, as Chief Butler, one of his responsibilities was provisioning of the army.^[1][2] This led to sizeable debts, as costs he incurred were not quickly reimbursed.^[1] One of the breaks from being Chief Butler was from 1418 to 1421: during much of this period Thomas was in France.^[1]

Henry V was uneasy about the ecclesiastical ambitions of his cousin Henry Beaufort, and Thomas maintained a watching brief on the king's behalf. Thomas succeeded in doing this without disturbing his close relations with Henry Beaufort, who was Thomas's own first cousin.^[1][2]

After Henry V's death in 1422, with his son Henry VI a minor, Thomas became a member of the Royal Council. He and Henry Beaufort resisted attempts by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, an uncle of Henry VI, to take control of royal government as regent.^[1][2]

Thomas declined the knighthood that one might have expected for someone of his status and influence, paying the standard £5 to be exempted.^[1]

Property

Thomas was not by origin a wealthy man. In 1389 John of Gaunt awarded him a fee worth £10 annually. In 1400 Thomas inherited only a London property and a lease on another London building on his father's death.^[1]

Thomas's marriage brought him substantial estates in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hampshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire and Suffolk. He made his base at Ewelme, Oxfordshire, where his wife inherited two manors. Profits from positions he held enabled him to acquire further property, including, in 1415, the castle and manor of Donnington, Berkshire.^[1][7] In 1409 Thomas used his father's seal on a deed designed to secure property at Ewelme and elsewhere in Oxfordshire, consolidating and extending lands brought to him by his wife.^[4]

Thomas's IPMs show him having interests in land in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hampshire, Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire and Suffolk, with the bulk of his property in Oxfordshire.^[8]

Death and Burial

Thomas Chaucer died at Ewelme, Oxfordshire 18 November 1434.^[1][2] He was buried at St Mary the Virgin, Ewelme.^[4][1] He and his wife Maud have an altar tomb with brasses inside the church.^[9][10] There are images of the tomb on the British Listed Buildings website here and here (accessed 20 June 2023).

Inquisitions Post Mortem were held in 1435. They give his death date as 18 November 1434 and his heir as his daughter Alice.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23} The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386-1421, 1993, biography by C Rawcliffe of Thomas Chaucer 1367 - 1434, History of Parliament Online
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry by Carole Rawcliffe for 'Chaucer, Thomas', print and online 2004, revised online 2008
3. ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Rowena E Archer for 'Chaucer [married names Phelip, Montagu, de la Pole], Alice, duchess of Suffolk', print and online 2004, revised online 2011
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Martin Michael Crow and Clair C Olson (eds.). Chaucer Life-Records, Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press), 1966, pp. 541-544, Internet Archive (free account required, book available for 1-hour loan)
5. ↑ List of Sheriffs for England and Wales, Public Record Office Lists and Indexes IX, HMSO (Kraus Reprint Corporation 1963), p. 108, Internet Archive
6. ↑ List of Sheriffs for England and Wales, p. 55, Internet Archive
7. ↑ 'Parishes: Shaw-cum-Donnington', in A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 4, ed. William Page and P H Ditchfield (London, 1924), pp. 87-97, British History Online, accessed 19 June 2023
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} University of Winchester/King's College, London. Mapping the Medieval Countryside website, IPMs for Thomas Chaucer, web, accessed 19 June 2023
9. ↑ John Marius Wilson. Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, Vol. 2, A Fullarton & Co, 1870, p. 675, Internet Archive
10. ↑ Historic England, entry for St Mary's, Ewelme, web, accessed 20 June 2023

See also:

• The Constituency of Oxfordshire in the Reign of Henry VI, 1422-61, History of Parliament Online blog - post by C.M. of 1 October 2020, web, accessed 19 June 2023
• Dasent, Arthur Irwin. The speakers of the House of Commons from the earliest times to the present day, J Lane (London), 1911, pp. 71-76, Internet Archive
• Dictionary of National Biography 1885-1900, Vol. 10, pp. 167-168, entry for 'Chaucer, Thomas', Wikisource
• Lamborn, E A Greening. "The Arms on the Chaucer Tomb at Ewelme", in 'Oxoniensia', Vol. 78, 1940, pp. 78-93, PDF
• Napier, Henry Alfred. Historical Notices of the Parishes of Swyncimbe and Ewelme in the County of Oxford, privately printed, 1858, pp. 44-45, Google Books
• Prister-Cutwell, M. Ewelme - a Romantic Village. It's past and present. Its people and its history, Chapter 2, Forss Farm website, accessed 19 June 2023
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. III, pp. 73-74, GANT 10.ii
• Wikipedia: Thomas Chaucer