Jacques Wingfield (1519–1587) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and public official of the

Tudor era In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

. He is also sometimes known as John Wingfield or Jack Wingfield.

Life

He was the son of

Richard Wingfield Sir Richard Wingfield KG of Kimbolton Castle (c. 1469 – 22 July 1525) was an influential courtier and diplomat in the early years of the Tudor dynasty of England which included being English Ambassador to France. Life The Wingfield family o ...

and Bridget Wingfield, who was the heiress of Stone Castle. He spent much of his youth in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, which was then an English possession. Fluent in French he spent time in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the French court. In 1553 he briefly sat as a Member of Parliament for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

. Following the death of his patron

Stephen Gardiner Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I. Early life Gardiner was born in Bury St Ed ...

, whom he had accompanied on several diplomatic missions, he went to Ireland where he was made the

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

and Master of Ordnance. He was appointed to the Irish Council by the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex Thomas Radclyffe (or Ratclyffe), 3rd Earl of Sussex KG (c. 15259 June 1583), was Lord Deputy of Ireland during the Tudor period of English history, and a leading courtier during the reign of Elizabeth I. Family He was the eldest son of ...

, of whom he was a noted supporter. Along with Sir Nicholas Heron, Wingfield had special responsibilities concerning

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

inhabitants. In 1561 he suffered a military defeat during a skirmish with Shane O'Neill, the leading Gaelic lord in Ulster, who enjoyed strained relations with the Crown. Although

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

wanted him to be dismissed from his post for this reverse, Sussex and William Cecil lobbied on his behalf and he remained in office until his death. Later in his career in Ireland, Wingfield secured land in the

Munster Plantation Plantation (settlement or colony), Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland () involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the Kingdom of England, English The Crown, Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Br ...

. The Wingfields became a powerful New English family in Ireland. Among his relatives was

, a soldier who was instrumental in the defeat of O'Doherty's Rebellion in 1608. Jacques' nephew

Edward Maria Wingfield Edward Maria Wingfield (1550–1631) was a soldier, Member of Parliament (1593), and English colonist in America. He was the son of Thomas Maria Wingfield, and the grandson of Richard Wingfield. Captain John Smith wrote that from 1602 to 1603 ...

was largely raised by him, after his father's early death, and went on to be a notable settler in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

.Foster p.12

References

Bibliography

* Ellis, Steven G. ''Ireland in the Age of the Tudors, 1447-1603''. Longman, 1998. * Foster, Thomas A. ''New Men: Manliness in Early America''. NYU Press, 2011. People of Elizabethan Ireland 16th-century Irish people English soldiers Irish soldiers English emigrants to Ireland 1587 deaths People from Calais 1519 births {{Ireland-mil-bio-stub