Jacques Wingfield (1519–1587) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and public official of the Tudor era. He is also sometimes known as John Wingfield or Jack Wingfield.

Life

He was the son of Richard Wingfield and Bridget Wingfield, who was the heiress of

Stone Castle Stone Castle is a castle at Stone, near Bluewater in Kent, England. It was built between 1135 and 1140 on the site where William the Conqueror signed a treaty with the men of Kent in 1067. History It was owned by the Wiltshire family, which inc ...

. He spent much of his youth in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, which was then an English possession. Fluent in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

he spent time in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

at the French court. In 1553 he briefly sat as a

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 of ...

for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

. Following the death of his patron Stephen Gardiner, 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 criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

and Master of

Ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense *Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unite ...

. 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 Kingdo ...

Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, of whom he was a noted supporter. Along with Sir Nicholas Heron, Wingfield had special responsibilities concerning

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

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 Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

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 Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Britain. The Crown saw the plantations as a means of controlling, angl ...

. The Wingfields became a powerful New English family in Ireland. Among his relatives was Richard Wingfield, a soldier who was instrumental in the defeat of O'Doherty's Rebellion in 1608. Jacques' nephew Edward Maria Wingfield 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 state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

.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