James Marvyn (1529–1611), of

Fonthill Gifford Fonthill Gifford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, to the north of the Nadder valley, west of Salisbury. History The name of the village and parish derives from the Giffard family, landowners, beginning with Berenger Gif ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, was an English politician.

Family

He was the eldest son of Sir

John Marvyn Sir John Marvyn (by 1503 – 18 June 1566), of Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire, was an English politician. He was the son of John Marvyn, head of a family which had been settled at Fonthill Gifford for generations, and Elizabeth Green. By his first ...

(1503–1566) of

Compton Bassett Compton Bassett is a village and rural civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of approximately 250. The village lies about north of Cherhill and east of the town of Calne. Parish church The Church of England parish churc ...

and

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...

, Dorset and his first wife Jane, daughter of Phillip Baskerville, and widow of William Peverell of

Bradford Peverell Bradford Peverell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, north-west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited by the south bank of the River Frome, among low chalk hills on the dip slope of the Dorset Downs. The A37 ...

. He married firstly (by 1566) Amy Clarke, daughter of Valentine Clarke and Elizabeth Bridges, by whom he had one daughter, Lucy. He married secondly (by 1601) Deborah Pilkington, widow of Walter Dunch MP (died 1594) and daughter of

James Pilkington James Pilkington may refer to: *James Pilkington (bishop) James Pilkington (1520–1576), was the first Protestantism, Protestant Bishop of Durham from 1561 until his death in 1576. He founded Rivington and Blackrod High School, Rivington Gram ...

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

and Alice Kingsmill. Through Deborah he gained a life interest in

Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in south-west England. One of the best-known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in ...

manor in Wiltshire, and in 1601 he built or rebuilt the south range of the

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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

there. Lucy married

George Tuchet, 1st Earl of Castlehaven George Tuchet, 1st Earl of Castlehaven ( – 1617), was the son of Henry Tuchet, 10th Baron Audley (died 1563) and his wife, née Elizabeth Sneyd. Career He succeeded his father as 11th Baron Audley and 8th Baron Tuchet on 30 December 1563, an ...

and had seven children, including

Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven (1593 – 14 May 1631; also spelled ''Mervin, Touchet''), was an English nobleman who was convicted of rape and sodomy and subsequently executed. A son of George Tuchet, 1st Earl of Castlehaven and 11th ...

and Christian, her grandfather's principal heiress, who married her distant cousin Sir Henry Mervyn and was the mother of the prominent Irish politician and barrister Sir

Audley Mervyn Sir Audley Mervyn of Trillick (1603?–1675) was a lawyer and politician in seventeenth-century Ireland. He was MP for County Tyrone and Speaker of the Irish House of Commons 1661–1666. He was the second son of Sir Henry Mervyn of Petersfield, ...

. Amy also had a daughter Elizabeth by her first husband, a Mr Horne of Sarsden,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. Elizabeth's marriage to Anthony Bourne was a cause of much worry to her stepfather.

Career

Early in the reign of

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 ...

he was appointed an Esquire of the body, and received other Court offices which assured him of a comfortable income. Since James insisted that he and his father were on the best of terms, his assured income may explain his father's decision to disinherit him in favour of his widow and younger children and a grandson John, who received Compton Bassett. James always maintained that the

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

had been forged by his stepmother, Elizabeth Mompesson, who received a life estate. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England 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 England, great council of Lords Spi ...

for

in 1572 and for Hindon in 1597. Given his prominence in county affairs, it is perhaps surprising that he did not seek election more often. He did not make much mark as a Parliamentarian, never speaking in debate and sitting on very few committees.

Character

Like many landowners of the time, Marvyn could be quarrelsome, and was prepared to take the quarrel to extreme lengths. A feud with Sir

John Thynne Sir John Thynne (c. 1515 – 21 May 1580) was the steward to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. 1506 – 1552), and a member of parliament. He was the builder of Longleat House, and his descendants became Marquess of Bath, Marquesses of ...

lasted 15 years, and ended in an armed

affray In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror (in ) of ordinary people. Depending on their actions, and the laws ...

and a

Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...

hearing. Yet he has been described by a biographer as a man who had "the virtues of his type". His will certainly gives evidence of a kindly enough nature, making provision for several nephews and nieces, his impoverished brother Ambrose, his tenants and family servants. He settled the principal family estate on his granddaughter Christian and her husband Sir Henry Mervyn, who promptly sold them to her brother Lord Castlehaven.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marvyn, James 1529 births 1611 deaths Politicians from Wiltshire English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1597–1598