Sir Leonard Chamberlain or Chamberlayne (died 1561) was an English soldier and politician. He was the

Governor of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British crown dependency off the coast of France. Holders of the post of Governor of Guernsey, until the role was abolished in 1835. Since then, only Lieutenant-Governors have been appointed (see Lieutenant Gover ...

in 1553.

Life

The son of Sir Edward Chamberlayne of

Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed building, Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire, Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remode ...

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 ...

, by Cicely, daughter of Sir John Verney, he was brother of the Members of Parliament Edward Chamberlain and Ralph Chamberlain. He succeeded his father about 1543 as keeper of Woodstock Park. In 1542 he obtained from the crown a grant of

Hampton Poyle Hampton Poyle is a village in the civil parish of Hampton Gay and Poyle, in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is the River Cherwell, Cherwell in valley, about northeast of Kidlington and about ...

; and the following year the king granted to him and Richard Andrews land in several counties, including abbey lands and other ecclesiastical property. He was

High Sheriff of Berkshire and Oxfordshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. One sheriff was appointed for both counties from 1248 until the end of 1566 (except for 1258–1259), after which separate sheriffs were appointed. See High Sheriff of Berkshire and High She ...

in 1546–7, and at the funeral of Henry VIII he bore the banner of the king and Queen

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

. In October 1549 members of the privy council opposed to

Protector Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King Ed ...

required Sir John Markham, the

lieutenant of the Tower of London The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like t ...

, to bring Sir Edmund Peckham and Chamberlain in to strengthen the Tower guard. At the end of the reign of Edward VI, Chamberlain served for a second time as of Sheriff of Berkshire. On 22 July 1553 the privy council wrote to Sir John Williams, Chamberlain, and others of the gentry of Oxfordshire, directing them to dismiss soldiers (a muster to ensure Mary Tudor's succession, while

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

was a claimant) and repair to Queen

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...

. Chamberlain was knighted by Queen Mary at Westminster on 2 October 1551, the day after her coronation, and he sat for

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

in the parliament which assembled on 5 September. Mary in the first year of her reign granted him the site of

Dunstable Priory The Priory Church of St Peter with its monastery (Dunstable Priory) was founded in 1132 by Henry I for Augustinian Canons in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. St Peter's today is only the nave of what remains of an originally much larger Au ...

, and other lands in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

. He was constituted governor of Guernsey in 1553, where he improved the works at

Castle Cornet Castle Cornet is a large island castle in Guernsey, and former tidal island, also known as Cornet Rock or Castle Rock. Its importance was as a defence not only of the island, but of the roadstead. In 1859, it became part of one of the breakwat ...

, and was returned for

to the parliaments which sat on 2 April and 12 November 1554. At the trials of

Rowland Taylor Rowland Taylor (sometimes spelled "Tayler") (about 1510 – 9 February 1555) was an English Protestant martyr during the Marian Persecutions. At the time of his death, he was Rector of Hadleigh in Suffolk. He was burnt at the stake at near ...

and

John Bradford John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English English Reformation, Reformer, prebendary of Old St Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's, and martyr. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Queen Mary I. He was burned at the stak ...

for heresy in January 1555 he was involved in the proceedings. Although he was often absent from the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, Chamberlain cooperated with

William Wynter Admiral Sir William Wynter (c. 1521 – 20 February 1589) held the office of Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy for 40 years, from 1549 until his death in 1589, and combined that with the office of Master of Navy Ordnance from 1557. He was an admira ...

to stabilise the military position there against the French threat during the

Italian War of 1551–59 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, paying attention to

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

and

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

. He died in Guernsey about August 1561.

Family

Chamberlain had four wives including; Dorothy, fourth daughter of John Newdigate, king's serjeant-at-law, and Margery Vaughan, widow of Stephen Vaughan. Francis Chamberlain, who in 1555 was joined with him in the government of Guernsey, and who continued sole governor till his own death in 1570, was his eldest son. His second son George was the father of George Chamberlain the

Bishop of Ypres The former Roman Catholic Diocese of Ypres, in present-day Belgium, existed from 1559 to 1801. Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedral in Ypres. In 1969 it was reconstituted as a titular see. History The diocese was originally part of the Diocese ...

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Leonard Year of birth missing 1561 deaths High sheriffs of Berkshire High sheriffs of Oxfordshire 16th-century English knights English MPs 1554 English MPs 1554–1555 Governors of Guernsey (1500–1835)