Sir Thomas Heneage PC (1532 – 17 October 1595) was an English politician and courtier at the court 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 ...

Early and personal life

Thomas Heneage the Younger was born at

Copt Hall Copped Hall, also known as Copt Hall or Copthall, is a mid-18th-century English country house close to Waltham Abbey, Essex, which has been undergoing restoration since 1999. Today, Copped Hall refers to the upstanding house, while Copt Ha ...

, Epping,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, the son of Sir Robert Heneage and Lucy Buckton. Robert and his brother Thomas were members of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

, the latter holding the important office of

Groom of the Stool The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close Stool") was the most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers, initially responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene. The physical intimacy of the role natur ...

. Thomas Heneage was educated at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

. In 1554 Heneage married Anne Poyntz, daughter of Sir Nicholas Poyntz and Joan Berkeley. Their only daughter

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

married Sir Moyle Finch, Bt and was created Countess of Winchilsea. Following Anne's death in 1593, he married

Mary Browne, Countess of Southampton Mary Wriothesley, Countess of Southampton (22 July 1552 – October/November 1607), previously Mary Browne, became the wife of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, at the age of thirteen and the mother of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Sou ...

on 2 May 1594; this marriage was childless.

Career

Heneage was elected Member of Parliament for Stamford in 1553, before sitting for

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

from 1559. He was then elected for

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1563 but chose to sit for

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. He was again returned for Lincolnshire in 1571 and 1572, and for

in 1584, 1586, 1589, and 1593. He became a courtier under

.tudorplace.com.ar
Retrieved 10-08-2009 He became a

Gentleman of the Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

about 1565 at around that time, she flirted with him, making her

favourite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In Post-classical Europe, post-classical and Early modern Europe, early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated signifi ...

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ove ...

, jealous. However, Heneage had so far been on good terms with Leicester and the Earl, in his 1587 will, called him "my good old friend". In 1570 he rose to Treasurer of the Queen's Privy Chamber, and was knighted in 1577. In 1586, Heneage was sent by the Queen to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He was to convey to the States General her strong protest of the Earl of Leicester having accepted their offer of the title

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. Heneage read out publicly Elizabeth's letters of disapproval before the Dutch politicians, Leicester, their new Governor General, having to stand nearby. He became

Vice-Chamberlain of the Household The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The officeholder is usually a senior government whip in the British House of Commons ranking third or fourth after the Chief Whip and ...

and was sworn of the

Privy Council of England The Privy Council of England, also known as His (or Her) Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (), was a body of advisers to the List of English monarchs, sovereign of the Kingdom of England. Its members were often senior members of the House ...

in 1587, before being appointed

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

in 1590. He was also a friend of

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

Hutchinson p. 354 and a colleague of Sir Christopher Hatton acting as an intermediary between the Queen and Hatton regarding rivalry between Hatton and Sir Walter Raleigh for the Queen's affections. Heneage died on 17 October 1595 and was buried in

Old St Paul's Cathedral Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Paul of Tarsus, Saint Paul ...

. His grave and monument were destroyed in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666. A modern monument in the crypt of the rebuilt cathedral lists him as one of the important graves lost."Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral" Sinclair, W. p. 99: London; Chapman & Hall, Ltd; 1909

Notes

Sources

* Deacon. M. p32 etc.

References

*Chamberlin, Frederick: ''Elizabeth and Leycester'' Dodd, Mead & Co. 1939 *Hutchinson, Robert: ''Elizabeth's Spymaster: Francis Walsingham and the Secret War that saved England'' Phoenix 2007 *Wilson, Derek: ''Sweet Robin: A Biography of Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester 1533–1588'' Hamish Hamilton 1981 *Deacon, Malcolm: ''The Courtier and the Queen: Sir Christopher Hatton & Elizabeth I'' Park Lane Publishing 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Heneage, Thomas 1532 births 1595 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Burials at St Paul's Cathedral Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Court of Henry VIII English MPs 1553 (Mary I) English MPs 1559 English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1571 English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of England Politicians from Epping