
Sir Thomas Docwra (1458? – 1527) was Grand Prior of the
Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and thus ranked as Premier Lay Baron of England.
Origins
He was a member of the Docwra family of Hertfordshire, a junior branch of the ancient Docwra family of Docwra Hall in
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...
,
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
. According to an old pedigree he was a son of Richard Docwra by his wife Alice Green, a daughter of Thomas Green of
Gressingham in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
. He may however have been a grandson of Richard and a son of Thomas Docwra. His ancestral home appears to have been Highdown House (or possibly Old Hall, an inn in 1912) in the parish of
Pirton, Hertfordshire, where survives a datestone (of uncertain provenance) set into a wall of the east gable of the north courtyard (stables) range displaying the Docwra arms, inscribed "Thomas Docwra, Miles, 1504", the date he built
St John's Gate, Clerkenwell. The Latin motto of the Order is inscribed below ''Sane Boro'', interpreted by
Cromwell (1828)
[History and description of the parish of Clerkenwell By Thomas Kitson Cromwell, 1828, p. 19]
/ref> as signifying "truly a baron" or "a baron indeed", ''a motto, signifying in two words so much, and that so pompously, is explained at once by the assumption of these Lords-Priors to be, not barons merely, but the very premiers of the Baronage of England''.
Career
He was admitted to the Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
at the age of 16, spending about four years as a novitiate. In 1480 he was on the Island of Rhodes
Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
with Sir Thomas Greene during the unsuccessful siege of the Island by the Turks. He later became Preceptor
A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition.
Buddhist monastic orders
Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...
of the Order's holdings at Dinmore, Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
. In 1494 he became Prior of Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and then a year later Turcopolier of the English tongue. By 1499 he became Captain of the Castle of St. Peter in Bodrum
Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...
, Turkey. In 1501 he succeeded Sir John Kendal as Grand Prior in England, taking responsibility for all the Order's property in England. He reversed the policy of leasing property to secular tenants, most noticeably concerning Temple Balsall in Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
where he terminated the lease of Sir Robert Throckmorton and attempted to claim arrears of rent. When Sir Lancelot Docwra arrived to repossess the property, Throckmorton had fortified the manor house and refused to allow the Order to enter.
Nevertheless, in 1519 Thomas leased Temple Dinsley in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
to his nephew John Docwra. He leased land at Hampton, Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
to Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal (catholic), cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and ...
, Archbishop of York
The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
, where that prelate built Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...
which Henry VIII of England
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. ...
converted to a royal palace when Wolsey fell from favour. Overall the Order had over 40 preceptories spread out from Cornwall
Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
to Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
, the majority of which retained their convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
ual status. Docwra would have visited them all once a year.
As the Lord of St John, Docwra was deemed the senior lay baron of England, with a prominent seat in the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. He was one of the peers who tried the Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...
for treason in 1521. He was a member of the Privy Council and Admiral of the English Fleet, which may have been an honorary title.
As Grand Prior of St John he served on a number of commissions: he was involved with drainage in 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 ...
, where the order had substantial landholdings and was appointed by the Masters of the Mint to a commission to investigate irregularities. He was also connected with the "search for suspicious characters in London" in 1520. He conducted marriage negotiations as well as financial and commercial matters on behalf of King Henry VII and his son Henry VIII. In 1510, the Grand Master of the Order in Rhodes requested that he come and help defend the Order against the Turks, but Henry VIII refused to allow him leave to depart the kingdom. In 1512 he was expected to turn up with 300 men-at-arms and a 200-ton ship when that king had a military adventure to pursue in France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In 1520 he accompanied the king at the Field of the Cloth of Gold near 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 ...
.
Death and succession
He died in May 1527 at the Order's headquarters at Clerkenwell Priory, where he was buried. His estate passed to his nephew, Thomas Docwra, who served as Sheriff of Hertfordshire. He was succeeded as Grand Prior by Sir William Weston, the last Grand Prior of the Knights Hospitaller in England before the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
See also
* List of the priors of Saint John of Jerusalem in England
The following is a list of the Lord Priors of Saint John of Jerusalem in England, the Knights Hospitallers, until the Order was stripped of its properties and income by Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII, during the brief restoration of the Grand ...
Footnotes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Docwra, Thomas
1450s births
1527 deaths
15th-century English people
16th-century English people
Priors of Saint John of Jerusalem in England
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...