Sir John Marvyn (by 1503 – 18 June 1566), 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 Giff ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, 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 wife Jane, daughter of Phillip Baskerville of Sherborne, 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 roa ...

, he had thirteen children, including Sir

James Marvyn James Marvyn (1529–1611), of Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire, was an English politician. Family He was the eldest son of Sir John Marvyn (1503–1566) of Compton Bassett and Sherborne, Dorset and his first wife Jane, daughter of Phillip Baskerv ...

and Elizabeth, who married John Ryves of Damory Court,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and had several distinguished sons. He married secondly Elizabeth Mompessson, daughter of John Mompessson of Bathampton, and widow of Richard Perkins. 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 bishops and peers that advised t ...

for

in April 1554 and for Calne in November 1554. He served three times as High Sheriff of Wiltshire. He received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, possibly an indication that he was unsympathetic to the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, and thus likely to be favoured by Queen Mary I. From 1547 on he engaged in a bitter feud with

Sir Thomas Arundell Sir Thomas Arundell of Wardour Castle in Wiltshire (c. 150226 February 1552) was a Cornish administrator and alleged conspirator. Arundell was connected by birth and marriage to the crown and to several of the most important families in England, ...

, a

Cornishman The Cornish people or Cornish ( kw, Kernowyon, ang, Cornƿīelisċ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons w ...

who became a rising power in Wiltshire, Marvyn's home county, through his purchase of

Wardour Castle Wardour Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle at Wardour, on the boundaries of the civil parishes of Tisbury and Donhead St Andrew in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The castle was built in the 1390s, came into th ...

. Arundell, unlike Marvyn, was a considerable figure at Court, but his intrigues led to his execution for

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

to overthrow the Government in 1552. Marvyn played no part in Arundell's downfall, but turned it to good advantage by purchasing from the Crown the forfeited manor of Compton Bassett, adjoining Fonthill. His last

will and testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person ( executor) is to manage the property until its final distributi ...

, which was signed a few days before his death, is a rather curious document, as it effectively disinherited his eldest son, Sir James, although James, so far from being a source of disappointment, was already a coming man in the county, and held two positions at Court. Marvyn's widow received a life estate in much of his property, and there was provision for younger sons and daughters, while the manor of Compton Bassett passed to the eldest grandson. Sir John's motives are obscure, since there is no evidence of a quarrel between himself and James. James himself always maintained that his stepmother had forged the will to gain a life estate for herself. Fonthill Gifford Holy Trinity

References

1566 deaths Politicians from Wiltshire English MPs 1554 English MPs 1554–1555 Year of birth uncertain {{16thC-England-MP-stub