Thomas Walsingham (died 1457)

left: Arms ("modern") of Walsingham: Paly of six argent and sable, a fess gules; right: Arms ("ancient") of Walsinghham: Gules bezantée, a cross couped chequy argent and azure, both as blazoned in the Heraldic Visitations of Surrey for the family of Thomas Walsingham (died 1457)^[1]

Thomas Walsingham (died 1457) was a wealthy wine and cloth merchant in the City of London who served as a Member of Parliament for Wareham in 1410 and for Lyme Regis in 1413, both in Dorset.

Origins

According to Woodger (1993) Walsingham was a son of Alan Walsingham of London, a cordwainer, by his wife Juliana, of unknown family.^[3] However, according to the Heraldic Visitations of Surrey, he was the son of Thomas Walsingham by his wife Katherin Belhouse, a sister of Sir William Belhouse. The seat of the Walsingham family in Surrey is not stated. Their earliest recorded ancestor was Sir Richard Walsingham, living in the reign of King Edward I (1272-1307).

Career

He was the supplier of wine to the large household of Cardinal Henry Beaufort (c. 1375–1447), Bishop of Winchester, an influential member of the royal family.^[3] He undertook some major building contracts, including glazing the eastern window of the Guildhall in the City of London and creating a conduit to transport drinking water from Paddington to Fleet Street at the western edge of the City of London.^[3] He acquired substantial estates in Kent, including the manors of Scadbury (subsequently the seat of his descendants) in the parish of Chislehurst, Champeyns and Tong, and land in Chislehurst, St. Paul's Cray, Lewisham, Bromley and Bexhill.^[3]

Marriage & issue

Some time before 1412 he married Margaret Bamme (died 1445), daughter and heiress^[4] of Henry Bamme of London, a vintner. The Walsingham family subsequently quartered the arms of Bamme, as is visible in the 1562 heraldic stained glass in Mereworth Church in Kent.^[5] By his wife he had one son and one daughter:^[3]

Thomas Walsingham (died 1467) who married Constance Dryland, a daughter of James Dryland of Davington.^[6] His grandson was Sir Edmund Walsingham (c. 1480–1550) of Scadbury, a soldier, Member of Parliament and Lieutenant of the Tower of London during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Philippa Walsingham, who married Thomas Ballard.^[3]

Sources

Pedigree of Walsingham family: Bannerman, W. B., ed., The Visitations of the County of Surrey made and taken in the years 1530 by Thomas Benolte, Clarenceux King of Arms; 1572 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms; and 1623 by Samuel Thompson, Windsor Herald, and Augustin Vincent, Rouge Croix Pursuivant, marshals and deputies to William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms, Harleian Society, 1st ser. 43. London, 1899, pp.10-11[5]

References

^ Two versions of the arms of "Walsingham of Surrey" are given in the Heraldic Visitations of Surrey for that family, in which is included Thomas Walsingham (died 1457) of Scadbury (Kent??), MP, husband of Margaret Bamme and Sir Edmund Walsingham (c. 1480–1550) of Scadbury, a soldier, Member of Parliament and Lieutenant of the Tower of London during the reign of King Henry VIII (uncle of Sir Francis Walsingham (c.1532–1590) principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I and popularly remembered as her "spymaster"). The location of the Walsingham seat in Surrey is not stated. (Source: Pedigree of Walsingham family: Bannerman, W. B., ed., The Visitations of the County of Surrey made and taken in the years 1530 by Thomas Benolte, Clarenceux King of Arms; 1572 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms; and 1623 by Samuel Thompson, Windsor Herald, and Augustin Vincent, Rouge Croix Pursuivant, marshals and deputies to William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms, Harleian Society, 1st ser. 43. London, 1899, pp.10-11[1]) For 1562 images of the "ancient arms" see File:StainedGlass 1562 WalsinghamImpalingDenny MereworthChurch Kent.png (C. R. Councer, Heraldic Painted Glass in the Church of St. Lawrence, Mereworth, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.77, 1962, pp.48-62, esp. p.50 et seq[2])
^ Councer
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Woodger, L.S., Walsingham, Thomas (d.1457), of London, published in History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386–1421, ed. J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe. 1993
^ Visitations of the County of Surrey made and taken in the years 1530 by Thomas Benolte, Clarenceux King of Arms; 1572 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms; and 1623 by Samuel Thompson, Windsor Herald, and Augustin Vincent, Rouge Croix Pursuivant, marshals and deputies to William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms]], Harleian Society, 1st ser. 43. London, 1899, p.11; as indicated by the Walsingham family subsequently quartering the arms of Bamme
^ C. R. Councer, Heraldic Painted Glass in the Church of St. Lawrence, Mereworth, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.77, 1962, pp.48-62, esp. p.50 et seq[3]
^ The Friends of Scadbury Park, a Registered Charity in England and Wales with the Charity Commission under number 1181218[4]

[1] Two versions of the arms of "Walsingham of Surrey" are given in the Heraldic Visitations of Surrey for that family, in which is included Thomas Walsingham (died 1457) of Scadbury (Kent??), MP, husband of Margaret Bamme and Sir Edmund Walsingham (c. 1480–1550) of Scadbury, a soldier, Member of Parliament and Lieutenant of the Tower of London during the reign of King Henry VIII (uncle of Sir Francis Walsingham (c.1532–1590) principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I and popularly remembered as her "spymaster"). The location of the Walsingham seat in Surrey is not stated. (Source: Pedigree of Walsingham family: Bannerman, W. B., ed., The Visitations of the County of Surrey made and taken in the years 1530 by Thomas Benolte, Clarenceux King of Arms; 1572 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms; and 1623 by Samuel Thompson, Windsor Herald, and Augustin Vincent, Rouge Croix Pursuivant, marshals and deputies to William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms, Harleian Society, 1st ser. 43. London, 1899, pp.10-11[1]) For 1562 images of the "ancient arms" see File:StainedGlass 1562 WalsinghamImpalingDenny MereworthChurch Kent.png (C. R. Councer, Heraldic Painted Glass in the Church of St. Lawrence, Mereworth, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.77, 1962, pp.48-62, esp. p.50 et seq[2])

[2] Councer

[W-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Woodger, L.S., Walsingham, Thomas (d.1457), of London, published in History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386–1421, ed. J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe. 1993

[4] Visitations of the County of Surrey made and taken in the years 1530 by Thomas Benolte, Clarenceux King of Arms; 1572 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of Arms; and 1623 by Samuel Thompson, Windsor Herald, and Augustin Vincent, Rouge Croix Pursuivant, marshals and deputies to William Camden, Clarenceux King of Arms]], Harleian Society, 1st ser. 43. London, 1899, p.11; as indicated by the Walsingham family subsequently quartering the arms of Bamme

[5] C. R. Councer, Heraldic Painted Glass in the Church of St. Lawrence, Mereworth, Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.77, 1962, pp.48-62, esp. p.50 et seq[3]

[6] The Friends of Scadbury Park, a Registered Charity in England and Wales with the Charity Commission under number 1181218[4]

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