Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre
Encyclopedia
Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre of Gilsland, also Baron Greystock
and de jure Baron Boteler
(ca. 1527 – 1 July 1566) was an English
Member of Parliament
and after his father's death a peer
and major landowner
in the counties of Cumberland
, Yorkshire
and Northumberland
.
(c. 1493–1563), by his marriage to Elizabeth Talbot, a daughter of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
and of Anne Hastings
, a daughter of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings
. His father was Captain of Norham Castle
, Steward of Penrith
, Warden of the West Marches 1527–1534 and 1555–1563, and Governor of Carlisle. One of his brothers was Leonard Dacre
.
The young Dacre was knight
ed in 1547. He married first Lady Elizabeth Neville, the sixth daughter of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland
, by his marriage to Lady Catherine Stafford, the second daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
. There were no children of the marriage.
In 1553 he was elected to the House of Commons of England
as one of the two Members of Parliament
for Cumberland
.
(1536–1567), the eldest daughter of Sir James Leyburne of Cunswick, Westmorland
, by whom he had two sons, Francis, who died in infancy, and George
(c. 1561 – 17 May 1569); and three daughters: Anne
(21 March 1557 – 19 April 1630), Mary (4 July 1563 – 7 April 1578), and Elizabeth (born 12 December 1564).
Dacre succeeded his father as Baron Dacre
on 18 November 1563, but survived him for less than three years and was never summoned to parliament.
Ferguson's A History of Cumberland notes the demise of the Dacre family which followed:
After Dacre's death on 1 July 1566, his widow remarried Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
, but she died in childbirth on 4 September 1567, so that Dacre's young orphaned children were left as members of the Duke's household. Dacre's only surviving son died in 1569, when the barony of Dacre
, although claimed by Dacre's brother Leonard, was determined by Commissioners swayed by the Duke to have fallen into abeyance
, leaving Dacre's three daughters as co-heiresses. By the age of fourteen, each of the three had been married to one of their step-brothers, the sons of the Duke. In 1571, Anne
married Philip Howard
(1557–1595), later 20th Earl of Arundel
; before 9 May 1577, Mary had married Thomas Howard
(1561–1626), later 1st Earl of Suffolk
; and on 28 October 1577 Elizabeth married Lord William Howard
(1563–1640), of Naworth Castle
, Cumberland
, and of Henderskelfe Castle, Yorkshire
, the Duke's third son.
Dacre's daughter Mary Howard died on 7 April 1578 at the age of fourteen, but his eldest child, Anne Howard, survived until 1630. His middle daughter, Elizabeth, gained the nickname "Bess of the Broad Apron", thanks to the size of the estates which came to her.
Baron Greystock
The title Baron Greystock has been created twice in the Peerage of England. It was first created when John de Greystock was summoned to parliament in 1295 and it became extinct on his death...
and de jure Baron Boteler
Baron Boteler
Baron Boteler was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England.The first barony, Baron Boteler, of Werington, was created by writ on 23 June 1295 for William le Boteler...
(ca. 1527 – 1 July 1566) was an English
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and after his father's death a peer
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
and major landowner
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
in the counties of Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
.
Early life
Born about 1527, Dacre was the eldest of the five sons of William Dacre, 3rd Baron DacreWilliam Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre
William Dacre, 7th Baron Greystock, later 3rd Baron Dacre of Gilsland was an English peer, a Cumberland landowner, and the holder of important offices under the Crown, including many years' service as Warden of the West Marches....
(c. 1493–1563), by his marriage to Elizabeth Talbot, a daughter of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, 9th Baron Furnivall, KG was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury and Lady Catherine Stafford, daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham....
and of Anne Hastings
Anne Hastings, Countess of Shrewsbury
Anne Hastings, Countess of Shrewsbury was an English noblewoman who served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen consort Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Anne was the first wife of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, by whom she had 11 children...
, a daughter of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings
William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings
William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings KG was an English nobleman. A follower of the House of York, he became a close friend and the most important courtier of King Edward IV, whom he served as Lord Chamberlain...
. His father was Captain of Norham Castle
Norham Castle
Norham Castle is a partly ruined castle in Northumberland, England, overlooking the River Tweed, on the border between England and Scotland. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument...
, Steward of Penrith
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
, Warden of the West Marches 1527–1534 and 1555–1563, and Governor of Carlisle. One of his brothers was Leonard Dacre
Leonard Dacre
Leonard Dacre was an English nobleman, one of the promoters of the Northern Rebellion against Queen Elizabeth.-Life:He was the second son of William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre of Gilsland and brother of Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre....
.
The young Dacre was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1547. He married first Lady Elizabeth Neville, the sixth daughter of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland
Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland
Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland KG, PC was an English peer and soldier.-Early life:Ralph Neville was born to Ralph Neville, Lord Neville and Edith Sandys, and was the grandson of Ralph Neville, 3rd Earl of Westmorland and Isabel Booth. When his father died in 1498 he took the style of Lord...
, by his marriage to Lady Catherine Stafford, the second daughter of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, KG was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and the former Lady Catherine Woodville, daughter of the 1st Earl Rivers and sister-in-law of King Edward IV.-Early life:Stafford was born at Brecknock Castle in Wales...
. There were no children of the marriage.
In 1553 he was elected to the House of Commons of England
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
as one of the two Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Cumberland
Cumberland (UK Parliament constituency)
Cumberland is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Knights of...
.
Later life and death
He married secondly Elizabeth LeyburneElizabeth Leyburne
Elizabeth Leyburne, Duchess of Norfolk , was a member of the English aristocracy. She first married Thomas Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre; following his death in 1566, she secretly married Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. She was his third wife.-Family:Elizabeth was born in 1536, the daughter of Sir...
(1536–1567), the eldest daughter of Sir James Leyburne of Cunswick, Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
, by whom he had two sons, Francis, who died in infancy, and George
George Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre
George Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre of Gilsland, also Baron Greystock and de jure Baron Boteler was an English peer and landowner in the county of Cumberland.He was summoned to parliament at about the age of five.-Life:...
(c. 1561 – 17 May 1569); and three daughters: Anne
Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel
Anne Howard , Countess of Arundel , was an English noblewoman, who became a Catholic conspirator, having converted to the faith in the early 1580s...
(21 March 1557 – 19 April 1630), Mary (4 July 1563 – 7 April 1578), and Elizabeth (born 12 December 1564).
Dacre succeeded his father as Baron Dacre
Baron Dacre
Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by writ. The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre was summoned to Parliament as Lord Dacre. He married Margaret, 2nd Baroness Multon of Gilsland, heiress of a large estate in Cumbria centred on...
on 18 November 1563, but survived him for less than three years and was never summoned to parliament.
Ferguson's A History of Cumberland notes the demise of the Dacre family which followed:
After Dacre's death on 1 July 1566, his widow remarried Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.Norfolk was the son of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was taught as a child by John Foxe, the Protestant martyrologist, who remained a lifelong recipient of Norfolk's patronage...
, but she died in childbirth on 4 September 1567, so that Dacre's young orphaned children were left as members of the Duke's household. Dacre's only surviving son died in 1569, when the barony of Dacre
Baron Dacre
Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by writ. The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre was summoned to Parliament as Lord Dacre. He married Margaret, 2nd Baroness Multon of Gilsland, heiress of a large estate in Cumbria centred on...
, although claimed by Dacre's brother Leonard, was determined by Commissioners swayed by the Duke to have fallen into abeyance
Abeyance
Abeyance is a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly...
, leaving Dacre's three daughters as co-heiresses. By the age of fourteen, each of the three had been married to one of their step-brothers, the sons of the Duke. In 1571, Anne
Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel
Anne Howard , Countess of Arundel , was an English noblewoman, who became a Catholic conspirator, having converted to the faith in the early 1580s...
married Philip Howard
Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel
Saint Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel was an English nobleman. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970, as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales...
(1557–1595), later 20th Earl of Arundel
Earl of Arundel
The title Earl of Arundel is the oldest extant Earldom and perhaps the oldest extant title in the Peerage of England. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. It was created in 1138 for the Norman baron Sir William d'Aubigny...
; before 9 May 1577, Mary had married Thomas Howard
Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk
Admiral Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk, KG, PC was a son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk, the daughter and heiress of the 1st Baron Audley of Walden....
(1561–1626), later 1st Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk
Earl of Suffolk is a title that has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfeited by his heir, Ralph de Guader, in 1074...
; and on 28 October 1577 Elizabeth married Lord William Howard
Lord William Howard
Lord William Howard was an English nobleman and antiquary, sometimes known as "Belted or Bauld Will".-Life:...
(1563–1640), of Naworth Castle
Naworth Castle
Naworth Castle, also known as, or recorded in historical documents as "Naward", is a castle in Cumbria, England near the town of Brampton. It is adjacent to the A69 about two miles east of Brampton. It is on the opposite side of the River Irthing to, and just within sight of, Lanercost Priory...
, Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, and of Henderskelfe Castle, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, the Duke's third son.
Dacre's daughter Mary Howard died on 7 April 1578 at the age of fourteen, but his eldest child, Anne Howard, survived until 1630. His middle daughter, Elizabeth, gained the nickname "Bess of the Broad Apron", thanks to the size of the estates which came to her.