Sir Thomas Metham was an English Roman Catholic knight, imprisoned with his second wife for their beliefs.

Life

Metham was the eldest son of Thomas Metham, of Metham

Metham

Metham is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, it forms part of the civil parish of Laxton. It is situated approximately east of Goole and west of Blacktoft. It lies north of the River Ouse, not far from where it flows into the River Trent and becomes the Humber.-References:...

, 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...

, by his marriage to Grace, a daughter of Thomas Pudsey, of Barford

Barford

Barford could be a reference to:Placesone of the following settlements in England:*Barford, Hampshire*Barford, Norfolk*Barford, Warwickshire*Barford St. John, Oxfordshire*Barford St Martin, Wiltshire*Barford St...

. He married twice: first to Dorothy, daughter of George, Baron Darcy of Aston, and then to Edith, daughter of Nicholas Palmes of Naburn

Naburn

Naburn is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the eastern side of the River Ouse about south of York. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 470...

. Metham 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 on 2 October 1553, the day after the coronation

Coronation

A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...

 of Queen Mary I

Mary I of England

Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...

. Through George, his second son by his first wife, he was the grandfather of Father Thomas Metham, S.J.

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

, one of the Dilati, who died in 1592.

By 16 August, 1565, Sir Thomas and his second wife had been imprisoned "for contempt of Her Majesty's ordinances concerning the administration of divine service and the sacraments".

On 6 February 1569/70 an unknown correspondent wrote to Sir William Cecil

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...

 from York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

:
Metham died in York Castle

York Castle

York Castle in the city of York, England, is a fortified complex comprising, over the last nine centuries, a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings on the south side of the River Foss. The now-ruinous keep of the medieval Norman castle is sometimes referred to as Clifford's...

 in 1573. Some years later, in 1587, his widow was still a recusant

Recusancy

In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...

.