Thomas Vavasour (knight marshal)

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Thomas Vavasour (knight marshal) - Wikipedia

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Sir Thomas Vavasour
Ham House, London

Member of Parliament for Wootton Bassett
In office 1584–1586
Member of Parliament for Wootton Bassett
In office 1586–1589
Member of Parliament for Malmesbury
In office 1589–1589

Personal details
Born	1560 Yorkshire, England
Died	1620 (aged 59–60)
Spouse	Mary Dodge
Children	4 sons, 2 daughters
Residence	Ham House (1610–1620)
Alma mater	Caius College, Cambridge
Occupation	Knight Marshal
Military service
Years of service	1584–1591
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Arnhem 1585, Netherlands 1587

Thomas Vavasour (1560–1620) was an English soldier, courtier and Member of Parliament.^{[citation needed]}

He came from a family long established in Yorkshire. His grandfather was William Vavasour and his father was Henry Vavasour (died 1584) of Copmanthorpe, Yorkshire. His mother, Margaret, was the daughter of Sir Henry Knyvet (died 1547) of Charlton, Wiltshire. Thomas was educated at Eton and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was a fellow commoner.^{[citation needed]}

In 1576 he married Mary, daughter and heiress of John Dodge of Copes^[where?], Suffolk, widow of Peter Houghton, alderman of London. They had four sons and two daughters.^{[citation needed]}

He became involved in court scandal and rivalry through the actions of his elder sister, Anne.^{[citation needed]}

He was Member of Elizabethan Parliaments for Wootton Bassett in the 1584 and 1586 parliaments, and member for Malmesbury in the 1589 parliament.^{[citation needed]}

In August 1585 he fought in the Netherlands as captain of foot from Yorkshire, retaining this command until 1591. He distinguished himself on two occasions, once in an attack on a sconce near Arnhem in October 1585, and again in 1587 with Lord Willoughby to fight the Marques del Guasto.^{[citation needed]}

He is thought to have been knighted before August 1595, though the record is unclear.^{[citation needed]}

Following military service he was a gentleman pensioner until the death of the Queen at Richmond Palace in March 1603. Following the accession of James I, Vavasour was made Butler of the port of London, earning him £1,000 compensation. In 1604 he was appointed Knight Marshal of the Household, a role confirmed to him for life in 1612 but, according to John Chamberlain, he sold the right for £3,000, in 1618, two years before his death.^{[citation needed]}

He returned to parliament in 1609 to represent Boroughbridge after the death in office of Sir John Ferne and was re-elected in 1614 to represent Horsham.^{[citation needed]}

In October 1618 he sold the office of Knight Marshall to Sir Edward Zouch for £3000.^[1]

Vavasour's wealth and connection to the court allowed the construction of Ham House in 1610 on land belonging to the Crown. After his death in 1620 the lease passed to John Ramsay, 1st Earl of Holderness, a favourite of the King.^[2]

References

^ Norman Egbert McClure, Letters of John Chamberlain, vol. 2 (Philadelphia, 1939), p. 173.
^ Bindoff, S. T. (1981). "VAVASOUR, Thomas (1560–1620), of Skellingthorpe, Lincs. and Ham, Surr.". In Hasler, P.W. (ed.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558–1603. TSO. ISBN 9780118875011.

Parliament of England
Preceded by Henry Knyvet Edmund Dunch	Member of Parliament for Wootton Bassett 1584–1589 With: John Hungerford	Succeeded by Sir Henry Knyvet John Hungerford
Preceded by Sir Henry Knyvet Henry Bayly	Member of Parliament for Malmesbury 1589 With: Henry Bayly	Succeeded by Sir Henry Knyvet Thomas Lake
Preceded by Sir John Ferne Henry Jenkins	Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge 1609–1614 With: Henry Jenkins	Succeeded by Sir Ferdinando Fairfax George Marshall
Preceded by John Doddridge Sir Michael Hicks	Member of Parliament for Horsham 1614 With: John Middleton	Succeeded by Thomas Cornwallis John Middleton

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