Thomas Lovell

Sir
Thomas Lovell
Chancellor of the Exchequer of England
Sir Thomas Lovell Chancellor of the Exchequer of England
	In office; 1485–1524
Monarchs	Henry VII, Henry VIII
Preceded by	William Catesby
Succeeded by	The Lord Berners
Speaker of the House of Commons
	In office; 1485–1488
Preceded by	William Catesby
Succeeded by	Sir John Mordaunt
Personal details
Died	1524

Sir Thomas Lovell, KG (died 1524) was an English soldier and administrator, Speaker of the House of Commons, Secretary to the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Early life

He was fifth son of Sir Thomas Lovell of Barton Bendish in Norfolk, by Anne, daughter of Robert Toppe, alderman of Norwich; his family was Lancastrian in politics. Thomas Lovell seems to have been entered at Lincoln's Inn.^[1]

He adhered to

battle of Bosworth. His attainder was reversed in Henry VII's first parliament.^[1]

Under Henry VII

On 12 October 1485 he was created

esquire of the body to Henry VII, with a pension, and he was advanced to be knight the body to the King before August 1487. He was also treasurer of the King's and Queen's chambers.^[1]

In the parliament summoned for 7 November 1485 Lovell was chosen for Northamptonshire, and on 8 November 1485 he was elected speaker. He headed the commons on 10 December 1485, when they requested the king to marry Elizabeth of York, to whom he subsequently lent £500 on the security of her plate. On 3 July 1486 he was one of the commission to treat with the Scots. He probably continued to sit in parliament (such as for Middlesex in 1491–92 and for Norfolk in 1495^[2]), though it is only certain that he was elected to that summoned for 16 January 1497. Sir John Mordaunt was chosen speaker in 1488.^[1]

In 1487 Lovell sided with King Henry against

knighted (9 June). On 11 March 1489 he became constable of Nottingham Castle.^[1]

The services rendered by Lovell to Henry VII included an active participation in the king's policy of

Sir Thomas Brandon, John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, and Sir Robert Sheffield.^[1]

Under Henry VIII

Henry VIII continued to employ Lovell. He was reappointed chancellor of the exchequer, and at Michaelmas 1512 was appointed

knighted at Tournai in 1513, landed at Calais with a hundred men, and was shortly afterwards joined by three hundred more.^[1]

The rise of

Edmund de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros, in 1508.^[1] In 1520 he travelled to France with the other Garter Knights to take part in the meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I of France now known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold

.

On 14 May 1523 he was reported to be very ill, and he died at Elsing on 25 May 1524. He was buried in a

Malvern Priory.^[1]

Family

His eldest brother, Gregory, inherited Barton Bendish, was knighted at the

knight-banneret at Blackheath in 1497. Margaret Brandon Lovell later married Hugh Manning.^[1]

Thomas Lovell married, first, Eleanor, daughter of Jeffrey Ratcliffe; and, secondly, Isabel, sister of

Edmund de Ros, 10th Baron de Ros, of Hamlake, a widow, but left no issue.^[1]

Legacy

By the numerous grants which he had from Henry VIII he died very rich. Lovell contributed towards the building of

Caius College, Cambridge, and built a gateway for Lincoln's Inn. He also built a manor-house at Harling in Norfolk. The greater part of his estates passed to his nephew Francis, whom he calls in his will his cousin. Francis was succeeded by his son, Sir Thomas Lovell (died 1567), and had another son, Gregory Lovell (1522–1597), who was cofferer to the household, and received a lease of Merton Abbey, Surrey, from Elizabeth I in 1587.^[1] Lovell had also worked with Lady Agnes Mellers who had become a rich widow in 1507 and he assisted in her wish to found what would become Nottingham High School.^[5]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Archbold 1893.
^ Cavill. The English Parliaments of Henry VII 1485-1504.
^ Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 34. Vol. 34. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. p. 175. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
^ Foedera, vol.6 part 1, Hague (1741), p.49
^ Adrian Henstock, 'Mellers, Agnes (d. 1513/14)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2006; online edn, May 2010 Retrieved 24 May 2017

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Archbold, William Arthur Jobson (1893). "Lovell, Thomas". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 34. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Political offices
Preceded by William Catesby	Speaker of the House of Commons 1485–1488	Succeeded by Sir John Mordaunt
Preceded by William Catesby	Chancellor of the Exchequer of England 1485–1524	Succeeded by John Bourchier

[FOOTNOTEArchbold1893-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Archbold 1893.

[2] Cavill. The English Parliaments of Henry VII 1485-1504.

[3] Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 34. Vol. 34. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. p. 175. Retrieved 7 January 2017.

[4] Foedera, vol.6 part 1, Hague (1741), p.49

[5] Adrian Henstock, 'Mellers, Agnes (d. 1513/14)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2006; online edn, May 2010 Retrieved 24 May 2017

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v t e Chancellors of the Exchequer under the House of Tudor (1485–1603)
Henry VII (1485–1509)	Thomas Lovell (1485–1509)
Henry VIII (1509–1547)	Thomas Lovell (1509–1524) 2nd Baron Berners (1524–1533) Thomas Cromwell (1533–1540) John Baker (1545–1547)
Edward VI (1547–July 1553)	John Baker (1545–July 1553)
Lady Jane Grey (July 1553)	John Baker (July 1553)
Mary I (July 1553–1558)	John Baker (July 1553–1558)
Elizabeth I (1558–1603)	Richard Sackville (1559–1566) Walter Mildmay (1566–1589) John Fortescue of Salden (1589–1603)