Thomas Keyes
| Thomas Keyes | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Born by 1524 |
| Died | Before 5 September 1571 |
| Occupation | Captain of Sandgate Castle, Serjeant Porter |
| Spouse(s) | unknown first wife Lady Mary Grey |
| Children | Jane Merrick, other children whose names are unknown |
Thomas Keyes or Keys (by 1524 – before 5 September 1571) was captain of Sandgate Castle, and serjeant porter to Queen Elizabeth I. Without the Queen's consent, he married Lady Mary Grey, who had a claim to the throne.
Thomas Keyes, born by 1524, was the son and heir of Richard Keyes, esquire, who was twice married. According to Richardson, Thomas Keyes was the son of his father's first marriage, to Agnes Saunders, daughter of Henry Saunders of Ewell, Surrey. Richard Keyes married secondly Mildred Digges, a daughter of Sir John Scott (died 1533) of Scot's Hall at Smeeth, Kent, by Anne Pympe, the daughter and heiress of Reynold Pympe, esquire, of Nettlestead, Kent, and Elizabeth Pashley, the daughter of John Pashley, esquire. According to Bindoff and Sherwood, Thomas Keyes was the son of this marriage. Before her marriage to Richard Keyes, Mildred Scott had first been the wife of John Digges, esquire.
In 1528 Richard Keyes was in the service of King Henry VIII's first Queen, Catherine of Aragon, and was later one of the King's serjeants at arms, an office he resigned in November 1541. He was a commissioner and paymaster for the building of Sandgate Castle during the years 1539-40. On 10 May 1538 he was granted a 21-year lease of the dissolved monastery of St. Radegund's near Dover. In his will, dated 15 November 1545, Richard Keyes bequeathed lodging to his son, Thomas, and Thomas's wife and servants, at St. Radegund's during the lifetime of Thomas' mother, and after her death, the leases of St. Radegund's and of Richard Keyes' house at Lewisham, Kent. At his father's death, Thomas Keyes also succeeded to his father's post as captain of Sandgate Castle, for which he later received an annuity of £40.
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