Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland

Thomas Manners
1st Earl of Rutland
Effigy of Manners, St Mary's Church, Bottesford, Leicestershire, near to his seat of Belvoir Castle
Father	George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros
Mother	Anne St Leger
Born	c. 1492
Died	20 September 1543(1543-09-20)

Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland, 12th Baron de Ros of Helmsley (c. 1492 – 20 September 1543), KG, of Belvoir Castle, Rutland, was created Earl of Rutland by King Henry VIII in 1525.

Thomas was the son of Sir George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros (c.1470-1513) by his wife Anne St Leger (1476–1526). His maternal grandparents were Sir Thomas St Leger (c.1440-1483) and Anne of York (1439-1476), a daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville. She was thus an elder sister of Kings Edward IV (1461-1483) and of his brother and eventual successor, Richard III (1483-1485). Her other siblings were Edmund, Earl of Rutland, Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk, Margaret of York and George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence.

On 22 June 1513 Thomas landed at Calais on the French expedition. In 1513 he became Baron Ros on his father's death and was summoned in 1515 to Parliament. He was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 and at King Henry VIII's meeting with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor afterwards. In December 1521 he became cupbearer to the king. In January 1522 he was made steward of Pickering, Yorkshire, and from April to October of the same year he held the appointment of Lord Warden of the East Marches, in which he was succeeded by Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland. He received the wardenship of Sherwood Forest on 12 July 1524, an office which afterwards became practically hereditary in his family. He was appointed a Knight of the Garter on 24 April 1525 and on 18 June 1525 he was made Earl of Rutland. He was a great favourite of King Henry VIII and received many grants, including the keepership of Enfield Chase on 12 July 1526. On 11 October 1532 he landed with the king in France. He was at the coronation of Queen Anne Boleyn in 1533 and later took part in her trial. Rutland was actively engaged in meeting the Pilgrimage of Grace. He held a joint command with the Earls of Huntingdon and Shrewsbury and marched to Nottingham and thence to Newark, Southwell, and Doncaster against the northern rebels.