Thomas Nevill

Sir Thomas Neville
Spouse(s)	Katherine Dacre Elizabeth Bryce
Issue Margaret Neville
Father	George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny
Mother	Margaret Fenne
Born	c.1484
Died	29 May 1542
Buried	Mereworth, Kent

Sir Thomas Neville or Nevill (by 1484 – 29 May 1542) was a younger son of George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny. He was a prominent lawyer and a trusted councillor of King Henry VIII, and was elected Speaker of the House of Commons in 1515.

Neville was the fifth son of George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny (1436–1492), by his first wife, Margaret Fenne (d. 28 September 1485), the daughter and heir of Sir Hugh Fenne of Scoulton, Norfolk, Treasurer of the Household to King Henry VI.

Although there is no formal record of his legal education, Neville was a member of Gray's Inn, and by 1514 had begun to oversee the legal process by which tenants in chief of the Crown sued out their liveries to obtain possession of their estates. In 1529 he was appointed to supervise the suing out of all liveries involving lands in England, Wales and Calais. Between the years 1516 and 1527 he was also in frequent attendance at meetings of King Henry VIII's council, and was active in both Star Chamber and the Court of Requests. It is said that by 1522, of the Masters of Requests only he and Sir Thomas More had access to the King.

Details of Neville's early Parliamentary career are unclear, although it is likely he represented a constituency in Kent. On 8 February 1515, he was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons, and knighted by Henry VIII in the presence of both houses, 'a mark of distinction thought to be without precedent'. After his term as Speaker, he appears to have left Parliament, but continued to serve at court, where he had livery in Henry VIII's household in 1519. He was a signatory to at least two treaties, and was present at both the Field of Cloth of Gold and Henry VIII's meeting with Emperor Charles V. He is recorded as having received a New Year's gift from the King in 1533, and was among the courtiers present when Anne of Cleves was welcomed at Dover.

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