Thomas St Clere
| Thomas St Clere (1401-1435) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 October 1401 |
| Died | 1435 |
| Occupation | Landowner |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Hoo |
| Children | Elizabeth St Clere Eleanor St Clere Edith St Clere |
Thomas St Clere (28 October 1401 – 1435) was a son of Sir Philip St Clere of Penshurst Place. He was a major landowner whose estates included property in eight English counties.
Thomas was the younger son of Sir Philip St Clere and his wife Margaret de Loveyne. At an enquiry held on 6 March 1423/4 to assess whether Thomas had reached the age of majority, a total of twelve witnesses testified that he had been born at East Grinstead on 28 October 1401 and baptised at the church there on the same day. Thomas’ parents died during his childhood and their property was inherited by their oldest son, John St Clere. However, John in turn died on 2 November 1418, at which stage his younger brother Thomas became his heir. The extensive range of properties that Thomas inherited were situated in a total of eight counties – Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk and Surrey.
Thomas St Clere married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Hoo and his wife Alice St Omer. Thomas was still a minor in the wardship of Henry V at the time of his marriage but the necessary licence had not obtained from the King. On 5 February 1422/3, a pardon was granted to Sir John Pelham who had arranged the marriage. The record of this pardon states that John had been ordered to have Thomas unmarried before the King in Chancery at a certain day but, nevertheless, John caused Thomas to be married in the meantime; this suggests that the marriage probably took place fairly soon before the pardon was granted, probably in 1422. On 8 February 1423/4, Thomas paid £200 to Henry VI in order to be forgiven for his own involvement in the irregularity.
Thomas and Margaret were the parents of:
There is some evidence that Thomas followed a military career. On 2 March 1429/30 he had protection granted to him for one year in order to "proceed to the king's parts of France" in the company of Sir Roger Fenys. "Letters of protection" were issued to protect people who were going abroad for approved purposes from being maliciously sued in the King's courts. However, in due course the Sheriff of Oxfordshire reported that Thomas was still lingering in that county, as result of which the protection was revoked on 1 November 1430. It seems likely that Sir Roger Fenys was the fellow Sussex landowner, also recorded as "Sir Roger Fiennes", who later built Herstmonceaux Castle.
An inquisition held at Thame, Oxfordshire on 9 November 1435 about his property holdings reported that Thomas died overseas. It is feasible that Thomas could have been one of the army commanded by John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel, another major Sussex landowner, which was defeated with considerable loss of life at the Battle of Gerberoy on 9 May 1435.
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