Thomas Tuddenham
| Sir Thomas Tuddenham | |
|---|---|
| Spouse(s) | Alice Wodehouse |
| Father | Sir Robert Tuddenham |
| Born |
10 May 1401 Eriswell, Suffolk |
| Died | 23 February 1462 (aged 60) Tower Hill |
| Buried | Austin Friars, London |
Sir Thomas Tuddenham (10 May 1401 – 23 February 1462) was an influential Norfolk landowner, official and courtier. He served as Steward of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Keeper of the Great Wardrobe. During the Wars of the Roses he allied himself with the Lancastrian side, and after the Yorkist victory in 1461 was charged with treason and beheaded on Tower Hill on 23 February 1462.
Thomas Tuddenham, born 10 May 1401 at Eriswell, Suffolk, and baptized in the parish church there, was the younger son of Sir Robert Tuddenham (1366–1405) and Margaret Harling, the daughter of John Harling, esquire.
His elder brother, Robert, died in 1415, at which time Tuddenham inherited the family estates. However, as he was still underage his wardship and marriage fell to the Crown, and in July 1417 were granted to Sir John Rodenhale and John Wodehouse, esquire. Tuddenham married Wodehouse's daughter in about 1418, and was granted livery of his lands in March 1423.
On 30 June 1425 Wodehouse surrendered his office of steward of the Duchy of Lancaster in order that it could be granted to his son-in-law. Tuddenham was also knighted about this time, and perhaps through his father-in-law's influence entered the service of Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter. His landholdings in Norfolk were augmented in 1434 when he inherited the manor of Oxburgh from a cousin.
After Exeter's death in 1426, Tuddenham aligned himself with William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1396–1450), Exeter's successor as the leading nobleman in Norfolk. As an ally of Suffolk, Tuddenham was the recipient of numerous appointments and grants in East Anglia and in the household of Henry VI. He was Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1432, and Member of Parliament for Suffolk in 1431, and for Norfolk in 1432, 1435 and 1442. On 29 September 1443 he and Suffolk were jointly appointed to the chief stewardship of the north parts of the Duchy of Lancaster. On 26 October 1446 Tuddenham was appointed Keeper of the Great Wardrobe in the royal household.
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