Sir Humphrey Forster

Humphrey Forster, ll (b. ABT 1500 - d. 1556) 

• parents: son of George Forster and Elizabeth de la Mare Married: 

1. Elizabeth Sandys, daughter of William Sandys (1º B. Sandys of the Vine) & Margaret Bray Children:
2. 1. William Forster (b. ABT 1525 - d. 10 Jan 1574) (m. Jane Hungerford, daughter of Anthony Hungerford)

Biography

The Forster coat of arms

Elizabeth de la Mare's husband, George Forster, was the son of Sir Humphrey Forster I from Harpsden near Henley.  When Elizabeth and George married, George became the owner of Aldermaston Manor along with other manors previously owned by the De la Mare family. His assumed wealth meant that he was part of Henry VIII's entourage at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.George was succeeded by his son, Humphrey II, in 1533.

A secondary manor called Hussey's lay near the border with Ufton and was owned by the Fettiplaces of North Denchworth. By Tudor times, however, it was run by the Perkins family of Ufton Robert Manor (and later Ufton Court). Mr. Richard Perkins let his brother, Francis, live at Pam Hall, the manor house of Hussey's but a serious dispute concerning the manor's overlordship arose with their neighbour,  Sir Humphrey Forster of Aldermaston House. Being the son-in-law of Lord Sandys of the Vyne, King Henry VIII's Lord Chamberlain, Sir Humphrey hob-knobbed at Court and clearly thought himself somewhat above the local Berkshire gentry; and, to match his over inflated ego, he had a very bad temper. It is not known what eventually brought the argument to a head but, one day in 1534, Sir Humphrey armed his servants with bows, arrows, swords, shields, daggers and spears, and, at half past five in the morning, they marched on Padworth House. Finding Francis Perkins in his nightshirt in the hall, Sir Humphrey immediately began to assault him. He was only prevented from killing him by the pleas of his poor wife who came running downstairs in her nightdress. Instead, he was tied up and escorted to Ufton Robert where he was thrown at the feet of his brother, Mr. Richard Perkins, who was taking breakfast with a number of guests. Sir Humphrey then started on Richard, taking him by the hair and insisting that he keep his hands of the Forster lands in Padworth. One guest tried to intervene but was quickly punched in the stomach. Sir Humphrey drew his sword, and was about to do still worse damage to the lord of Ufton, when his wife held back his arms. Forster decided to leave, but took Francis Perkins with him and threw him in his local Aldermaston lock-up for the night. The Perkins brothers took Sir Humphrey to the local court in Wokingham, but he bribed and threatened the jury. The outcome of a later case at the Court of the 'Star Chamber' is not known. It was Richard Perkins' intervening wife, Elizabeth, who later, as Lady Marvyn, instigated the famous dole of bread and cloth for the parishioners of Ufton and Padworth. It is supposed to have been done in thanks for finding her way home after getting lost in some woods in 1581. (1)

Humphrey was later succeeded by his son, William (who married Jane, daughter of Anthony Hungerford).  Elizabeth I visited Aldermaston twice. Her first visit, in 1558, was during the lordship of William, and the second – in 1592 – during his son Humphrey III's tenure.

Links 

1. Berkshire History - Padworth - Marauders and Murderers
2.  Aldermaston Court - The Forster Family (1490 - 1752)
3.  Tudorplace.com.AR

Sir Humphrey Forster of Aldermaston in the county of Berkshire, knight, eldest son and heir to Sir George aforesaid, married Elizabeth daughter to Sir William Sandys, knight, Lord Sandys of the Vyne in the county of Southampton, and by her had issue, William Forster, his eldest son and heir; Elizabeth married to George Covert of ..... in the county of Sussex, esquire; Margaret, second daughter, married to Anthony Elmes of Bolney Haye in the county of Oxfordshire, esquire; Anne, third daughter, married to Edmund Brimsdon of New Inn, London, gentleman.