Henry Skipwith, MP

Family and Education 5th s. of Sir William Skipwith† of South Ormsby, Lincs. by his 2nd w. Alice, da. and coh. of Sir Lionel Dymoke of Mareham-on-the-Hill, Lincs.; half-bro. of Sir William Skipwith†. m. Jane (d.1598), da. of Francis Hall of Grantham, Lincs., wid. of Francis Nele (d.1559), of Prestwold and Cotes, 4s. inc. William Skipwith II 9da.1

Offices Held

Keeper of Ampthill great park 1565; equerry of royal stables by 1569; j.p. Leics. from c.1569; steward of crown lands 1570, commr. to enforce Acts of Uniformity and Supremacy, dioceses of Lincoln and Peterborough 1570; commr. musters, Leics. 1583.2

Biography Skipwith was already described as the Oueen’s servant in April 1559, when he was granted the reversion to the keepership of Ampthill great park; On 15 Sept. 1569 Elizabeth employed him to carry to the Earls of Huntingdon and Shrewsbury and Viscount Hereford a confidential message about Mary Stuart. Two years later Skipwith was again employed on delicate business: on 30 July he sent to Burghley, at his request, a list of the members of the Duke of Norfolk’s household who were in London; four days later he assisted Sir Ralph Sadler in guarding Norfolk, who was confined to his room; and on 7 Sept. conducted him to the Tower. There Skipwith remained, under the Queen’s orders, to act as custodian. He discovered the cipher and channels whereby Norfolk was communicating with the world outside, and secured his admission to receiving £2,000 of Mary’s money from the bishop of Ross.3

In 1584 Sadler, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, asked for the nomination to both Leicester borough seats, suggesting Skipwith, his former associate, as one candidate. After some delay the townsmen elected Skipwith and Thomas Johnson, the Hastings candidate, both Members agreeing to pay their own expenses. In 1586 the Privy Council wrote to the sheriff recommending the return of the same Members for the next Parliament, and Skipwith and Johnson were re-elected. There is no record of any activity by Skipwith in this Parliament.

He died intestate 14 Aug. 1588. He had received many rewards from the Queen, including the office of steward of crown lands in Leicestershire, granted just after the troubles of 1569, a lease of the woods of Groby manor, and a twice renewed lease of the rectory of Prestwold, which made a useful addition to the lands there that his wife held in dower from her first husband. Around these he built up a freehold estate, purchasing various manors, granges and small-holdings in the parish and nearby. In 1580 he was obliged to sue his brothers-in-law, Edmund and Henry Hall, for the completion of his title to Keythorpe, but by 1586 he was able to settle the estate on feoffees who included his brothers-in-law, his stepdaughter’s husband Everard Digby, his daughter-in-law’s brothers Thomas and William Cave, and Thomas Skeffington. His widow’s administration of the goods and chattels was disputed, and she had considerable difficulty in obtaining an account of her husband’s lands; the matter was eventually settled in her favour.4

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603 Author: S. M. Thorpe Notes 1. Nichols, Leics. iii. 368; Lincs. Peds. (Harl. Soc. lii), 889; C142/126/124. 2. HMC Hatfield, i. 419; CPR, 1558-60, p. 108; 1566-9, p. 161; 1569-72, p. 277; cal. and index patent rolls 1-16 Eliz. p. 259; Leicester Recs. iii. 196. 3. HMC Hatfield, i. 419, 522, 526, 532; HMC Hastings, ii. 8; iii. 3, 4, 10, 11, 13, 15, 551; CSP Dom. 1547-80, pp. 417, 426, 434; N. Williams, Duke of Norfolk, passim; SP12/88/2. 4. Leicester Recs. iii. 209-11, 227; C142/126/124; 223/66; CPR, 1560-3, p. 409; cal. and index patent rolls 1-16 Eliz. 14(6), p. 294; 17-30 Eliz. 20(6), p. 15; 24(12), p. 18; 28(11), p. 21; PCC 45 Nevell; Trans. Leics. Arch. Soc. xvii. 54-9. Henry SKIPWITH, Esq. of Keythorpe and Tugby, Leicestershire - fifth and youngest son of Sir William Skipwith of South Ormsby, Lincolnshire, and his second wife Alice Dymoke. Servant to Princess Elizabeth before she became Queen, and Equerry to Queen Elizabeth I from the beginning of her reign (1558) until his death. Keeper of Amptill Great Park, Bedfordshire, and Equerry at the Royal Stables, 1569. Steward of Crown Lands 1570. Commissioner to enforce that Acts of Uniformity and Supremacy in the Diocese of Lincoln and Peterborough.,1570. Commissioner of Musters in Leicestershire, 1583. M.P. for Leicestershire 1585 and 1586. Died intestate in London on 4 August 1588. Buried at Tugby. Henry purchased the manors of Prestwold and Cotes from his Neale step-daughters around 1570 and built the Mansion at Cotes around 1580. There is no evidence that he ever lived there.

Marriage and family: Henry Skipwith Esq. of Keythorpe, Leicestershire: Born 1539, married Jane, the widow of Francis Neale of Keythorpe but, by birth, the daughter of Francis Hall of Grantham, Lincolnshire. Henry Skipwith and Jane Neale (nee Hall) had the following children:

Sons:

• 1. Sir William Skipwith of Cotes and Prestwold Leicestershire, who married (1) Margaret, daughter of Roger Cave of Stanford, Leicestershire. The mother of his eight
• children. Married (2) Jane, widow of John Markham of Sidebrook but, by birth, daughter of John Roberts.
• 2. Francis Skipwith, who died in Cambridge. No issue.
• 3. George Skipwith who wa slain, age 24, at Bommel in Holland.
• 4. Henry Skipwith of Tugby and Knight Thorpe, Leicestershire, who married Joan, daughter of Leonard Aston of Longdon, Staffordshire. Had 3 children.

Daughters:

• 1. Jane Skipwith, who married William Samwell of Upton, Northamptonshire. Had 13 children.
• 2. Ursula Skipwith, who married Edward Ayscough/Askew of Nuns Cotham, Lincolnshire. Had ten children.
• 3. Margaret Skipwith, who married Sir Matthew Saunders/Sanders of Shankton, Leicestershire. Had five children.
• 4. Katherine Skipwith, who married Sir Walter Ayscough/Askew of Blibrough, Lincolnshire. Had 6 children.
• 5. Dorothy Skipwith who married John Woodward of Butler's Marston, Warwickshire. Had 3 children.
• 6. Bridget Skipwith, who married Walter Ayscough/Askew of Washingborough, Lincolnshire, Uncle of Sir Waler at 4 above. Had 7 children.
• 7. Anne Skipwith, who married Henry Smith of Withcock, Leicestershire. Had 15 children.
• 8. Alice Skipwith, who died unmarried.
• 9. Elizabeth Skipwith, who married Thomas Harrington Esq., of South Witham, Lincolnshire. Died giving birth to their only child.

Henry Skipwith Esq. died in London on 4 August and taken for burial in the Church of St. Thomas a Beckett, Tugby, Leicestershire, where the Burial Register records: "The Right Worshipful Mr. Harry Skipwith Esq., August 15, 1588." Jane died 11 May 1598 and was buried next to Henry at Tugby where the Burial Register records: "The Right Worshipful Mrs. Jane Skipwith May 11, 1598." An alabaster monument was erected to their name in the church at Tugby by their son Henry Skipwith (4th son, above) who records, on it, that he did so "in thankful remembrance and acknowledgment of the goodness, and religious education, that his father and mother bestowed on him." The monument lists all the children above with the names of their husbands.

[Note: By her first marriage to Francis Neale, Jane had three children: George Neale who died young; Thomas Neale who died age 18; and Marie Neale who married (i) Everard Digby of Stoke Dry, Rutland and (ii) Samson Erdesweek of Sandon, Staffordshire.]

Sources: (1) Pedigree of Skipwith of Cotes and Prestwold and details of Monument to Henry Skipwith of Keythorpe in Parish Church, Tugby, Leicestershire from: "The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester" by John Nichols. Vol III., Pt.1. First Published 1800. (2) Pedigree of Skipwith of Skipwith, Yorkshire, and South Ormsby, Lincolnshire. Pedigree of Skipwith of Cawthorpe and Walmsgate, Lincolnshire. Pedigree of Skipwith of Ketsby, Lincolnshire". From "Lincolnshire Pedigrees". Ed. Rev. Canon A.R. Maddison, M.A., F.S.A. Vol III. Harleian Society Vol LII, London 1904.]

Information provided by Martin Wood. July 2012.