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Sir Thomas Leigh (c. 1509 – November 17, 1571[1]) was Lord Mayor of London in 1558. He was an Elizabethan soldier, diplomat and, for 40 years, the cut-throat Governor of Guernsey.
Thomas was born about 1509 in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England to Roger and Anne Leigh. He was the great-great grandson of Sir Piers Legh II, who was wounded at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
Thomas was raised by Sir Roland Hill, a wool merchant in London. Thomas later joined Roland's business, and around 1537, he married Roland's niece and heir, Alice Barker,[1] daughter of John Barker and Elizabeth Hill. Thomas also served as Sheriff of London[2] in 1555[3] and in 1558 as Lord Mayor of London.
In 1558, after the death of Mary I of England, Thomas led the procession leading up to the coronation of Elizabeth I of England.[4] In 1559, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth.[5]
In 1561, Thomas Leigh and Roland Hill purchased Stoneleigh Abbey after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and a house was built on the site of the monastical buildings. Some of Leigh's descendants lived in the estate from 1561 to 1990.
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Was made Lord High Mayor of London in 1558
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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Leigh-1582
Marriage
In 1536, he married Sir Rowland Hill's niece and heir,[9] Alice Barker[8][12] (d. 1608, alias Covedale of Wolverton), the daughter of John Barker[3][16] and Elizabeth Hill.[7] Alice is fairly well described:[17]
Alice daughter of John Barker and coheiress of her uncle, Sir Rowland Hill (and Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Hill, and sister of Sir Rowland Hill, first Protestant Lord Mayor of London, in 1549).
Married Sir Thomas Leigh descended from the Leighs of High Leigh. Guillim, p. 248, says: "She was called the favourite niece of Sir Rowland, whose hand is said to have been the reward of her husband's fidelity and industry as foreign factor of her Uncle, and likewise brought with it the wealth and estates which support the peerage of Leigh of Stoneleigh granted to her descendants."
The extinct Lords Leigh of Stoneleigh
Leighs of Stoneleigh Abbey
Children by his wife, Alice Barker
He was buried at Mercers' Chapel, London.
Arms
“confirmed to Sir Thomas Leigh or Lee, Lord Mayor of London in 1588, son of Roger Lee or Leigh, of Wellington, Co. Salop...gules on a cross between 4 unicorns heads erased or five roundels azure.”[19]
Will
Will: 20 Dec 1570 Proved: 14 Dec 1671[7][20]
Research Notes
Alice (Trafford) Leigh (1487 - 1551) was previously listed in the biography as the mother of Thomas Leigh. His mother is an unknown Trafford. The sources listing Alice as his mother cite Burkes as their only source. Burkes is unreliable. The previously linked Alice Trafford married 1st Thomas Butler
Comments
THOMAS IS POSSIBLY CONNECTED TO THE WRONG PARENTS AND BROTHER.
- updated Jan 2014. Should be correct now.
Also note the Wikipedia update. They now say:
"He has been wrongly credited to be the ancestor that links Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge as cousins. The actual common ancestor is Sir Thomas Leighton, the governor of Guernsey."
Notes
From Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive - Leigh of Stoneleigh [DR 18/2 - DR 18/3]
The Leigh family originated from Shropshire but the first to achieve prominence was Thomas Leigh (d. 1571), a London merchant, who bought the site, and many of the estates, of the medieval abbey of Stoneleigh, as well as the manor of Adlestrop, formerly belonging to Evesham Abbey. Nearby Longborough lands were acquired through marriage. On his death these holdings were divided between two of his sons, Thomas II and Rowland, the former receiving the Warwickshire lands and Rowland those in Gloucestershire. Thomas II (died 1626) was created a baronet in 1611 and his grandson, Thomas III, a baron in 1643. A marriage in 1588 had added lands at Leighton Buzzard (co. Beds.) to the family estates, and Thomas II purchased lands in Ardington (co. Bucks.) and Hamstall Ridware (co. Staffs.).
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1509 |
1509
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England
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1535 |
1535
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England (United Kingdom)
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1537 |
1537
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Bassingthorpe, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England
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1538 |
1538
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England
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1540 |
1540
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England
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1545 |
1545
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England
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1547 |
1547
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England
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1551 |
1551
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England
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1555 |
1555
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Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, England
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