Sir Thomas "The Younger" Wyatt, MP

Family and Education b. by 1521, o.s. of Sir Thomas Wyatt I. m. settlement Mar. 1537, Jane, da. and coh. of Sir William Haute of Bishopsbourne, Kent, 6s. 4da. suc. fa 11 Oct. 1542. Kntd. Jan./May 1545.2

Offices Held

Capt. of Bas Boulogne 1545-6; j.p. Kent 1547; commr. relief 1550, goods of churches and fraternities 1553; sheriff 1550-1.3

Biography Thomas Wyatt had only recently come of age when his father died in October 1542; a letter from the elder Wyatt in Spain, written in 1537 or 1538, is endorsed in what appears to be a 16th-century hand, ‘to his son, then 15 years old’. The father exhorted the son, who was already married, to live contentedly with his wife—something Sir Thomas himself had failed to do—and in general to follow the good example of his grandfather rather than the past behaviour of his father; in another letter he advised the study of moral philosophy. Although Sir Thomas Wyatt stood well with Cromwell, the Thomas Wyatt who entered the minister’s household about this time was probably not his son but a namesake, possibly a distant kinsman of Barking, Essex. Wyatt himself was a wild young man, pardoned for robbery in November 1542 and imprisoned in the Tower in April 1543 for eating meat on Fridays and fast days (for which he pleaded a licence) and rioting in London with the Earl of Surrey, a charge which he first denied and then admitted. He was released early in May and a month later was given an outlet for his energies in levying men for the war against France.4

Wyatt grasped eagerly at the prospect of active service. Commissioned to lead 100 foot soldiers of the vanguard, he must have acquitted himself well since in November 1544 he was put in charge of part of the garrison of Boulogne and early in 1545 promoted to be captain of Bas Boulogne and member of the council of the town. He remained there for the rest of the year. Writing to Sir William Petre in December 1545, Secretary Paget recommended him to the King’s service. Already a good keeper of discipline and capable of devising sound schemes of fortification, he would, Paget declared, develop with time and experience into a very able soldier; Paget’s only misgiving was lest Wyatt should have inherited his father’s weakness of ‘too strong opinion’, but he judged him a wise young man for his age. A few days later the Earl of Surrey wrote to the King in the same vein: Wyatt was anxious to pay a visit home and Surrey begged leave for him to report on the progress of the campaign.5

Early in the New Year Wyatt was back in Boulogne, taking part in a raid which cost the English heavy losses. Although unhurt on this occasion, he was wounded at some other time. In March 1546 the Earl of Hertford arrived in Calais and ordered Wyatt and the surveyor of works at Boulogne to sound the harbour of Ambleteuse; they reported considerable silting. In April Wyatt took part in the survey of Boulogne and joined Hertford in the ‘camp near to Newhaven’ by the old port of Ambleteuse. He badly wanted to be given the command of the fortress built there and was indeed appointed its captain by Hertford, but in June news came from England that the King had chosen William Stourton, 7th Baron Stourton; disappointed, Wyatt sought leave to return home. In the following March he was licensed to grant the house of the Crutched Friars in London, which his father had received from Henry VIII, to Admiral Seymour and (Sir) William Sharington. He sat in Edward VI’s first Parliament as a knight of the shire for Kent.6

Early in Edward’s reign Wyatt and others submitted a general scheme for the establishment of a militia to the Protector Somerset and some of the Council. Although approved in principle, the scheme was not carried further, ‘either for the newness of the thing’, Wyatt’s son George later explained, ‘or for that it was not at that season thought so convenient to have the subjects armed, whereof the greater numbers were evil affected to the religion then professed, or for that some division then being amongst those that bore the sway, some hindered that the other liked of’. Wyatt and his friends, who included Sir James Croft, Sir William Pickering, Robert Rudston and Sir James Wilford, thereupon prepared a more detailed plan ‘to be tendered and viewed over by the then lord Protector’s grace to have been established by Parliament’. According to his son, Wyatt’s own contribution, of which two fragments survive, was based upon his observations of military practice ‘in Italy, Germany and France and especially amongst the Switzers’, travels which have not been recorded elsewhere. The proposals again came to nothing but at about the same time Wyatt demonstrated the effectiveness of his ideas by leading the local gentry in the suppression of disorders which broke out in Kent during May 1549. It may have been in part for this service that in June 1550 he was granted the manor of Maidstone, of which his father had been steward. In November 1550 the French ambassador asked that ‘some one man of trust’ might be sent over to Calais to assist the English commissioners in negotiating with France ways of avoiding further quarrels over the boundaries. It had already been decided to send Wyatt to advise the deputy and council of Calais, and on 11 Nov. he was appointed to join in the negotiations. It was only a short visit; on 16 Nov. the Privy Council ordered him to return and a fortnight later he was said to be too ill to take part in the negotiations.7

Whatever Wyatt’s private thoughts on the accession of Mary he supported her (so he later claimed) against the Duke of Northumberland; certainly by 19 July 1553 he had proclaimed her Queen. But the news of the Spanish marriage, announced on 15 Jan. 1554, was more than he could endure. Although the Queen instructed Sir Thomas Cornwallis and Sir Edward Hastings to explain the situation, and offered to arrange a conference with him, it was to no avail. Declaring that 100 Spaniards had already landed at Dover, he called on the people of Kent to follow him and save England from the foreigners and the Queen from her advisers. This proclamation was read at Maidstone and other places on 25 Jan. and the rebellion began. Wyatt had an early success at Rochester against the 3rd Duke of Norfolk, took Cooling Castle, the home of his uncle the 9th Lord Cobham, with little difficulty, and marched on London. But there his fortunes changed. The Londoners would not support him, and after several days of indecision the final assault on the City failed; Wyatt was taken prisoner at Temple Bar and quickly lodged in the Tower. Five weeks later he was brought to trial and pleaded guilty to high treason but protested that he never intended harm to the Queen herself. On 11 Apr. he was beheaded on Tower Hill, maintaining on the scaffold that Princess Elizabeth, the Earl of Devon and others were innocent of any part in the uprising. He also besought Secretary Bourne to intercede with the Queen for his wife and children; and although Bourne made no reply at the time, Mary in June 1554 granted Wyatt’s widow an annuity of 200 marks and in December 1555 she restored some of Wyatt’s lands. In the meantime a bill confirming Wyatt’s attainder had failed in the Commons when on 5 May 1554 an amendment from the Lords was rejected, but in the following Parliament a bill to the same effect had been enacted (1 and 2 Phil. and Mary c.21).8

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558 Author: Helen Miller Notes 1. Hatfield 207. 2. Date of birth estimated from age at fa.’s i.p.m., C142/65/90. Works of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and Sir Thomas Wyatt the elder ed. Nott, ii. ped.; LP Hen. VIII, xx; CPR, 1555-7, p. 159; DNB. 3. LP Hen. VIII, xx, xxi; CPR, 1547-8, p. 85; 1553, pp. 355, 414. 4. LP Hen. VIII, xiii, xvii, xviii; M. L. Robertson, ‘Cromwell’s servants’ (Univ. California Los Angeles Ph.D. thesis, 1975), 594; PPC, vii. 104-5, 125-6, 142. 5. LP Hen. VIII, xix, xx. 6. Ibid. xxi; State Trials ed. Howell, i. 862; CPR, 1547-8, p. 3. 7. BM Loan 15/17, 23 ptd. incorrectly Pprs. Geo. Wyatt (Cam. Soc. ser. 4, v), 53 seq; D. E. Hoak, The King’s Council in the Reign of Edw. VI, 199-200; W. K. Jordan, Edw. VI, i. 446; ii. 125; CPR, 1549-51, p. 337; APC, iii. 147, 152, 156, 157. 8. Add. 33230, f. 21; State Trials, i. 861-3; CSP Dom. 1547-80, p. 56; Loseley Mss ed. Kempe, 127; J. Proctor, The historie of Wyates rebellion (An Eng. Garner, ed. Arber, viii), passim; D. M. Loades, Two Tudor Conspiracies, passim; Pprs. Geo. Wyatt, 9-11; DKR, iv(2), 24-25; Chron. Q. Jane and Q. Mary (Cam. Soc. xlviii), 72-73; CPR, 1553-4, p. 275; 1555-7, p. 159; CJ, i. 35, 36, 41.

Sir Thomas Wyatt was executed April 11, 1554 for the rebellion against Queen Mary, in order to prevent her alliance with Philip of Spain. Some of his confiscated estates were restored to his wife Lady Jane after his execution.

From http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/650134/Sir-Thomas-Wyatt-t...:

born c. 1521 died April 11, 1554, London

Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, panel painting by an unknown artist; in the National Portrait … [Credits : Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London]

English soldier and conspirator who led an unsuccessful rebellion against Queen Mary I, probably the most formidable uprising ever faced by a Tudor monarch.

Wyatt’s father was the renowned poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyatt. As a young man he acquired a reputation for recklessness, and in 1543 he was briefly imprisoned for taking part in a London street riot. From 1543 to 1549 or 1550, he served in the army abroad—especially in France—achieving recognition as a skillful and daring officer.

Wyatt then returned to England and in 1551 served as sheriff in Kent, where he formed his own rudimentary military organization. On King Edward VI’s death (July 1553) he supported the accession of Mary, a Roman Catholic, but by the end of the year he turned against the Queen, considering her proposed marriage to the future king Philip II of Spain to be an affront to England’s national honour. He accordingly joined several others, including Lady Jane Grey’s father, the Duke of Suffolk, in a conspiracy against the crown. The plot was revealed to Mary’s lord chancellor, Stephen Gardiner, by the Earl of Devon, one of the conspirators, at the end of January 1554, with the result that of the conspirators only Wyatt succeeded in raising an army. At first the government offered to negotiate with him, but it soon decided to suppress the insurgents. A force under the command of Thomas Howard, the aged duke of Norfolk, who was sent to put down the rebellion, largely defected to Wyatt.

On Feb. 3, 1554, Wyatt entered the outskirts of London with some 3,000 men. He advanced swiftly to Ludgate, but his troops became disheartened when the populace did not join their cause. Confronted by the royal forces, Wyatt surrendered after a brief engagement. He was tried on March 15 and executed less than a month later. To the last, Mary’s partisans made strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to persuade him to implicate Princess (afterward Queen) Elizabeth in his conspiracy. After his death he and his followers were widely regarded as patriots and martyrs by a populace that was becoming increasingly repelled by Mary’s persecution of Protestants.

Citations

MLA Style:

"Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 03 Nov. 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/650134/Sir-Thomas-Wyatt-t...>.

APA Style:

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wyatt_the_younger

Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger (1521 – 11 April 1554) was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion".

Birth and career

He was born at Allington Castle, the only son of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the famous poet, and Elizabeth Brooke, daughter of the 8th Baron Cobham. His father was a well-known poet, courtier and ambassador, who has, by legend but without incontrovertible evidence, been presumed to have been deeply in love with Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, before Henry became attracted to her; he may later have pursued another of Henry VIII's lovers, Mary Shelton. His mother was involved in similar scandals, and his parents separated because of her open adultery. Elizabeth was a very attractive woman, who in February 1542 attracted the attention of Henry VIII, whose fifth wife was then in the Tower awaiting execution. The Imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, reported that she could possibly end up as wife number six, despite still being married to Wyatt.[1]

The Duke of Norfolk was his godfather. At the age of fifteen he became a squire at the court of King Henry VIII, and Joint Constable of Conisborough Castle. In the same year, his father was imprisoned after a feud with the king's brother-in-law, Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, on the false charge of adultery with Queen Anne. The Queen was beheaded, but the elder Wyatt was released, He was imprisoned again in 1541 and only released after the intervention of Queen Catherine Howard. Thomas himself married Jane Hawte, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Hawte of Bishopsbourne, by whom he had several children. He is also thought to have had an illegitimate son by Elizabeth Darrell, a daughter of Sir Edward Darrell of Littlecote who had been the long-term mistress of his father.

He accompanied his father on a mission to Spain and his experiences - reportedly his witnessing the activities of the Spanish Inquisition[citation needed] turned him into an enemy of Spain. On his father's death in 1542, he inherited Allington Castle and Boxley Abbey. There were rumours that after his father's death, Wyatt the younger became the lover of his father's long-term mistress, Elizabeth Darrell. She had given birth to three children by Wyatt, but Wyatt the younger may have been the father of her third son, Edward.

He was of a wild disposition, and became a boon companion of the Earl of Surrey (the Duke of Norfolk's son). In 1543, they were arrested for breaking windows in London while drunk. He was tried before the Privy Council and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

England was then at war with France in alliance with Emperor Charles V. On his release, Wyatt joined the English troops fighting for Charles in Flanders, obtaining valuable military experience. In 1543 he took part in the siege of Landrecies, and in the following year was at the siege of Boulogne. He was commended for his service, and was knighted in 1547. He remained abroad until 1550.

Wyatt's Rebellion

Main article: Wyatt's Rebellion

Returning to Allington, he lived quietly until the death of Edward VI in 1553, when he joined the Duke of Northumberland's abortive attempt to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne in place of Mary I.

Wyatt escaped punishment by Queen Mary. He took no further part in politics until Mary's betrothal to Philip of Spain. In 1554 he joined a conspiracy to prevent the marriage. A general movement was planned; but his fellow-conspirators were timid and inept. The rising was serious only in Kent, and Wyatt became a formidable rebel mostly by accident.

Wyatt proclaimed his rebellion on 26 January in Rochester. Many of the country folk responded. The royal forces sent against him deserted or joined him, including part of the London trainbands under the Duke of Norfolk (his godfather).

With 4,000 men Wyatt marched on London, but was turned back at London Bridge and Ludgate. His men deserted and he surrendered.

He was brought to trial on 15 March, and could make no defence. Execution was for a time delayed, no doubt in the hope that in order to save his life he would say enough to compromise the queen's sister Elizabeth, afterwards Queen Elizabeth, in whose interests the rising was supposed to have been made. But he would not confess enough to render her liable to a trial for treason. It was only through Elizabeth's dignity and composure that she managed to escape from the scandal unharmed, although she was spied upon and placed under house arrest for the rest of her sister's reign.

He was executed on 11 April, and on the scaffold expressly cleared the princess of all complicity in the rising. After he was beheaded, his body was quartered.

His estates were afterwards partly restored to his son, George. George's son, Sir Francis Wyatt (d. 1644), was governor of Virginia in 1621–26 and 1639–42. A fragment of the castle of Allington is still inhabited as a farm-house, near Maidstone, on the bank of the Medway.

See James Anthony Froude, History of England.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

"Sir Thomas WYATT, "The Younger"". http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/ThomasWyatt(Sir)2.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-11.

1.^ The Mistresses of Henry VIII by Kelly Hart, p.197

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http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/WYATT.htm#Thomas "The Younger" WYATT (Sir)

Thomas "The Younger" WYATT (Sir)

Born: 1521

Died: 11 Apr 1554, London, England

Notes: See his Biography.

Father: Thomas "The Elder" WYATT (Sir)

Mother: Elizabeth BROOKE

Married: Jane HAWTE (b. 1522 - d. AFT 1595) (dau. of Sir William Hawte and Maria Guildford) 1537, Bishopsbourne and Wavering, England

Children:

1. George WYATT (Sir)

2. Anne WYATT

3. Frances WYATT

4. Jane WYATT

5. Richard WYATT

6. Carolus WYATT

7. Arthur WYATT

8. Henry WYATT

9. Joyce WYATT

10. Ursula WYATT

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He was called "The Rebel". Was beheaded in 1554.

Sir Thomas Wyatt c.1520–54, English soldier and conspirator; son of the poet Sir Thomas Wyatt. In Jan., 1554, when Queen Mary's intention to marry Philip II of Spain was announced, Wyatt joined a planned insurrection against the queen. His allies in other parts of the country were arrested or dispersed, but Wyatt raised a small army in Kent. Troops were sent against him at Rochester, but most of them deserted to Wyatt's side. He set out for London and arrived early in February, but defections and the loyalty of Londoners to Queen Mary prevented him from capturing her and taking the city. He surrendered and was executed as a traitor. It was supposed by many that Princess Elizabeth was involved, but Wyatt's last statement exonerated her.

Born at Allington Castle in 1521; only son of Sir Thomas, the Elder, by his wife, Elizabeth Brooke, daughter of Thomas Brooke, third Lord Cobham; the Duke of Norfolk was one of his godfathers. His parents were already estranged, his father rarely at home, being either abroad on the King’s business or at Court. In boyhood he is said to have accompanied his father on an embassy to Spain, where the elder Sir Thomas Wyatt was threatened by the Inquisition. To this episode has been traced an irremovable detestation of the Spanish government, but the anecdote is probably apocryphal. All that is positively known of his relations with his father while the latter was in Spain is found in two letters which the elder Wyatt addressed from Spain to the younger, then fifteen years old. The letters give much sound moral advice.

At 15 he was appointed Esquire of the Body, to Henry VIII, and Joint Constable of Conysborough Castle (Yorkshire) post previously held by father and grandfather.

Barely 16 he married Jane Hawte, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Hawte of Bishopsbourne, and Maria Guildford. She bore him 10 children, of whom 3 married and left issue.

He was brought up as a catholic. He is described as 'twenty-one years and upwards' in the 'inquisition post mortem' of his father, which was dated 8 Jan 1542/43. He succeeded on his father's death in 1542 to Allington Castle and Boxley Abbey in Kent, with much other property. But the estate was embarrassed, and he parted with some outlying lands on 30 Nov 1543 to the King, receiving for them 3,669l.8s. 2d. In 1542 he alienated, too, the estate of Tarrant in Dorset in favour of Francis Wyatt, whose mother was Elizabeth, dau. of Sir Edward Darrel of Littlecote. Various authors and authorities give conflicting accounts of Elizabeth Darrell’s connection with the Wyatts. Fore some authors, she was the mistress of the elder Sir Thomas, for others, she bore her sons to the younger Wyatt. Cross references fit the cases of both men - is it possible that she became the mistress of both men?

Thomas Wyatt served as volunteer in wars against France BET 1543-50 and given command of troops. He was Knighted in 1547. During this period Henry VIII died, succeeded by his son Edward VI. When Wyatt returned to England he took no part in public affairs.

Wyatt was of somewhat wild and impulsive temperament. At an early age he had made the acquaintance of his father's disciple, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. In 1545 he was in London, with Surrey and a band of boon companions, and went roistering noisily along narrow, dark, stinking unlit streets of the city, breaking expensive precious glass windows of citizens houses and damaging ecclesiastical glass windows. They were arrested and brought to trial before the dreaded Privy Council on 1 Apr, charging with acts of violence and in addition to "eating meat in Lent". Surrey explained that his efforts were directed to awakening the citizens of London to a sense of sin. Wyatt was inclined to deny the charges. But there seems little doubt that they were not altogether sober when the offences were committed. It was known that they were in the habit of frequenting a "house" kept by Mistress Arundel, and she came to their aid at the trial. The three young men were sent to prison in the Poultry but was later removed to the Tower. He remained in the Tower till 3 May. When released he volunteered to join the English contingent fighting in alliance with Carlos V of Spain in Flanders. It was there that he came to dislike the Spaniards. He was a most successful soldier, showing courage, initiative and ability to command. He was wounded on one occasion; was given command of 1000 footmen; and later made Commander of the fortress of Boulogne; serving seven years abroad.

In the autumn of 1543 Wyatt joined a regiment of volunteers which Surrey raised at his own expense to take part in the siege of Landrecies. Wyatt distinguished himself in the military operations, and was highly commended by Thomas Churchyard, who was present. (Churchyard, Pleasant Discourse of Court and of Wars, 1596). In 1544 Wyatt took part in the siege of Boulogne and was given responsible command next year. When Surrey became governor he joined the English council there (14 Jun 1545). Surrey, writing to Henry VIII, highly praised Wyatt's "hardiness, painfulness, circumspection, and naturaldisposition to the war". He seems to have remained abroad until the surrender of Boulogne in 1550. In Nov 1550 he was named acommissioner to delimit the English frontier in France, but owing toill-health was unable to act.

After his war service he retired to Allington as a country gentleman. Earlier he took part in the earlier uprising by the Duke of Northumberland, to put Lady Jane Grey, a Protestant and descendent of Henry VIII, on the throne. Subsequently he claimed to have served Queen Mary. But he took no well defined part in public affairs at home until he learned of Queen Mary's resolve to marry Felipe of Spain.

Wyatt regarded the step as an outrage on the nation's honour. This marriage would bring England under Roman Catholic and Spanish influence. But, according to his own account, never thought of publicly protesting against it until he received an invitation from Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, to join in a general insurrection throughout the country for the purpose of preventing the accomplishment of the Queen's plan. He cheerfully undertook to raise Kent. Help was vaguely promised him by Noailles, the French Ambassador. Wyatt invited friends to Allington Castle, got their support, raised 4000 men in Maidstone, and marched on London in a rebellion after called "Wyatt's rebellion". Wyatt taken to the Tower as a traitor. Attained, beheaded 11 Apr 1554 age 33. After he was beheaded, his body was subjected to all the barbarities that formed part of punishment for treason. Next day his head was hung to a gallows on 'Hay Hill beside Hyde Park', and subsequently his limbs were distributed among gibbets in various quarters of the town (MACHIN, Diary, p 60). His head was stolen on 17 Apr.

His execution was largely due to pressure by Bishop Gardiner and Simon Renard, Spanish Ambassador. His posthumous reputation was that of a martyr to the national cause.

The Twysden Roll contained the pedigrees and the arms of Twysden, Wyatt, Scott (a member of which family had married a sister Anne Wyatt) as well as the Pedigree and arms of the family of Elizabeth Woodville, the Queen of Edward IV, whose aunt (also named Elizabeth Woodville) had married in about 1430, William Hawte, an ancestor of the wife of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the younger. The Hawtes of Bishopsbourne and Wavering Manor in Kent, who were neighbours of the Wyatts of Allington, were an important local family. When the Hawte male line became extinct in 1530, Jane Hawte, one of her father’s co-heiresses, took the Wavering manor to the Wyatts. 1530 Visitation makes no mention of pedigree. At the "Visitation" in 1619 the pedigree presented was that of Roger Twysden, as presented in 1578, who had married Anne, a daughter of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the younger, and included in the "Twysden Roll".

George was the youngest son, born only a few days before the Rebellion, (others say he was 4 years at the time). According to the Patent Rolls the others were: Henry, Charles, Arthur, Jane, Anne, Mary.

In 1571 Queen Elizabeth restored family in blood and arms through influence of distant kinswoman. Properties of Boxley Abbey and Wavering Manor (but not Allington Castle, already given to John Ashley), thus relieving Jane’s poverty which had made her and her family dependent on the Hawte relatives and friends for 17 years. 1638 Appeared in the Archdeacons Court of Canterbury, 26 Oct 1638 and petitioned for the administration of the estate of her son Hawte Wyatt, later vicar of Boxley, Kent.

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ID: I113029

Name: Thomas Wyatt

Sex: M

Birth: 1522 in Allington Castle, Boxley, Kent, England

Death: 11 APR 1554 in London

Change Date: 7 JUL 2005

Note:

Name Suffix:<NSFX> Sir

Also Known As:<_AKA> The /Younger/

Thomas was Lord Allington

Father: Thomas Wyatt b: 1503 in Allington, Kent, England

Mother: Elizabeth Brooke b: ABT 1503 in Cobham Hall, Kent, England

Marriage 1 Jane Haute b: 1522 in Browne, Kent, England

Married: 1538 in Boxley, Kent

Note: _UID1E589CD3027CA34F9562535ABBC6187002C0

Children

Thomas Wyatt b: ABT 1539

Henry Wyatt b: ABT 1540
Anne Wyatt b: 19 SEP 1542 in Allington, Kent, England
Ula Wyatt b: ABT 1544
Arthur Wyatt b: 1544 in Kent, England
Jane Wyatt b: 1546
George Wyatt b: 1550 in Arlington Castle, Kent, England
Joan Wyatt b: ABT 1554
Richard Wyatt b: ABT 1555

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Sir Thomas Wyatt the younger (1521 – 11 April 1554) was a rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion".

Birth and career

He was born at Allington Castle, the only son of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the famous poet, and Elizabeth Brooke, daughter of the 8th Baron Cobham. His father was a well-known poet, courtier and ambassador, who has, by legend but without incontrovertible evidence, been presumed to have been deeply in love with Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, before Henry became attracted to her; he may later have pursued another of Henry VIII's lovers, Mary Shelton. His mother was involved in similar scandals, and his parents separated because of her open adultery. Elizabeth was a very attractive woman, who in February 1542 attracted the attention of Henry VIII, whose fifth wife was then in the Tower awaiting execution. The Imperial ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, reported that she could possibly end up as wife number six, despite still being married to Wyatt.

The Duke of Norfolk was his godfather. At the age of fifteen he became a squire at the court of King Henry VIII, and Joint Constable of Conisborough Castle. In the same year, his father was imprisoned after a feud with the king's brother-in-law, Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, on the false charge of adultery with Queen Anne. The Queen was beheaded, but the elder Wyatt was released, He was imprisoned again in 1541 and only released after the intervention of Queen Catherine Howard. Thomas himself married Jane Hawte, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Hawte of Bishopsbourne, by whom he had several children. He is also thought to have had an illegitimate son by Elizabeth Darrell, a daughter of Sir Edward Darrell of Littlecote who had been the long-term mistress of his father.

He accompanied his father on a mission to Spain and his experiences - reportedly his witnessing the activities of the Spanish Inquisition[citation needed] turned him into an enemy of Spain. On his father's death in 1542, he inherited Allington Castle and Boxley Abbey. There were rumours that after his father's death, Wyatt the younger became the lover of his father's long-term mistress, Elizabeth Darrell. She had given birth to three children by Wyatt, but Wyatt the younger may have been the father of her third son, Edward.

He was of a wild disposition, and became a boon companion of the Earl of Surrey (the Duke of Norfolk's son). In 1543, they were arrested for breaking windows in London while drunk. He was tried before the Privy Council and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

England was then at war with France in alliance with Emperor Charles V. On his release, Wyatt joined the English troops fighting for Charles in Flanders, obtaining valuable military experience. In 1543 he took part in the siege of Landrecies, and in the following year was at the siege of Boulogne. He was commended for his service, and was knighted in 1547. He remained abroad until 1550.

Wyatt's Rebellion

Returning to Allington, he lived quietly until the death of Edward VI in 1553, when he joined the Duke of Northumberland's abortive attempt to put Lady Jane Grey on the throne in place of Mary I.

Wyatt escaped punishment by Queen Mary. He took no further part in politics until Mary's betrothal to Philip of Spain. In 1554 he joined a conspiracy to prevent the marriage. A general movement was planned; but his fellow-conspirators were timid and inept. The rising was serious only in Kent, and Wyatt became a formidable rebel mostly by accident.

Wyatt proclaimed his rebellion on 26 January in Rochester. Many of the country folk responded. The royal forces sent against him deserted or joined him, including part of the London trainbands under the Duke of Norfolk (his godfather).

With 4,000 men Wyatt marched on London, but was turned back at London Bridge and Ludgate. His men deserted and he surrendered.

He was brought to trial on 15 March, and could make no defence. Execution was for a time delayed, no doubt in the hope that in order to save his life he would say enough to compromise the queen's sister Elizabeth, afterwards Queen Elizabeth, in whose interests the rising was supposed to have been made. But he would not confess enough to render her liable to a trial for treason. It was only through Elizabeth's dignity and composure that she managed to escape from the scandal unharmed, although she was spied upon and placed under house arrest for the rest of her sister's reign.

He was executed on 11 April, and on the scaffold expressly cleared the princess of all complicity in the rising. After he was beheaded, his body was quartered.

His estates were afterwards partly restored to his son, George. George's son, Sir Francis Wyatt (d. 1644), was governor of Virginia in 1621–26 and 1639–42. A fragment of the castle of Allington is still inhabited as a farm-house, near Maidstone, on the bank of the Medway.

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From Wikipedia: Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger (1521 – 11 April 1554)[1] was a rebel leader during the reign of Mary I of England; his rising is traditionally called "Wyatt's rebellion". He was also the son of the British poet and ambassador Sir Thomas Wyatt. Youth: Thomas Wyatt the Younger was raised Catholic. His godfather, the Duke of Norfolk had a significant influence on Wyatt’s upbringing. Throughout childhood, Thomas accompanied his father on a delegation to Spain where the Inquisition began. Subsequently, at the young age of sixteen, Thomas Wyatt the Younger was married. He soon prospered off his father’s death in 1542 to Allington Castle and Boxley Abbey in Kent. Due to personal reasons, Wyatt the Younger fled the property and had a child named Francis Wyatt, whose mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Darrel of Littlecote. Autumn of 1543, Wyatt joined a group of volunteers to take part in the siege of Landrecies.[3] Wyatt established himself as a prominent figure in the military and was highly recognized by Thomas Churchyard. Next, Wyatt took part in the siege of Boulogne with responsible command. In 1550, he was given the title of commissioner to delimit the English frontier in France but became ill and incapable.[3] Later, Wyatt claimed to have assisted Queen Mary against the Duke of Northumberland when the Duke threatened the throne for his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey. Wyatt's Rebellion: Stemming from experiences with the Spanish Inquisition while accompanying his father, Wyatt developed an aversion to the Spanish government. This aversion greatly affected Wyatt when he learned of Queen Mary’s decision to marry Philip of Spain. Thomas Wyatt viewed this decision as an injustice to the nation. According to Wyatt he never planned on protesting the Queen’s marriage until he was approached by Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, who wished to prevent the Queen’s plan.

When the official marriage announcement was published on January 15, 1553-54, Wyatt and friends joined at Allington Castle to discuss plans of resistance.[3] After several instigators were arrested Wyatt became the leader of the rebellion. He then published a proclamation at Maidstone stating that his plan had been approved by ‘dyvers of the best shire’. People were told to secure the advancements of ‘liberty and commonwealth’ which were being threatened by ‘the Queen’s determinate pleasure to marry with a stranger.’

Wyatt proved himself to be a responsible leader, earning the praise of the French ambassador, de Noailles. Soon, Wyatt was responsible for commanding 1,500 men. He set up his command headquarters in Rochester.

Shortly after establishing his headquarters, Queen Mary was informed of Wyatt’s plan. The Queen offered a pardon to followers of Wyatt who retreated peacefully to their homes within twenty-four hours. Despite this, Thomas Wyatt encouraged his followers to stay by falsely announcing imminent support from France and victorious uprisings in other areas. Wyatt was given a surprising advantage when the government instructed the Duke of Norfolk to approach Wyatt and his forces. The Duke’s forces were inferior to Wyatt and the rebels. When the Duke of Norfolk came into contact with Wyatt, many of his own men joined the rebellion, which led the Duke to flee to Gravesend.

Following these events, Wyatt and the four thousand men who accompanied him marched through Gravesend and Dartford to Blackhead in January of 1553-54.[3] The government addressed this issue with great seriousness. In an effort to gain time, the government offered Wyatt an opportunity to establish demands; however, this was only a formality. By this point, Wyatt had been deemed a disloyal adversary in the eyes of the monarchy. On February 2, 1554, over twenty thousand men volunteered to aid the Queen as defenders against Wyatt and his troops.[3] In addition to these precautions, other security measures were taken as well. The court and the Tower were under especially heavy guard. Furthermore, a lucrative reward was offered in exchange for Wyatt’s capture: a valuable sum of land would be gifted to anyone who handed Wyatt over as captive.

Upon entering Southwark, Wyatt and his companions soon discovered the high security measures that had been implemented. As a result, many of his followers abandoned him, forcing him leave Southwark. He instead headed towards Kingston, with new plans to surprise Ludgate and intentions to capture the Queen’s refuge in St. James Palace. The government soon found out about his strategy, and responded by allowing him to progress into the city, only to corner him from all sides. After several scrimmages along the way, Wyatt’s numbers dwindling continually, Wyatt eventually admitted defeat. On March 15, he was sentenced to death for high treason.[3]

Execution[edit source | editbeta]

On April 11th, 1554, the scheduled date of his execution, Wyatt asked permission of Lord Chandos, the lieutenant of the Tower, to speak to the Earl of Devonshire, Edward Courtenay.[3] During their half-hour long meeting, Wyatt knelt down before Courtenay and begged him “to confess the truth of himself,” as Wyatt believed Courtenay was the original instigator of the crime. However, when at the Tower, Wyatt confessed his own blame for exculpating Elizabeth and Courtenay. After Wyatt was beheaded, his body was further punished to the standards of treason. His head, before it was stolen on April 17th, was hung from a gallows.[3] His limbs were then circulated among towns and also hung.

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Sir Thomas Wyatt was the first Wyatt to become a Protestant. His wife was Lady Jane Haute, a daughter of Sir William Haute of the old Firt-Haute family. Sir Thomas was beheaded April 11, 1554. He was opposed to the marriage of Queen Mary of England to the Spanish King, Phillip. He led an army to intercept the landing of King Phillip in England. His forces were cut off by the forces of Queen Mary. He was taken prisoner, found guilty of treason and beheaded. His estates were confiscated. He left two daughters, Anna and Jane, and one son, George.

He was known as Sir Thomas Wyatt, the younger.

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