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SirThomasWhite1567

Page history last edited by R H Johnston 3 years, 5 months ago

Sir Thomas White, Master of Requests, died South Warnborough, Hants 2 Nov 1566

 Page being prepared by Peter Tipton  (Feb 2010)

 

The impetus for this latest research is a document dated 1 October 1825 which claims to prove that Robert White (born Yateley, died Farnham 1467) was the direct male ancestor of the White family of Selborne, including Gilbert White the celebrated naturalist. I do not think this is true -- but the current guide to South Warnborough parish church includes this lineage since the monument to Sir Thomas White, Master of Requests, a descendant of Robert White d.1467, is a fine feature of this church.

 

Sir Thomas White of South Warnborough was one of the two judges appointed Masters of the Court of Requests. The origins of this court are obscure but by the reign of Henry VIII it was hearing large numbers of cases brought by ordinary people, and the monarch's servants. Sir Thomas was created Master of Requests on 2 Oct 1553, the day after the coronation of the Catholic Queen Mary. He retained his position during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

 

Sir Thomas married Agnes White the sister of Sir John White MP, Lord Mayor and London, and Lord of the Manor of Aldershot.  Agnes died 4 Jan 1571 at Canterbury and was buried at South Warnborough as Dame Agnes White. Sir Thomas' will was proved 1 Feb 1567 so Dame Agnes was probably responsible for their tomb in South Warnborough church.  Sir Thomas' sister Sybil was the wife of Sir John White of Aldershot, thus creating two marriages in which brother and sister married sister and brother.

 

The Robert White who died in 1467 in Farnham was the great great grandfather of Sir Thomas and Sybil his sister,  This Robert White had been born in Yateley.  According to the Herald's Visitations for Hampshire in 1530, 1575 and 1622-34. Robert White was a merchant who first moved to Sandwich, became Mayor of the Staple of Calais, and then finally moved to Farnham where he died. Curtis therefore identifies him as Robert Whyte, Mayor of Sandwich, 1434, 1435 and 1436, and one of the two 'Barons or Burgesses of Parliament for Sandwich' chosen 9 Sep 1435 to attend Henry 6th's 14th Parliament held 10 Oct 1435. The Visitation also states that this Robert purchased the Manor of South Warnborough.

 

In Robert White's will he names the children of his son John for specific bequests. In fact Robert's son John died two years after his father. Robert's grandchildren's names were Robert, Richard, John, Margaret and Johanna. The eldest son Robert White was 14 years old when his father John died in 1470 (Inquisition post mortem 9 Edw.4). He was summoned by writs dated 5 Jun 1483 to 'furnish himself' to receive Knighthood at the intended coronation of Edward 5th on 22 June. The ceremony did not take place, but W A Shaw (The Knights of England 1905) includes Robert White as entitled to be called Sir Robert White KB created June 1483.

 

The eldest son of Sir Robert White KB was another Sir Robert White of South Warnborough. So the descent of eldest sons from the Mayor of Calais now stands at Robert/John/Robert/Robert. This last Robert had several children, but the two important for our story are Thomas (Sir Thomas White of South Warborough) and Sybil (Sibbell or Sibil White). Sybil became the wife of Sir John White MP, the subject of the biography on this website.

 

Sir Thomas White was created knight 2 Oct 1553, on the same day he was created Master of Requests. Sir Thomas' position as one of the Masters of Requests is interesting on two counts: firstly Sir John Throckmorton of Coughton was the other Master of Requests in 1553. The significance of this will become apparent when I write up the Gifford family and the Manors of Cove and Itchell. Secondly it appears that Sir Julius Caesar was Master of Requests (from 1591) when he wrote the famous letter to Sir William More requesting him to facilitate access to the clay in Farnham Park. Curtis states that this Thomas White, together with his son Henry White, was granted in 1545 the office of Constable of Farnham Castle and Keeper of the Chases and Parks. Manning & Bray (iii 135-6) state that a Robert and John, father and son, were granted by Bishop Wainflete the office of Parkers and Keepers of the Great and Little Parks at Farnham. There are at least two such combinations of father and son. But the fact that Sir Thomas White of South Warnborough held this post gives credibility to Curtis' statement that it was Sir Thomas's grandfather and greatgrandfather Sir Robert White KB and John White (d.1470) who held the office before him. It therefore appears that this branch of the White family could have been in control of the clay in Farnham Park for a very long period.

 

 

Sir Thomas wrote his will in 1564. He died on 2 Nov 1566, and his will was proved by his widow Dame Agnes on 1 Feb 1567. His main income appears to have been from a leased farm at Upsidling in Dorset. VCH Hampshire says he and Agnes had 14 sons and 6 daughters. The effigies on the tomb of children who predeceased their parents hold a skull in their hands.  Some sources claim only 13 sons.

 

Of the four surviving daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, Frances and Barbara, at least three married men who can be identified as prominent catholics in the reign of Elizabeth. Henry White, the eldest son of Sir Thomas and Agnes was appointed by the Bishop of Winchester, with his father, Constable of Farnham Castle and Keeper of the Chase and Parks there on 20 Jun 1545. He died in 1572.  Henry and his wife Bridget nee Bradshaw had three daughters. The second daughter Phillipa married Walter Giffard of Chillington, Staffs.

 

The second surviving son Richard White was knighted at South Warnborough by Queen Elizabeth. He married twice. His first wife was Ellen, 4th daughter of Stephen Kirton of Edmonton. Ann, 3rd daughter of Stephen Kirton married Thomas White the third surviving son of Sir Thomas and Agnes -- thus creating two brother/sister marriages.  There was a very close relationship between the White, Kirton and Offley families. Stephen Kirton's wife was Margaret Offley whose brother Sir Thomas Offley was Lord Mayor of London 1556. He had a son Henry Offley of Madeley, Staffs who married Mary, daughter of Sir John White of Aldershot, MP and Lord Mayor of London 1563-4.

 

Other than the 3 sons already mentioned Sir Thomas had 4 other surviving sons at the time he wrote his will in 1564: Stephen the elder, Gabriel, Steven the younger, and Francis. Here again, just as with Sir John White and his brother John White, Bishop of Winchester, here is a case of two sons having the same name, albeit Sir Thomas uses the alternative spellings of Stephen and Steven. It was apparently Gabriel White's death in 1593 which created the need to declare as "Chief Heir Male" John White, the only son of Thomas White third son of Sir Thomas and Lady Agnes. The circumstances of the succession require more research.

 

There are at least five questions to answer (each of which requires additional research):

1. Was Sir Thomas the direct ancestor of Gilbert White of Selborne?

2. Why was his grandson John, the son of his 2nd surviving son, created 'general heir male' when Sir Thomas' grandson Richard (of Wokingham) by his 1st surviving son, was still living?

3. His daughters married prominent catholics, and did daughters of his sons, so was Sir Thomas a crypto-catholic?

4. As Constable of Farnham Park did Sir Thomas or his son Henry have any influence on the Borderware pottery industry? 

5. Are the Whites in the Yateley Parish Registers the descendants of Sir Thomas via his 1st surviving son (of Wokingham)?

 

There are also some other interesting questions such as

6. Why were there no witnesses to his will?

7. Can we trace today any of the silverware mentioned in his will?

8. Who was the Anthony Hall for whom Sir Thomas was acting as custodian of a large quantity of silverware until Hall's son came of age? (there was a prominent potter family called Hall)

9. Why was all Sir Thomas' income, as mentioned in his will, from a leased farm in Dorset and not from his substantial landholdings around here?

 

Click here to read: The will of Sir Thomas White of South Warnborough, 1567

 

 

The will of Sir John White of Aldershot, Sir Thomas' brother-in-law  1573

The will of Henry White, Sir John's eldest brother, 1538

The will of Robert White, Sir John's father, 1518,

The will of Robert White, Sir John‘s first wife's ancestor, 1467

The will of Katherine White, Sir John's second wife and widow, 1576

Click here to return to the Biographies main page

Click here to return to Borderware Distribution Answer 2: Merchants and Gentry

 

REFERENCES (preliminary):

1.  Pedigrees of WHYTE, or WHITE, of FARNHAM, co. SURREY; ALDERSHOT, SOUTH WARNBOROUGH, and BASINGSTOKE, co. HANTS; and HUTTON, co. ESSEX; and A NOTE OF THE YATELEY CUP

by HENRY CURTIS F.R.C.S. (ret) 1936.  4 Crown Office Row, Inner Temple, London E.C.4

(NB I think this booklet of some 29 pages, including very detailed family trees, 66 very detailed footnotes, and notes on wills, was privately published - PJT)

 

 2. Farnham Mills: La Medmulle, The Story of Weydon Mill by F W Simmonds, published by Farnham Museum, Sept 1968. Current price (2006) 25p. A link is provided to a website containing material still in copyright. This site is only accessible by password to those small number local researchers contributing to this site.

 

3. The modern DNB entry for John White the Bishop of Winchester as linked in the text. This is a password protected site, but anyone with a Hampshire Library Service library card can enter their own libary card number and access the site.

 

4. My own transcriptions of wills, mostly from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.  Links to these wills are provided immediately above these references, and links are also provided within the text.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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