Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre

Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre of Gilsland, KG (25 November 1467 – 24 October 1525) was the son of Humphrey Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre of Gilsland and Mabel Parr, great-aunt of queen consort Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII of England.[1] His mother was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal by his wife, Alice Tunstall.

Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre
Baron Dacre of Gilsland
Arms of Sir Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre, KG
Tenure	30 May 1485 – 24 October 1525
Predecessor	Humphrey Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre
Successor	William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre
Born	25 November 1467 Gilsland, Cumberland, England.
Died	24 October 1525 Borders of Scotland and England.
Nationality	English
Residence	Naworth Castle
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth de Greystoke, ''suo jure'' 6th Baroness Greystoke
Issue Mabel Dacre, Baroness Scrope of Bolton Elizabeth Dacre, Lady Musgrave William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre Anne Dacre, Baroness Conyers Mary Dacre, Countess of Shrewsbury Hon. Humphrey Dacre Jane Dacre, Lady Tailboys
Parents	Humphrey Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre Mabel Parr

Early career

Thomas Dacre was born in Cumberland, the eldest of nine children.[2] His father Humphrey died of natural causes on 30 May 1485, whereupon, Thomas succeeded him as Baron Dacre of Gilsland.

Dacre took part in the Battle of Bosworth (22 August 1485) on the Yorkist side against Henry Tudor, where the Yorkist king, Richard III of England, was defeated and killed. He however quickly made peace with the victor. This early support for the House of Tudor earned him some favour with Henry Tudor (who had now ascended the throne as "King Henry VII of England"), who would continue to trust his services for the remainder of his reign. King Henry VII named him a Knight of the Bath in 1503. Dacre later swore loyalty to King Henry's son and successor, Henry VIII of England, when he ascended the throne in 1509.

Tomb of Sir Thomas Dacre in Lanercost Priory, Cumbria.

He was named deputy of the Lord Warden of the Marches (an officer on the border with Scotland) in 1485, and then Warden of the Western marches, and finally Warden-general over all the marches in 1509. Dacre and his forces served under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey at the Battle of Flodden (9 September 1513), where the invading army of King James IV of Scotland was crushingly defeated and its king killed. Dacre had commanded the "Border Lancers" at the battle, and their charge had saved Lord Edmund Howard, commander of the English right wing. King James IV himself had been killed, and the Kingdom of Scotland then ceased its involvement in the War of the League of Cambrai. The victory further helped solidify the reputation of Dacre as a soldier. After the battle, Dacre discovered the body of the Scottish king, informed Thomas Howard, Lord Admiral, and took it to Berwick upon Tweed. He later wrote that the Scots, "love me worst [i.e. very much; the most] of any Inglisheman living, by reason that I fande the body of the King of Scotts."[3]

King Henry VIII named him a Knight of the Garter in 1518, alongside William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys of the Vyne. He was present, with all the other Garter Knights, at the meeting in 1520 between Henry VIII and Francis I of France now known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold.

Dacre died on the borders on 24 October 1525, killed by a fall from his horse, and was buried in his family's mausoleum at Lanercost Priory. By the time of his death, he held about 70,000 acres (280 km²) of land in Cumberland, 30,000 acres (120 km²) in Yorkshire, and 20,000 acres (80 km²) in Northumberland. Much of these lands had been inherited through marriages with the heiresses of the Greystoke, de Multon, and de Vaux families, as well as grants given by both Kings, Henry VII and Henry VIII.

Known as "the Builder Dacre", Thomas Dacre built the gateway of Naworth Castle (the seat of the Dacre family), and placed over it his coat of arms with the Dacre family motto below: Fort en Loialte (Norman-French: "Strong in Loyalty").[4]

Marriage

Circa 1488, Dacre eloped with Elizabeth Greystoke, 6th Baroness Greystoke suo jure (10 July 1471 – 14 August 1516), daughter of Sir Robert de Greystoke and Lady Elizabeth Grey, daughter of Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent and Lady Katherine Percy. Dacre took her at night from Brougham Castle in Westmorland where, as a ward of the King, she was in the custody of Henry Clifford, 10th Baron de Clifford.[4]

Elizabeth was the eldest granddaughter and heiress of Ralph de Greystoke, 5th Baron Greystoke. She had only recently succeeded her grandfather in the barony, when by their marriage, Dacre became the jure uxoris Baron Greystoke. The extensive lands held by the Greystokes passed to the Dacre family through this marriage. These included Greystoke Castle and the barony of Greystoke, Morpeth Castle and the barony of Morpeth, along with the lost manor of Henderskelf, which is now the site of Castle Howard.[4]

Thomas and Elizabeth had eight children:[5]

• Mabel Dacre (c. 1490–1533), married Henry Scrope, 7th Baron Scrope of Bolton.[5] They were parents of John Scrope, 8th Baron Scrope of Bolton and grandparents of Henry Scrope, 9th Baron Scrope of Bolton. The 9th Baron is better known because he was governor of Carlisle in the time of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and as such, took charge of Mary, Queen of Scots, when she crossed the border in 1568. He took her to Bolton Castle, where she remained there till January 1569.
• Elizabeth Dacre (1495-1538), married Sir Thomas Musgrave, Marshall of Berwick. Their son was William Musgrave, MP.[5]
• William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre (29 April 1500 – 18 November 1563),[5] married Lady Elizabeth Talbot, a daughter of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury and Anne Hastings, by whom he had issue.
• Anne Dacre (c. 1501 – 21 April 1548), married Christopher Conyers, 2nd Baron Conyers.[5] They were the parents of John Conyers, 3rd Baron Conyers.
• Mary Dacre (c.1502 – 29 March 1538), married her sister-in-law's brother, Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury.[5] They were the parents of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury.
• Hon. Humphrey Dacre,[5] married Isabel Martindale, daughter and co-heiress of James Martindale of Newton, Allerdale, Cumberland.[6]
• Jane Dacre, wife of Lord Tailboys.[5]

Legacy

His illegitimate son Thomas Dacre, nicknamed "the Bastard", successfully led a few hundred English bordermen against part of the invading force of James V of Scotland on 12 November 1542. His success paved the way for the Scottish defeat at Battle of Solway Moss (24 November 1542). This Thomas was rewarded with land grants and from him starts a secondary line of "Dacres of Lanercost".

Letters between him and Lady Maud Parr for the marriage of his grandson, Henry le Scrope (son of Henry Scrope, 7th Baron Scrope of Bolton), to her daughter, Catherine Parr survive.[7] The marriage never happened, but Catherine would go on to become queen consort to King Henry VIII.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre

16. Hugh Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre 8. William Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre 17. Elizabeth Maxwell 4. Thomas Dacre, 6th Baron Dacre 18. Sir William Douglas, 1st Earl Douglas & Mar 9. Joan de Douglas [illegitimate] 2. Humphrey Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre 20. John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby 10. Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland 21. Lady Maud Percy 5. Lady Philippa Neville 22. Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford 11. Lady Margaret Stafford 23. Lady Philippa de Beauchamp 1. Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre 24. Sir William Parr 12. Sir John Parr 25. Elizabeth Ros 6. Sir Thomas of Kendal Parr 26. Sir Thomas de Crophull 13. Agnes Crophull 27. Sybil de la Bere 3. Mabel Parr 28. William de Tunstall 14. Sir Thomas of Thurland Tunstall[8] 29. Agnes de Lindsay 7. Alice Tunstall 30. Sir Nicholas of Farleton Harrington[5] 15. Isabel Harrington[9] 31. Isabel English

See also

• Naworth Castle, ancestral home of the Dacre family

References

1. Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta ancestry, Genealogical Publishing Com, 2005. pg 253.
2. Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, 2011.
3. Mackie, R. L., King James IV. Oliver & Boyd (1958), p.269: Letters & Papers Henry VIII, vol.1 (1920), no. 2193
4. "Naworth Castle". Bell's Weekly Messenger. 16 July 1855. Retrieved 16 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
5. Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 18.
6. Hutchinson, History of. Cumberland Volume II page 289
7. Sir Richard le Scrope. ed. Samuel Bentley. De Controversia in Curia Militari Inter Ricardum Le Scrope Et Robertum Grosvenor Milites: Rege Ricardo Secundo, MCCCLXXXV-MCCCXC E Recordis in Turre Londinensi Asservatis, Volume 2. 1832.
8. Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta ancestry, Genealogical Publishing Com, 2005. pg 643.
9. Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta ancestry, Genealogical Publishing Com, 2005. pg 298.

Peerage of England
Preceded by Humphrey Dacre	Baron Dacre 1485–1525	Succeeded by William Dacre