Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre

Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre (1472 – 9 September 1534) was an English peer and soldier, the son of Sir John Fiennes.

Sir Thomas Fiennes
Baron Dacre Knight of the Bath
Born	1472 Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex, England
Died	9 September 1534 (aged 62)
Noble family	Fiennes
Spouse(s)	Anne Bourchier
Issue Sir Thomas Fiennes Mary Fiennes John Fiennes
Father	Sir John Fiennes
Mother	Alice FitzHugh

Career

He was born in 1472, the son of Sir John Fiennes (born c.1447, son of Sir John Fiennes born 1415) and Alice FitzHugh. By his mother, he was a cousin to Sir Thomas Parr, father of future queen consort Catherine Parr. He had one sister, Anne, Marchioness Berkeley (died 10 September 1497). On 8 March 1486, he succeeded as 8th Baron Dacre upon the death of his grandmother Joan Dacre, the suo jure 7th Baroness Dacre. He was also known as Baron Dacre of the South owing to his family seat of Herstmonceux Castle being in the county of Sussex.

Herstmonceux Castle, seat of the Barons Dacre of the South

In 1493, one year after his marriage, he was appointed Constable of Calais. He was invested as a Knight of the Bath in 1494. In 1497, he fought in the Battle of Blackheath where he helped defeat the Cornish.[1]

Marriage and issue

In about 1492, he married Anne Bourchier, the daughter of Sir Humphrey Bourchier and Elizabeth Tilney. The marriage produced three children:

• Sir Thomas Fiennes (died 26 October 1528), married in 1514, Jane Sutton, daughter of Edward Sutton, 2nd Baron Dudley, and Cicely Willoughby, by whom he had one son, Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre and a daughter Anne who married John Mantell. The 9th Baron and his brother-in-law Mantell were hanged for the murder of John Busbridge in 1541.
• Mary Fiennes (1495–1531), married Sir Henry Norris, by whom she had issue.
• John Fiennes (b.1497)

Death

He died on 9 September 1534 at the age of 62. He was succeeded by his eldest grandson, Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre, as his two sons had predeceased him.

The tomb set up for the 8th Baron Dacre and his son at All Saints' Church, Herstmonceux, known as the Dacre Tomb,[2] is thought to have made use of effigies from an older monument intended for Thomas Hoo, Baron Hoo and Hastings (1396-1455) and his younger half-brother, also Sir Thomas Hoo (born 1416). This was shown when the monument was restored, and it was found that the original arms shown on the tabards of the figures were those of Hoo. It is conjectured that the Hoo tomb may have been at Battle Abbey, which was sold in 1539 and dismantled soon afterwards.[3]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre

16. William de Fiennes[4] 8. Roger Fiennes[4] 17. Elizabeth Battisford[4] 4. Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Dacre[4] 18. Sir John Holland[4] 9. Elizabeth Holland[4] 19. Margaret[4] 2. Sir John Fiennes[4] 20. Thomas Dacre, 6th Baron Dacre 10. Sir Thomas Dacre[4] 21. Philippa de Neville 5. Joan Dacre, 7th Baroness Dacre[4] 22. Sir William Bowet[4] 11. Elizabeth Bowet[4] 23. Amy de Ufford 1. Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre 24. Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh 12. William FitzHugh, 4th Baron FitzHugh 25. Elizabeth Grey 6. Henry FitzHugh, 5th Baron FitzHugh 26. William Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby de Eresby 13. Margery Willoughby 27. Lucy le Strange 3. Alice FitzHugh 28. Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland 14. Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury 29. Lady Joan Beaufort 7. Lady Alice Neville 30. Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury 15. Alice Montacute, 5th Countess of Salisbury 31. Lady Eleanor Holland

References

1. http://www.thePeerage.com
2. Image at Geograph.org.uk. Another at flickr by poundhopper1.
3. R. Bruce, revised and amended by M.H. Tate, All Saints Church, Herstmonceux (All Saints Church, Herstmonceux 1978), pp. 6-8. (Copy held in East Sussex Record Office, Brighton, PAR399/7/2/3). See Public Sculptures of Sussex website.
4. Richardson, Douglas. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, 2011. pp. 148-150. Google eBook

Peerage of England
Preceded by Joan Dacre	Baron Dacre 1486–1534	Succeeded by Thomas Fiennes