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Robert Drury (died 1577)

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Sir Robert Drury
Bornc. 1503
Died21 May 1577 (aged 73–74)
SpouseElizabeth Brudenell
ChildrenRobert Drury
Sir William Drury
Sir Drue Drury
Roger Drury
Edmund Drury
Anne Drury
Margaret Drury
Lucy Drury
Elizabeth Drury
Parent(s)Sir Robert Drury, Anne Calthorpe

Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503 – 21 May 1577) of Hedgerley and Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, was the second son of Sir Robert Drury, Speaker of the House of Commons, and was the father of Sir Robert Drury (1525–1593), Sir William Drury, and Sir Drue Drury.

He was active in local administration in Buckinghamshire, and a Member of Parliament for that county. His name appears in the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.[1][2]

Family

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Geoffrey Chaucer from the Ellesmere manuscript
Church of Chalfont St Peter where Sir Robert Drury is buried

Robert Drury, born about 1503, was the second son of Sir Robert Drury (before 1456 – 2 March 1535), Speaker of the House of Commons, and Anne Calthorpe, daughter of Sir William Calthorpe of Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk.[3] He had an elder brother, and four sisters:[3]

Career

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Drury was admitted to Lincoln's Inn on 12 February 1522. However, his marriage to an heiress shortly thereafter is said to have "spared him the need to practise law". He was appointed as a Justice of the Peace in Buckinghamshire from 1534 to 1543 and again in 1554, and served on numerous commissions in that county. In 1544-45 he was appointed escheator for Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, and in 1546–47, 1555–56 and 1561–62, was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire.[8]

In 1538 a manor owned by Drury's father-in-law, Edmund Brudenell, came into Drury's hands, and he augmented the property by purchasing neighbouring monastic lands and other properties. In 1538, he purchased the manor of Temple Bulstrode in Hedgerley, and, in 1541, the chief manor in Chalfont St Peter. In 1556 he was granted licence to empark 400 acres at Hedgerley.[8]

In addition to his activities in local government, Drury attended court on state occasions, served with the King's forces at the time of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, participated as a commissioner when Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu, Sir Edward Neville and others were tried for treason in 1538, and in 1544 was in the forces mustered to serve in Henry VIII's war against France. He is said to have been knighted by August 1548.[8][9]

Perhaps as a result of Catholic sympathies, Drury did not serve as a Justice of the Peace during the reign of King Edward VI. He was among the first to support Mary Tudor's claim to the throne in July 1553, and was later awarded a pension of £66 13s 4d for his service in her cause.[8]

In October 1533, he sat as one of the two Knights of the Shire for Buckinghamshire in the first Parliament of Mary's reign. His son, Robert, was elected as MP for Chipping Wycombe in the same Parliament. He was among the noblemen, members of the gentry, and divines who attended when Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was tried for heresy in 1555. In 1564, six years after Queen Elizabeth's accession, he was termed a 'hinderer of religion', but in 1569 accepted the Act of Uniformity in connection with his appointment to a commission of the peace.[8]

As noted in the Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Huntington Library, Drury's name appears on folio i verso of the Ellesmere manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales:

On f. i verso, s. XVI2/4, "Robertus drury miles [space], William drury miles, Robertus drury miles, domina Jarmin, domina Jarningam, dommina Alington", referring to Sir Robert Drury (mentioned above as executor; speaker of the House of Commons in 1495 and a member of Henry VIII’s Council), to his sons William and Robert, and to his 3 daughters: Anna, married first to George Waldegrave, and after his death in 1528 to Sir Thomas Jermyn; Bridget, married to Sir John Jernyngham (Jernegan, of Somerleyton); Ursula (d. 1521), married to Sir Giles Alington.[1][2]

Drury made his last will on 12 and 28 April 1577, requesting burial by his wife in the church of Chalfont St Peter. Drury named his three surviving sons, Robert, Sir William and Drue as executors, and appointed as supervisors Sir William Cordell, Master of the Rolls, Sir Thomas Cornwallis, Sir Christopher Heydon, and his son-in-law, Robert Woodleaf. Drury died at Hedgerley on 21 May.[8][10]

Marriage and issue

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Drury married by 1524, Elizabeth Brudenell (d. 12 December 1542),[11] daughter of Edmund Brudenell of Chalfont St Peter, by whom he was the father of five sons and four daughters:[8][11][12]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b [1] Guide To Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Huntington Library, EL 26 C 9 "Ellesmere Chaucer".
  2. ^ a b [2] Ownership notes of family members of Sir Robert Drury, EL 26 C 9, f. i verso, Digital Scriptorium Database.
  3. ^ a b Richardson II 2011, p. 92; Hyde 2004.
  4. ^ a b Richardson II 2011, p. 93; Hyde 2004.
  5. ^ Elizabeth's twin sister, Jane, married Sir John Constable (c.1491–1554x6) of Kinoulton, Nottinghamshire, son of Sir Marmaduke Constable.
  6. ^ Raine 1869, p. 169; Clay 1908, p. 64.
  7. ^ Druery 1826, pp. 166, 175–76.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Drury, Robert (by 1503-1577), History of Parliament; retrieved 9 March 2013.
  9. ^ His knighthood is not mentioned by Shaw, who records a William Drury as being knighted about that time.
  10. ^ Rowe 2004.
  11. ^ a b Campling 1937.
  12. ^ Kelsey 2004.
  13. ^ Drury, Robert (1525-1593), History of Parliament Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  14. ^ William Drury (1527-1579), History of Parliament Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  15. ^ Drury, Dru (after 1527-1617), History of Parliament Retrieved 10 March 2013.

References

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  • Campling, Arthur (1937). "The History of the Family of Drury". London. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  • Clay, John William (1908). North Country Wills. Vol. CXVI. London: Bernard Quaritch.
  • Druery, John Henry (1826). Historical and Topographical Notices of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. London: Nichols & Son. p. 166. isabel clifton john jernegan.
  • Hyde, Patricia (2004). "Drury, Sir Robert (b. before 1456, d. 1535)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8097. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Kelsey, Sean (2004). "Drury, Sir William (1527–1579)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8101. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Raine, James (1869). Testamenta Eboracensia. Vol. IV. Durham: Andrews & Co.
  • Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G. (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 978-1449966386.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Rowe, Joy (2004). "Drury family (per. 1485–1624)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/73909. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Shaw, William A. (1906). The Knights of England. Vol. II. London: Sherratt and Hughes. p. 29.
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Political offices
Preceded by High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
1546–1547
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Arthur Longueville
High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
1555–1556
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Thomas Tyringham
High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
1561–1562
Succeeded by
John Goodwin