Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was born to [his father] William Cawarden Cloth-Fuller.
In 1542 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was elected MP Bletchingley.
In 1542 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch and Elizabeth Unknown were married.
In 1543 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was appointed Keeper of Nonsuch Palace [Map] which post he held until Nov 1556.
In 1544 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was appointed Master of the Revels and Master of the Tents.
In September 1544 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was knigted at Boulogne sur Mer [Map] during the Siege of Boulogne.
In 1547 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was appointed High Sheriff of Surrey and High Sheriff of Sussex.
In 1547 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was elected MP Bletchingley.
On 7th April 1547 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch came into the possession of Bletchingley, Surrey [Map]. Anne of Cleves Queen Consort England (age 31) had formerly owned it.
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In 1550 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was appointed Keeper of Hampton Court Palace, Richmond [Map].
On 19th July 1553 Jane Grey I Queen England and Ireland (age 17) requested tents from Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch.
Around November 1558 Edward Warner (age 47) was re-appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London with Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch.
Around November 1558 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London with Edward Warner (age 47)
On 1st January 1559 Queen Mary I of England and Ireland ordered her officers to collect arms and armour from Cawarden's house to counter Wyatt's rebellion.
On 25th August 1559 Thomas Cawarden of Bletchingly and Nonsuch died at East Horsley, Surrey [Map] or Nonsuch Palace [Map].
Henry Machyn's Diary. 25th August 1559. The xx .. day of August ded at Non-shyche [Map] ser Thomas Carden knyght, devyser of all bankettes [banquets] and bankett-howses [banquet-houses], and the master of reyvelles and serjant of the tenttes.
Note. P. 208. Death and funeral of sir Thomas Cawarden. Knighted by Henry VIII. at the siege of Boulogne in 1544, a gentleman of the king's privy chamber in 1546, and in his latter years master of the revels, tents, and pavilions. His altar-tomb remains in Bletchingley church, but without inscription. (Manning and Bray's Surrey, ii. 300.) Among other documents relating to sir Thomas Cawarden and his office, published in the Loseley Manuscripts, edited by A. J. Kempe, esq. F.S.A. 1835, Svo. are (p. 175) his will dated St. Bartholomew's day 1559, and (p. 179) the charges of his obsequies, amounting to 96l. 15s. 1½d. and the funeral feast to 32l. 16s. 8d. The death of his wife shortly followed, and the charges of her funeral are also stated.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 5th September 1559. The v day of September was bered at [Bletchingley] ser Thomas Karden knyght, with a standard and .... of armes and a cot of armes, a helmet, targat, .... with the mantylls and crest, and a iij [3] dosen of skochyons of armes, the wyche he had mony goodly offeses in ....
Before 23rd February 1560 [his former wife] Elizabeth Unknown died.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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Henry Machyn's Diary. 23rd February 1560. The xxiij day of Feybruary was cared from (Black) frers over the water to Parys garden, and ther was a hors-lytter rede to care her to Blechyng-led, [my] [his former wife] lade Carden, the wyff of ser Thomas Carden, to be bered.