John Tyrrell (died 1437)
English politician (c.1382–1437)
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Sir John Tyrrell (c.1382 – 2 April 1437), of Heron in the Essex parish of East Horndon, was a prominent English landowner, lawyer, administrator, and politician during the reigns of Henry V and Henry VI. A trusted royal servant, he was elected three times as Speaker of the House of Commons, served repeatedly as knight of the shire for Essex and Hertfordshire, and held senior offices including Treasurer of the Royal Household.
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Origins
John Tyrrell was the eldest son of Walter Tyrrell[1] of Avon Tyrrell, Hampshire, by his wife Eleanor Flambard (died 29 March 1422), daughter and heiress of Edmund Flambard of Shepreth, Cambridgeshire, by his wife Elizabeth FitzRalph, daughter of Richard FitzRalph.[1][2][3] After the death of Walter Tyrrell, Eleanor remarried to Sir Nicholas Haute (1357–c. 1415), MP, of Wadden Hall in Waltham, Kent.[4][5]
John was the grandson and heir of Sir Thomas Tyrrell (died 1382)[6] who was buried at Downham, Essex, in 1382, and was survived by his wife, Alice.[1][3]
Brothers
Tyrrell had the following four brothers:[7]
- Edward Tyrrell (died 17 December 1442),[8][1] Esquire, of Downham, who married Anne Pashley, widow of John Bassingbourne and daughter of Sir Robert Pashley by his wife Philippe Sergeaux (sister-in-law of Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford).[9] By his wife Anne, Edward Tyrrell had the following progeny:[8][2]
- He also had
- John Tyrrell, illegitimate son.[11]
- Richard Tyrrell;
- Thomas Tyrrell;
- William Tyrrell, who died before 1442.
Sisters
He probably also had a sister:
Career
John Tyrrell was appointed High Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1413 and again in 1423. He was elected knight of the shire for Essex 12 times between 1411 and 1437 and once for Hertfordshire in 1427.
John Tyrrell was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on three occasions, in 1421, 1429, and again in 1437, a distinction achieved by only a small number of fifteenth-century parliamentarians. His repeated election reflects both his legal expertise and his standing among the political community of the Commons.
Tyrrell’s speakerships occurred during periods of political sensitivity, including the minority of Henry VI and debates over royal finance and administration. Contemporary and later sources portray him as a reliable intermediary between the Commons and the Crown, a role consistent with his broader career in royal service.
In 1427 he was appointed steward of Clare in Suffolk and Thaxted in Essex, during the minority of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, and chief steward of the Duchy of Lancaster north of Trent.[1] He was a member of King Henry VI's council in France in 1431.[citation needed] He was knighted in 1431 and in May of that year was appointed Treasurer of the Royal Household, a post he held until his death.[1]
Marriages and issue
First marriage
Tyrrell married firstly, at some time before 1411, Alice Coggeshall, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Coggeshall[1][13] by his wife Antiocha Hawkwood, daughter and heiress of Sir John Hawkwood,[14][15] by whom he had five surviving sons[1] and four daughters,[16] including:
- Sir Thomas Tyrrell (c. 1411 – 28 March 1477) of Heron, eldest son and heir not only to his father[1][13] but also to his uncle Edward Tyrrell (died 1442). He married Anne Marney, daughter of Sir William Marney (died 21 or 24 August 1414) by his wife Elizabeth Sergeaux, by whom he had four sons and two daughters:[1]
- Sir William Tyrrell, slain at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, who married firstly Eleanor Darcy, by whom he had a son, Sir Thomas Tyrrell (c. 1453–1512).[17][18] He married secondly to Eleanor Hungerford;[19][20]
- Humphrey Tyrrell (died c. 1507), Esquire, who married firstly Isabel Helion, and secondly Elizabeth Walwin;
- Sir Robert Tyrrell (died 1508), who married firstly Christian Hartshorn,[21] and secondly to a certain Elizabeth, whose surname is unknown.
- Thomas Tyrrell (died 26 March 1476), esquire, who married Elizabeth Bruyn (died March 1494), who later remarried to Sir William Brandon (d.1485), by whom she was the mother of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.[22][23][24][25]
- Anne Tyrrell, who married John Darcy
- Elizabeth Tyrrell (died after 1487), who married firstly Sir Robert Darcy (died 2 November 1469), and secondly, Richard Haute (died 8 April 1487), Esquire.[26][27][28][5][29]
- William Tyrrell of Gipping, Suffolk, beheaded on Tower Hill 23 February 1462, who married Margaret Darcy, by whom he was the father of Sir James Tyrrell.[1]
- William Tyrrell (died c. 1471) of Beeches in Rawreth, Essex, who married firstly Anne Fitz Simon, the daughter of Robert Fitz Simon, and secondly Philippa Thornbury, the daughter of John Thornbury.[1][30]
- Alice Tyrrell (died 1460), who married firstly Hamo Strange, secondly William Skrene the younger (died 1431), eldest son of William Skrene, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and thirdly Thomas Pigot, and had a son, John Skrene (died 1452), by her second husband.
Second marriage
He married secondly, at some time before 1427,[31] Katherine Burgate (died after 1436), the widow successively of Robert Stonham (died 1397), of Stonham Aspal, Suffolk,[32] and John Spencer (died 1417), of Banham, Norfolk,[33] and daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Burgate (died 24 July 1409) of Burgate, Suffolk, by his wife Eleanor Visdelou, daughter of Sir Thomas Visdelou,[1][34] by whom he had a daughter.[16]