THOMAS MANNERS, first Earl of Rutland (d. 1543), eldest son of Sir George Manners, by Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas St. Léger. His father became twelfth baron Ros of Hamlake in 1487 by the death of his mother, Eleanor, oldest sister and coheiress of Edmund, eleventh lord Ros of Hamlake, Triesbut, and Belvoir; he was a distinguished soldier, and was knighted by the Earl of Surrey on the Scottish expedition of 1497. He died at the siege of Tournay on 27 Oct. 1514.
On 22 June 1513 Thomas landed at Calais on the French expedition. The same year he became Baron Ros on his father's death, and
was summoned in 1515 to parliament. He was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 and at
Henry VIII's meeting with Charles V afterwards.
In December 1521 he became cupbearer to the king; in January 1522 he was made steward of Pickering, Yorkshire; and from April to
October of the same year he held the appointment of lord warden of the east marches, in which he was succeeded by
Lord Percy. He also received the wardenship of Sherwood Forest on 12 July 1524, an office which
afterwards became practically hereditary in his family. He was appointed K.G. on 24 April 1525,and on 18 June 1525 he was made
Earl of Rutland.
He was a great favourite of Henry VIII and had many grants, including
the keepership of Enfield Chase, which was given him 12 July 1526. On 11 Oct. 1532 he landed with Henry in France; he was at the
coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533, and took part in her trial. Rutland was actively engaged in meeting
the troubles of 15361 [see Pilgrimage of Grace]. He held a joint command with the Earls
of Huntingdon and Shrewsbury and marched to Nottingham and
thence to Newark, Southwell, and Doncaster against the northern rebels. He was steward of many monasteries, and from his various
ancestors he had claims by way of foundation on certain of the houses. Hence when the dissolution came
he received numerous grants of monastic property. In Leicestershire he obtained Charley, Garradon, and, by exchange, Croxton; in
Yorkshire, Beverley, Warter, and Rievaulx by exchange. With Robert Tyrwhit he took Belvoir, Eagle, and Kyme in Lincolnshire, and in
Yorkshire Nun Burnham.2
When Anne of Cleves came to England, Rutland was appointed her lord chamberlain, and met her at
Shooter's Hill after her unfortunate interview with the king at Rochester. In 1542 he became constable of Nottingham Castle. He
went to the border again on 7 Aug. 1542 as warden of the marches.3 But he was recalled, in consequence of illness, in
November of the same year. From Newark-on-Trent he wrote on 7 Nov. to the council of the north:
'As Gode best knows, I ame in a poyur and febyll estat.' He died 20 Sept. 1543. His will is printed in 'Testamenta Vetusta'
(ii. 719). When not at Belvoir, which he repaired
and turned from a fortress into a dwelling-house, he seems to have lived at the old Benedictine nunnery of Holywell in Shoreditch,
London. A portrait by an unknown artist is at Belvoir.
He married, first, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Lovel; and secondly, Eleanor, daughter of Sir William Paston. By his second
wife he had five sons and six daughters. His eldest son, Henry, who succeeded him in the title, is separately noticed [see
Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland]. His third son, Roger of Uffington, was a benefactor to Corpus Christi
College, Cambridge. A letter from the second Lady Rutland expressing dislike of the Holy Maid of Kent
has been preserved, and many of the earl's letters are printed in full or in abstract in the 'State Papers, Henry VIII,' the
'Letters and Papers,' and the Calendar of the Duke of Rutland's manuscripts (Hist. MSS. Comm. 12th Rep.)
1. cf. Hist. MSS. Comm. 6th Rep. App. p. 445, &c.
2. cf. Nichols, Leicestershire, ii. 43.
3. cf. State Papers, v. 211, for his instructions; Hamilton Papers, vol. i.
Source:
Archbold, W. A. J. "Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland."
The Dictionary of National Biography. Vol XXXVI. Sidney Lee, Ed.
New York: Macmillan and Co., 1893. 56-57.
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