Sir Thomas De La Mare

Sir Thomas de la Mare was a member of the noble family from Berkshire, England. His life was marked by the Wars of the Roses, (1455–1485) and the shifting luck of the side he supported.

Thomas’ father, Thomas Senior, died when he was still a youngster and he and his two sisters were brought up in the household of his grandfather, Sir Robert de la Mare. After Robert’s death in 1431, the De la Mare estates of Aldermaston, Sparsholt, Colthrop and West Court (Finchampstead) were all inherited by the eleven-year-old Thomas. He did not take full possession of his manors until his marriage to Elizabeth, the daughter of William Fynderne of Childrey in 1449.

By now Thomas was an important landowner, and in accordance with his status he was appointed to a number of government offices such as being commissioner for Berkshire sent out to collect a subsidy for the defense of the Realm, and Justice of the Peace for the county. High positions he held, such as being Sheriff for Oxfordshire and Berkshire led him to become embroiled in the movements of the War of the Roses. In 1459 he was ordered to fight against the House of York. However, the House of York took the throne from the House of Lancaster, and thus Thomas found himself on the losing side. Thomas was taken prisoner but was pardoned in 1462, and had returned to more local affairs around his home.

Thomas served as Justice of the Peace for Berkshire from 1463 and 1467 and was appointed Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1465. However, once again Thomas got involved in the War of the Roses, he supported the return of Henry VI (2nd reign 3 October 1470 – 11 April 1471), and after return of Edward IV (2nd reign 11 April 1471 – 9 April 1483) Thomas was once again in the need of king’s pardon, which he got by February 1472.

Thomas once again returned to local affairs and had sat as MP for Berkshire and was Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire. As before, Thomas once again rose against the Yorkist king, this time against Richard III (r. 1483-1485), but this attempt was also unsuccessful. This time he fled to the sanctuary of Sion Abbey (Middlesex), where he appears to have taken up his abode. Now for the third time, he was pardoned in the April 1484, and was once again attending his official duties under King Henry VII (r. 1485-1509).