Rushton Hall - Kettering
When Sir William Tresham Bought Rushton in 1438 he actually bought the village known as Rushton St Peter. It included several cottages and the church of St Peter. He then started to build his new family home, a grand house that was to become Rushton Hall. William Tresham made his fortune working alongside Henry V and fought for him at Agincourt in 1415. After Henry’s death in 1422 William remained close to the young King Henry VI and remained in his employ until 1436. He was rewarded for his loyalty and was knighted for services to the crown. He was a lawyer and MP for Northamptonshire for many years. William was also the Attorney General under Henry V and three times the Speaker of the House of Commons under Henry VI. When he retired from Henry VI’s employ he was made Sherriff of Northampton and he bought the land at Rushton. Whilst he was building his new family home he lived in Sywell in a house that came with the job as Sheriff. One day on the road back from Rushton to Sywell he was set upon by Lord Grey’s men (with whom there was a family feud) and was ran through with a lance and left for dead. Luckily his son Thomas was following him with some servants, they came across Sir William and they managed to get him back to Sywell still alive. A physician was called but when they removed the Lance poor Sir William bled to death. The responsibility of finishing the building of Rushton Hall was then left to Sir Williams’s son Thomas. However, Thomas’s son John was more interested and so took on the project. Thomas (known as the elder) served in the protestant households of Henry VIII and Edward VI but remained a Catholic. He was an ardent supporter of Mary Tudor and he was one of her escorts when she was proclaimed Queen at Northampton in 1552. Mary rewarded Thomas by appointing him Grand Prior of the Order of St John of Jerusalem when she restored the order in England in 1557. Thomas only held the post for less than 2 years until his death at the hands of King Edwards’s men in 1559. Thomas’s son John died before his father and left Thomas (the Elder) to raise his grandson who was also called Thomas. Thomas Tresham inherited Rushton Hall when he was just 9 years old after his grandfather’s death. He was raised by Protestants but kept his Catholic faith and growing up at Rushton Hall inspired his love for architecture. Thomas was to become known as Thomas the Builder and although he started more buildings than he finished they are all still standing today. In 1577 Thomas was deemed to be the most loyal subject to the crown.
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