1085

SIR ROBERT DRURY
Sir Robert Drury, (died March 02, 1536), Knight, (Knighted by Henry VII, of England, after the battle of Blackheath, June 17th 1497, and Lord Of the Manor of Hawsted, Suffolf, was Knight of The Body to Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII, Knight of the Shire for Suffolk, Speaker of the House of Commons, [elected 04 October 1495], and Privvy Councillor. He was also a Barrister-at-law. His London Townhouse was in Drury Lane.

Robert Drury was son of Roger Drury of Hawstead, Suffolk, and was probably educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge. With Sir Robert Drury began for this family a long connection with the Courts of the Tudor Sovereigns, and a succession of capable and eminent men whose careers are part of the history of this country throughout the 16th Century. His first wife, was Anne, (d. before March 1558), daughter of Sir William Calthrope, K. B., of Burnham Thrope, Norfolk, a descendant of King Edward I, of England, and his wife Eleanor of Castile. He was named in many Commissions in the County of Suffolk, from 1486, onwards. Sir Robert procured from Pope Alexander VI a Licensce for the Chapel in his home at Hawstead, dated July 08, 1501, in the tenth year of that pontificate. The original is now in the Museum at Bury. Another early reference to him is an indenture, December 15, 1490, by which Robert Geddying, son and heir of John Geddyng, agreed with Robert Drury, Esquire, for the erection of houses at Lackford, County Suffolk, Roger and William Drury being Co-feoffees.

Sir Robert Drury was Knighted by King Henry VII, on 17 June 1497, after the Battle of Blackheath, and was present at the funeral of the young Prince Henry, in 1511, where, amongst the list of mourners, he is included as one of the Knights to bear the Canopy, He was an Executor of the Will ofJohn de VERE, 13th Earl of Oxford, who died in 1513. On the fly-leaf thereof, are signatures of "Robertus Drury, miles" and "Willelmus Drury, miles."

Between June 1510, and February 1513, inclusive, he was engaged with various colleagues in the attempt "to pacify theScottish border by peaceful methods and to obtain redress for wrongs committed."

Two splendid books, once owned by Sir Robert Drury, have survived. One, a fine Latin MS of the Vulgate, written by an English scribe early in the 13th Century, is now in the Library of Christ's College Cambridge. Some blank leaves at the end have been used to record the marriages and progeny of the children of Sir Robert Drury. The first group of entries was made at the end of 1527; subsequent entries carry on the records of the growth of the family until 1566. The other book is the finest and most famous of all Chaucer MS, the Ellesmere Manuscript ofThe Canterbury Tales now in the Huntingdon Library. At the top of a preliminary fly-leaf is written "Robertus Drury, miles", and below a list of his children: "William Drury, miles, Robertus Drury, miles, Domina [Anne] Jarmin, Domina [Bridget] Jarningham, and Domina [Ursula] Allington."

Of his daughters by Anne Calthorpe, Ursula married Sir Giles Alington, Knight, of Horseheath, Cambridgeshire. Sir Robert Drury's Will is very extensive and detailed, and mentions "Robert Alyngton my daughter Ursula's son" as being under age at the time of writing. (Drury's sons William and Robert are also mentioned). Another daughter, Anne, married [1] George Waldegrave (ca. 1483 - 08 July 1528, of Smallbridge, Suffolk, from whom descend the Earls Waldegrave, as well as a branch of the Higham of Higham Green and Denham family. She married [2]: Sir Thomas Jermyn, Knight, (ca. 1500 - 1552) of Rushbrooke, Suffolk, from whom descend that family, (includes the Jacobite peer) as well as the Crane family of Chilton, later Baronets.

Sir Robert Drury's Magnificent Tomb can be found in the main Processional Aisle in St.Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk.

Sir Robert's son ,(mentioned in his Will), Sir William Drury, Knight, of Hawstead, M.P.,P.C., (c1500-1558), married Elizabeth Sothill (1505-1575), a granddaughter of another Speaker of the House of Commons, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Sir Richard Empson, Knight, (d.17 August 1510).

Sources:
Robert Drury: in VENN, J. & J. A., "Alumni Catabrigienses" , Cambridge University Press, 10 Vols, 1922-1958.
BURKE, Messrs John and John Bernard, "The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with their descendants, Sovereigns and Subjects", London, 1851, Vol. II, Pedigree CXVII. Dictionary of National Biography, extensive entry for 'Sir Robert Drury'. Oxford University Press. SHAW, William A., Litt.D., "The Knights of England", London, 1906. Carr-Calthrop, Colonel Christopher William, C.B.E., M.D., &c., "Notes on the Families of Calthorpe & Calthrop", 3rd Edition, London, 1933, p. 43. CAMPLING, Arthur, F.S.A., "The History of the Family of Drury", London, 1937. BALD, R.C., "Donne and the Drurys", Cambridge University Press, 1959, pps: 10-11. RICHARDSON, Douglas, "Plantagenet Ancestry", Baltimore, Maryland, 2004, p. 276. Retrieved from Wikipedia Encyopedia Online.Research of Patricia McMahan-Chambers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ann Calthorpe had married Sir Robert Drury (died 2nd March 1536, at Hawstead and buried in a monumental and magnificent tomb in St.Mary’s Church, Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk). Sir Robert was Lord of the Manors of Thurston and Hawstead, Suffolk, a barrister of Lincoln’s Inn, Privy Councillor and Speaker of the House of Commons. Sir Robert was present at the funeral of the young Prince Henry in 1511 and is noted as one of the knights who bore the canopy. He was buried in a monumental and magnificent tomb in St.Mary’s Church, Bury St.Edmunds, Suffolk.

Between 1510 and 1513 he was engaged with various collegues in the attempt to pacify the Scottish border by peaceful methods. He was a witness to the marriage of Princess Mary on 9th October 1514 and was knighted in 1516. He was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, and has a long list of other important appointments to his credit, too numerous to mention here. The site of his family’s London home is still called Drury Lane. Sir Robert Drury and Anne Calthorpe had two sons:

Sir Robert, of Hedgerley, Bucks, who married Elizabeth Brudenell with issue, one of whom was Sir William Drury, Marshall of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and later Lord Justice of Ireland; and Sir William (d.1589), Lord of Hawstead Manor, who married Elizabeth Stafford (d.1578) with issue, amongst whose descendants can be found the families of Wray, Irby of Boston, Clifford, Ayscoghe of Skelsey through to the Hanbury-Tracys and so to the present Lord Sudeley.

Sir Robert and Ann Drury also had four girls: Anne, who married (1) Sir George Waldegrave (d.1528) knight, of Smallbridge, and (2) Sir Thomas Jermyn (d.1552) knight, of Rushbrooke; Bridget, who married Sir John Jernegan (d.1556) knight, of Somerleyton; Elizabeth, who married Sir Philip Boteler; and finally, Ursula (d.1523).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ILLUSTRIOUS OR NOTORIOUS GRANDSON?
from "Elizabeth The Queen" by Alison Weir, 1998..

Sir William Drury was the son of Sir Robert Drury of Edgerley and Elizabeth Brudenel, and the grandson of Sir Robert Drury of Hawstead and Anne Calthorpe. Sir William accompanied Lord Russell into France in 1544 during invasions by Charles V and Henry VIII; took part in a tournament for Edward VI in 1551; and participated in the invasion of Scotland in 1570. In 1574 he was appointed Lord Justice of the Council and Governor of Ireland. He died there of a fever in 1579.

Sir William's brother, Edmund Drury of Bucks, England had a son Robert. Robert Drury accompanied his uncle William into Ireland and remained after William died in Dublin. This Robert Drury of Laughlin is the ancestor of the Drurys of Ireland.

Sir William was also the brother of Sir Dru Drury of Riddlesworth and Lynstead (1532-1617). Sir Dru was a trusted knight of Queen Elizabeth and was a Gentleman Usher at her coronation in 1559; served as Gentleman of the Privy Chamber; named a member of Parliament in 1562 and 1584; and in 1586 was sent by Elizabeth to arrest Mary, Queen of Scots. He was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London in 1596.

Sir William and Sir Dru Drury were both arrested and sent to the Tower of London for several months in 1559, charged with attempted murder of controversial Robert Dudley, a friend of Queen Elizabeth; but were later released by Dudley himself. It is not known if there was ever any truth to the accusation.