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In 1406 March 19, Thomas Wykeham, armiger was granted, by Henry IV, (In year 7 of his reign) a Royal licence to crenellate Broghton (Broughton Castle)
Licence for the king's esquire Thomas Wykeham to crenellate the mansion of his manor of Broghton. By K. (CPR)

... quod Thomas Wykeham armiger possit kernellare manorium manerii sui de Broughton. (Turner and Parker p. 270)

Granted at Westminster. Grant by King.

Comments

Bishop William bequeathed the Castle to his great-nephew Sir Thomas Perrot (who adopted the name Wykeham). William died 1404 so licence may be as much about getting royal confirmation of an unusual inheritance as about confirming the status of a up and coming local magnate.

Original source is;

(In fact, the original source given is usually a transcription/translation of what are precious medieval documents not readily availably. It should be noted that these transcription/translations often date to the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries and that unwitting bias of transcribers may affect the translation. Care should also be taken to avoid giving modern meaning to the medieval use of certain stock words and terms. Licentia is best translated as 'freedom to' not 'permission'.)

Significant later sources are;

Thomas Wykeham (d. 1443)
Thomas Wykeham (d. 1443). MP Oxfordshire, 1402, 1416, 1422 and 1425. Knighted by 1411. High Sheriff of Berkshire and Oxfordshire in 1413, 1417, 1426 and 1430. Bishop William of Wykeham, of Wickham, Hampshire, purchased Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire, in 1377. Bishop William bequeathed the Castle to his great-nephew Sir Thomas Perrot (who adopted the name Wykeham).

Thomas had a place in the royal household as a child, but his identification as 'king's esquire' in the licence is not supported by other evidence of being in the royal household. There is also no evidence of military service. Thomas served on several Royal commissions, as well as his service as sheriff and MP but his career seems mainly that of land owner.

Biographical source include;

More information about licences to crenellate can be found here.

Please do inform Gatehouse if you see any errors, can add information or can otherwise help to improve this resource. Please contact Gatehouse.

Record created by Philip Davis. This record last updated on Sunday, October 4, 2015.


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