ROBERT DRURY 1470-1537

[Ancestral Link: Harold William Miller, son of Edward Emerson Miller, son of Anna Hull (Miller), daughter of William Hull, son of Anna Hyde (Hull), daughter of Mehitable Marvin (Hyde), daughter of Benjamin Marvin, son of John Marvin, son of Sarah Clark (Marvin), daughter of George Clark, son of George Clark, son of Elizabeth Bristowe (Clark), daughter of Margaret Boteler (Bristowe), daughter of John Boteler, son of Elizabeth Drury (Boteler), daughter of Robert Drury.]

[Ancestral Link: Harold William Miller, son of Edward Emerson Miller, son of Anna Hull (Miller), daughter of William Hull, son of William Hull, son of Sarah Wilcox (Hull), daughter of Mary Pierson (Wilcox), daughter of Abraham Pierson, son of Abigail Clarke (Pierson), daughter of George Clark, son of George Clark, son of Elizabeth Bristowe (Clark), daughter of Margaret Boteler (Bristowe), daughter of John Boteler, son of Elizabeth Drury (Boteler), daughter of Robert Drury.]

[Ancestral Link: Marguerite Anderson (Miller), daughter of Hannah Anderson (Anderson), daughter of Mary Margaret Edmiston (Anderson), daughter of Martha Jane Snow (Edmiston), daughter of Gardner Snow, son of James Snow, son of Mary Trowbridge (Snow), daughter of James Trowbridge, son of Sarah Ward (Trowbridge), daughter of Mary Spring (Ward), daughter of Hannah Barsham (Spring), daughter of William Barshaw, son of Ann Yelverton (Barshaw), daughter of Bridget Drury (Yelverton), daughter of William Drury, son of Robert Drury.

St Marys Church Bury St. Edmund's

Sir Knight Robert Drury

Shield From Sir Robert DRURY's Tomb

The sculptured tomb figures of Sir Robert Drury and Anne, his wife, as seen from the top.

Tomb of Sir Robert Drury and Anne Calthrope

The magnificent tombs of Sir Robert Drury and his wife, Anne. The tomb is located on the side of the sanctuary just beyond the chancel. The tomb of Sir Robert Drury, died 1536, and his first wife, Anne, daughter of Sir William Calthorpe, Knight. Sir Robert was elected Speaker of the House on October 4, 1495 and Privy Councilor to Henry VII, the son of Sir Roger Drury, of Hawsted, and his first wife, Felice, the daughter of William Denston, of Besthorpe. As you can see, the tomb is of elaborately carved white marble. Resting on top are the sculptured figures of Robert and his wife. A Greyhound is found at Robert's feet.
found on ancestry.com

notes on Robert Drury
Occupation: 1495 Speaker Of The House Of Commons

Anne Calthorpe, will 1494; married as (1) wife, Sir Robert Drury of Hanstead, MP Suffolk, Speaker of the House of Commons 1495, Privy Council 1526, etc., died 2 March 1535/6, buried St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds; married (2) Anne, daughter of Edward Jernegan (or Jerningham) of Somerley, widow of Edward, Lord Gray, by whom no issue. [Ancestral Roots] His London house later gave it's name to Drury Lane.

Sir Robert DRURY was elected as Speaker of the House of Commons on 4 October 1495 in England. He served as as a canopy-bearer for the funeral of Prince Henry, son of King Henry VIII in 1511. He served as as executor to the will of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford from 1512 to 1513. He served as as a witness at the marriage of Princess Mary on 9 October 1514 in England. He was a tax collector between 1522 and 1524 in England. He signed a will on 1 May 1531. He died in 1535. He was buried in Saint Mary's Bury Saint Edmund's. He was married to Ann JERNEGAN and their children were: Anne DRURY, Sir William DRURY, Sir Robert DRURY, Elizabeth DRURY, Ursula DRURY.

Robert succeeded at HAWSTEAD, and with him began for the 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 the country throughout the sixteenth century. An early reference to him is an indenture 15 December 1490 by which Robert Geddyng, 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. He was named in many commissions in the country of Suffolk from 1486 onwards.

"Item, on Saturday, the fourth day of Parliament, they of the House of Commons, appearing before the Lord King in full Parliament, presented to the Lord King Robert Drury their Speaker, with whom the King contented himself well. Which same Robert, after making his excuse before the said Lord King, seeing that the same his excuse could not be admitted on the part of the same King, humbly prayed the same Lord King, that inasmuch as all and singular (things) (were) to be preferred and declared by him in the said Parliament in the name of the said Commonality, he might proffer and declare (them) under such protest that if he should have declared any of the matters laid upon him by his said fellow commoners; and that his said Protest should be put upon record in the Roll of the Parliament aforesaid.

"To whom answer was made by the Lord Chancellor at the command of the Lord King, that the said Robert should have and enjoy such protest, as other Speakers, in the time of the noble forefathers of the same King of England, were accustomed to use and enjoy in such Parliaments."
Sir Robert Drury made an exchange 16 November 1504 with Sir William Clopton, receiving land in Hawstead for his manors at Hensted and Blomstons of Beaustones in Suffolk and paying in addition 1000 marks, 200 to be paid down, and the balance to be paid by instalments between the hours of nine and ten in the forenoon, at the rood altar in the church of the monastery at St. Edmund’s Bury.

Sir Robert procured from Pope Alexander VI a licence for the Chapel in his house at Hawstead. The licence is dated 7 July 1501 in the tenth year of his pontificate; and the original is now in the Museum at Bury.

Sir Robert Drury, the King’s Councillor, had licence 8 March 1509/10 to impark 2,000 acres of land, and 500 acres of wood, in the parishes of Hausted, Whepsted, Hornengserth, Great Nowton, Onhows, Buxhale, Harleston, Shelond, Rede, Chedbergh, Chevington, Hartest, Somerton and Brokeley, Suff. and make a chace (saltus) there, with free warren and fishery there and in Sorf., Suffolk and Bucks; also licence to enclose with walls and towers and crenelate his manors of Hausted Hall, Buknahams, and Onhowshalle, Suff.

"The enterment of Prince Henry son of King Henry the viith. Lengths and prices of black cloth received from merchants (named) to a total cost of 3791l. 14d. Payments for making gowns, banners, hearse, etc. including 501l. to the abbot of Westminster for twelve palls and a canopy, to John Brown, Ric. Rowndangre, John Whytyng, John Wanlasse and John Hethe, painters for banners, etc. 974 lbs. of wax for the hearse at Westminter and 4,327 lbs. in torches. Expenditure at Richemounte, 25 and 26 Feb. 2 Hen. VIII (1510/11) in divers offices of the Household, about the funeral, and at Westminster on Thursday 27 Feb. Liveries of cloth (specifying the number of yards in each case), viz: Covering of three barges 186 yards." Mourners, given in detail, including Knights to bear the canopy – Sir Rob. Drury, Sir Rob. Southwell, Sir John Arundell, Sir John Raynford.

Sir Robert Drury was an executor of the will of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, who died 1512-13. The latter bequeathed to him an annuity of l 6 13s. 4d. and the Ellesmere Chaucer, of which Lord Oxford’s family appears to have been the first owner. On the fly-leaf thereof are signatures of "Robertus Drury, miles", "Willelmus Drury, miles."

Between June 1510 and February 1512-13 inclusive he was engaged with various colleagues in the attempt to pacify the Scottish border by peaceful methods and to obtain redress for wrongs committed.

He witnessed the marriage of the Princess Mary on 9 October 1514, was appointed knight of the body in 1516, was one of a commission appointed to examine suspects arrested in the district of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields in July 1519, was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, and on 10 July of the same year was in attendance at Gravesend.

In 1522 he was in attendance on the King at Canterbury, in 1523 and 1524 he was chief commissioner for the collection of the subsidy in Suffolk and town of Ipswich, and in 1524 he was a Commissioner for the collection of the loan for the French war. Lord Willoughby, the abbot of Bury, Sir Robt. Drury, Sir Will. Waldegrave and others were made commissioners to squeeze out money for the war of 1522 by a forced loan. The patience of the county cracked and at the next demand in 1525, an open outburst took place against the Duke of Suffolk and Sir Robt. Drury. 4000 men assembled, but bloodshed was averted, though the danger was great as the whole of the Eastern counties were ready to rise. Though suppressed, the people were not quieted. Sir Robt. Drury got hold of certain rioters in March 1528, who desired to go up to the king and beseech a remedy for the living of poor men. The parliament of 1530 granted a general pardon to the rioters but at the same time released the king from repayment of loans.

In 1526 he was one of the legal or judicial committee of the Privy Council, ranking in point of precedence next after Sir Thomas More. In 1530 he was one of the commissioners of gaol delivery for Ipswich, was appointed commissioner of Sewers for Suffolk in December 1534, and died 2 March 1535-6. He was buried in St. Mary’s Church, Bury St. Edmund’s, under a stone monument, the wooden palisade of the tomb bearing the inscription "such as ye be, some time were we, such as we are, such shall ye be. Miserere nostri."

vol 2, pg 729, "The History of the County Palatine and the City of Chester" by George Ormerod
pg 227, "Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists etc" by Frederick Lewis Weiss, 6th Edition

Sir Robert DRURY was elected as Speaker of the House of Commons on 4 October 1495 in England. He served as as a canopy-bearer for the funeral of Prince Henry, son of King Henry VII I in 1511. He served as as executor to the will of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford from 1512 to 1513. He served as a witness at the marriage of Princess Mary on 9 Oct 1514 in England. He was a tax collector between 1522 and 1524 i n England. He signed a will on 1 May 1531. He died in 1535 . He was buried in Saint Mary's Bury Saint Edmund's. He was married to Ann JERNEGAN and their children were: Anne DRURY, Sir William DRURY, Sir Robert DRURY, Elizabeth DRURY, Ursula DRURY. Robert succeeded at HAWSTEAD, and with him began for the 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 the country throughout the sixteenth century. An early reference to him is an indenture 15 December 1490 by which Robert Geddyng, 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. He was named in many commissions in the country of Suffolk from 1486 onwards .

"Item, on Saturday, the fourth day of Parliament, they of the House of Commons, appearing before the Lord King in full Parliament, presented to the Lord King Robert Drury their Speaker, with whom the King contented himself well. Which same Robert, after making his excuse before the said Lord King, seeing that the same his excuse could not be admitted on the part of the same King, humbly prayed the same Lord King, that inasmuch as all and singular (things) (were) to be preferred and declared by him in the said Parliament in the name of the said Commonality, he might proffer and declare (them) under such protest that if he should have declared any of the matters laid upon him by his said fellow commoners; and that his said Protest should be put upon record in the Roll of the Parliament aforesaid. "To whom answer was made by the Lord Chancellor at the command of the Lord King, that the said Robert should have and enjoy such protest, as other Speakers, in the time of the noble forefathers of the same King of England, were accustomed to use and enjoy in such Parliaments."

Sir Robert Drury made an exchange 16 November 1504 with Sir William Clopton, receiving land in Hawstead for his manors at Hensted and Blomstons of Beaustones in Suffolk and paying in addition 1000 marks, 200 to be paid down, and the balance to be paid by instalments between the hours of nine and ten in the forenoon, at the rood altar in the church of the monastery at St. Edmund’s Bury. Sir Robert procured from Pope Alexander VI a licence for the Chapel in his house at Hawstead. The licence is dated 7 July 1501 in the tenth year of his pontificate; and the original is now in the Museum at Bury. Sir Robert Drury, the King’s Councillor, had licence 8 March 1509/10 to impark 2,000 acres of land, and 500 acres of wood, in the parishes of Hausted, Whepsted, Hornengserth, Great Nowton, Onhows, Buxhale, Harleston, Shelond, Rede, Chedbergh, Chevington, Hartest, Somerton and Brokeley, Suff. and make a chace (saltus) there, with free warren and fishery there and in Sorf., Suffolk and Bucks; also licence to enclose with walls and towers and crenelate his manors of Hausted Hall , Buknahams, and Onhowshalle, Suff.

"The enterment of Prince Henry son of King Henry the viith. Lengths and prices of black cloth received from merchants (named) to a total cost of 3791l. 14d. Payments for making gowns, banners, hearse, etc. including 501l. to the abbot of Westminster for twelve palls and a canopy, to John Brown, Ric. Rowndangre, John Whytyng, John Wanlasse and John Hethe, painters for banners, etc. 974 lbs. of wax for the hearse at Westminter and 4,327 lbs. in torches.
found on ancestry.com

Confirmation
from "Electric Scotland - Some English descendants of Malcolm III ‘Canmore’, King of the Scots"...

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 (died 1589), Lord of Hawstead Manor, who married Elizabeth Stafford (died 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 (died 1528) knight, of Smallbridge, and (2) Sir Thomas Jermyn (died 1552) knight, of Rushbrooke; Bridget, who married Sir John Jernegan (died 1556) knight, of Somerleyton; Elizabeth, who married Sir Philip Boteler; and finally, Ursula (died 1523).

found on ancestry.com

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, (died 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 of John 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 the Scottish 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 of The 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.
found on ancestry.com

The details in this biography come from the History of Parliament, a biographical dictionary of Members of the House of Commons.

Born by 1456, first son of Roger Drury of Hawstead by Felice, daughter and heiress of William Denston of Besthorpe, Norf. Educated ?Gonville, Camb.; Lincoln's Inn, adm. 1473. Married first, by 1494, Anne, daughter of Sir William Calthorpe of Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk; by whom he had two sons, Sir William and Sir Robert, and four daughters; and married secondly, by 1531, Anne, daughter of Edward Jerningham of Somerleyton, Suff., widow of Lord Edward Grey (died before 1517), of Henry Berkeley, and of Henry Barley of Albury (died 12 November 1529), s.p. suc. family 30 January 1496. Knighted 17 June 1497. Commr. array Suff. 1487, subsidy 1512, 1514, 1515 1523; other commissions 1490-d., j.p. 1488-d.; dep. chief steward, south parts duchy of Lancaster c.1498-1526; Councillor and knight of body temp. Henry VII and Henry VIII; member, council of 14th Earl of Oxford c.1525, bailiff, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Speaker of House of Commons 1495.

Robert Drury was the first of his line to attach himself to the court after training as a lawyer. Knighted after the Blackheath rebellion in 1497, where he may have served under John De Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford whose deputy he became in the stewardship of the duchy of Lancaster. Under the Earl's will of 1509 he was appointed an executor and given an annuity of £6 13s.4d. and the Ellesmere Chaucer which bears the signature of Drury and his son William.

By the beginning of Henry VIII's reign Drury was prominent as a lawyer, courtier and servant of the crown. It was presumably as a senior Member and former Speaker that in the Parliament of 1510 he announced in the Upper House the election of Thomas Englefield as Speaker; it is all but certain that Drury had been re-elected for Suffolk. Under the new King he attended the Council from time to time, for example in May 1516 to discuss musters, and early in 1526 to give advice on legal matters, but he was chiefly concerned with Scottish affairs. Having been a witness to Henry VIII's renewal of the treaty with Scotland on 29 August 1509, he was commissioned on 7 September with two others to receive the oath of James IV and to treat for the redress of grievances. From 1511 to 1513 he was engaged on similar commissions about injuries on the Scottish border with Thomas, 2nd Lord Dacre of Gilsland.

During the first decade of the century Drury enlarged his property in East Anglia, where he also acquired a number of wardships. In the general pardon of 1510 he was described as of Hawstead, Ruislip in Middlesex, and London. In the same year he had licence to empark over 2,000 acres of land and wood in a number of Suffolk parishes, and to crenellate his manors of Hawstead Hall, Bokenham in Hawstead, and Onehouse. At Hawstead, his chief seat, he had a private chapel for which in 1501 he had received a papal licence. Drury made his will on 1 May 1531, probated 8 February 1535/1536. He died on 2 March 1535. In accordance with his request he was buried in St. Mary's church, Bury St. Edmunds, where a stone monument with effigies of himself and his first wife bears the inscription 'Such as ye be, sometime were we, such as we are, such shall ye be. Miserere nostri'. His rich household hangings, goods and plate, and large flocks of sheep he left chiefly to his wife and sons. His dwellings included a house in College Street, Bury St. Edmunds and a 'place' in the parish of St. Clement Dane, London, which later gave its name to Drury Lane. His widow married Sir Edmund Walsingham.

found on ancestry.com