Ambrose Jermyn Explained

Sir Ambrose Jermyn (1511  - 5 April 1577) of Rushbrooke, Suffolk, was an English courtier, magistrate and landowner.^[1]

Origins

He was the son of Sir Thomas Jermyn (died 1552) of Rushbrooke by his wife Anne Spring, the eldest daughter of Thomas Spring of Lavenham, Suffolk.^[2]

Career

He inherited his father's Rushbrooke Hall estate following his death in 1552. A fervent Roman Catholic, he was knighted by Queen Mary I and served as a Justice of the Peace in Suffolk. In this role he was a notable prosecutor and persecutor of Protestants across East Anglia until the accession of Queen Elizabeth I.^[3] He served as Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1558 and 1572.

Marriage and children

In 1538 he married Anne Heveningham, daughter of George Heveningham of Rushbrooke, and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Burgoyne,^[4] by whom he had thirteen children, including:

• Sir Robert Jermyn, eldest surviving son and heir, a Protestant magistrate.^[5] His will was proved in May 1577.^[6]
• John Jermyn, husband of Mary Tollemache, and father of Thomas Jermyn.^[7]
• Susan Jermyn, wife of Lyonell Tollemache of Helmingham Hall in Suffolk, and mother of Sir Lionel Tollemache, 1st Baronet (1562–).

Notes and References

1. An account of Sir Ambrose Jermyn and his family is given by S.H.A. Hervey, Rushbrook Parish Registers 1567-1850 (George Booth, Woodbridge 1903), pp. 198-207 (Internet Archive).
2. http://www.oxford-shakespeare.com/Probate/PROB_11-21_ff_83-4.pdf Family Background
3. Patrick Collinson, From Cranmer to Sancroft: Essays on English Religion in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (A&C Black, 16 Jul 2007), p.33.
4. Web site: Parishes: Caxton British History Online . 2021-04-23 . www.british-history.ac.uk . The manor seems to have passed by 1434 to William Burgoyne of Roxton (Beds.) (d. 1456), whose son Richard died in 1464 leaving Caxton to his heir John, a minor. John presumably succeeded on coming of age c. 1478, but died in 1487, whereupon his feoffees granted the manor in the same year to Agnes Lane for life, with remainder to Richard Burgoyne, then a child. It appears that Richard died before coming of age, probably in 1504 or 1505, and Thomas son of John Burgoyne of Impington was said to hold the manor in 1506. By 1509, however, the property was held by the sisters of Richard Burgoyne, Margaret (d. 1529), wife of George Heveningham (d. 1530), and Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Thursby. By 1530 one half was still held by Thursby, the other half was divided between the three surviving daughters of Margaret Heveningham. On the death of one of those daughters without heirs in 1532 or 1533, the half manor was divided equally between the surviving sisters, Alice wife of Thomas Green and Anne wife of Sir Ambrose Jermyn of Rushbrooke (Suff.). Thursby sold a quarter of the manor to Jermyn in 1536. In or after 1549 the Greens' share passed to Jermyn, who at his death in 1577 left half the manor to his fourth son, Anthony. In 1578 another Thomas Thursby sold his family's share of the manor to Anthony Cage the elder (d. 1583), a London salter who already owned Longstowe..
5. Patrick Collinson, 'Magistracy and Ministry: A Suffolk Miniature' in Godly People: Essays On English Protestantism and Puritanism (Bloomsbury Publishing, 1983), p.449.
6. Will of Sir Ambrose Jermyn (P.C.C. 1577, Daughtry quire). Transcript in Hervey, Rushbrook Parish Registers 1567-1850, pp. 143-46 (Internet Archive).
7. Web site: JERMYN, Thomas (1561-1607), of Debden, Suff. . Hasler . P.W. . 1981 . The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603 . Boydell and Brewer . 10 September 2023 .