John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford

John Hussey MP
Personal details
Born	1465/1466 Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England
Died	1536/1537 Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England
Nationality	English
Spouse(s)	Margaret Blount Anne de Grey
Relations	Son of William Hussey Son-in-law of George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent Brother-in-law of Richard Grey, 3rd Earl of Kent Brother-in-law of William Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby
Children	William (Sir Knight), Thomas, Giles (Sir), Elizabeth, Bridget, Anne, Dorothy, Mary, William
Residence	Sleaford
Occupation	Chief Butler of England

John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford (1465/1466 – 1536/1537) (sometimes "Huse") was Chief Butler of England from 1521 until his death. He was a member of the House of Lords, and a Chamberlain to King Henry VIII's daughter, Mary I of England.

Early years

Hussey was born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, son of William Hussey, an English judge and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench. His mother was the former Elizabeth Berkeley. Hussey's siblings included: Elizabeth, who married Richard Grey, 3rd Earl of Kent, and Mary Hussey, who married William Willoughby, 11th Baron Willoughby de Eresby.

In 1497, at the Battle of Blackheath, Hussey was knighted. Six years later, he was made "Knight of the Body", bodyguard to King Henry VII, followed by an appointment as "Master of Lyfield Forest", Rutland in 1505 and Comptroller of the Household in 1509. On 16 August 1513, he was promoted to Knight banneret.

Career

In 1493 Hussey was appointed Sheriff of Lincolnshire and by 1513 he was custos rotulorum for the county. On 6 July 1523, he was elected Member of Parliament as a knight of the shire for Lincolnshire. Three years later, 5 February 1526, he was appointed a judge. On 3 November 1529 he was re-elected to Parliament as knight of the shire for Lincolnshire but received a Writs of Summons on 1 December 1529 to the House of Lords as 'Johannes Hussey de sleford, chivaler'. In June 1530, Hussey was named Lincolnshire Castle's Commissioner for Gaol Delivery, and later that same year, Hussey sold some of his large holdings (the Somersetshire manors of Batheaston, Bathampton, Bathford, Twerton; the Wiltshire manors of Compton Bassett, Comerwell, and North Wraxall.

On the 10th September 1533, Lord Hussey attended the christening of princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth 1), daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and carried the canopy over the 3-day old child with George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, Lord Thomas Howard, and William Howard, 1st Baron Howard of Effingham.

Hussey was Chamberlain to King Henry's daughter, Mary, while Hussey's second wife, Lady Anne, was one of Mary's attendants. Though King Henry forbade anyone from calling his daughter, Mary, by the title of Princess, Lady Anne did do so, after which she lost her attendant position around June 1534 and was imprisoned in the Tower of London in August. Asking for the King's pardon, she was released before the end of the year.

In addition to his responsibilities at Court and Parliament, Hussey was steward to John Longland, the conservative Bishop of Lincoln, and King Henry's confessor.

Downfall

The Pilgrimage of Grace was one of the worst uprisings of King Henry's reign. It occurred during the early English Reformation period when King Henry was feuding with Pope Clement VII to annul the king's marriage with Catherine of Aragon.

Though Hussey denied participating in the Pilgrimage of Grace, he was accused of conspiring to change laws and depose the king, and that he abetted those who made war on the king in October 1536. The charges may have been levied in part because of Hussey's Catholic sympathies, and because Hussey and his wife, having served 'Princess' Mary, were partisans on her behalf. Hussey was indicted and tried for treason, and found guilty by the House of Lords. He was beheaded in Lincoln in 1536, while his cousin, Thomas Darcy, was executed on Tower Hill.

Hussey's statement ("confession") survives.

Family

Hussey first married Margaret Blount in 1490 at Mangotsfield, and they had three sons:

• Sir William Hussey, Knt. (c. 1492)
• Thomas Hussey (c. 1495)
• Gilbert Hussey (c. 1497)

Around 1509, he married Lady Anne Grey (c. 1490, Denbigh – from 1 March 1544/1545 to 11 February 1545/1546), daughter of George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent by second wife Lady Catherine Herbert. They had seven children:

• Sir Giles Hussey, Knt., born in 1505, married to Jane Pigot, and had issue (descendants include President Richard Nixon (twice), Actor James Dean and Entrepreneurs J. A. Folger and Peter Folger)
• Joan Hussey, wife of Sir Roger Forster.
• Elizabeth Hussey, second wife of Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton, Warwickshire (d. 1586), and had four daughters and two sons
• Bridget Hussey (c. 1526 - 13 January 1600/1601, bur. Watford, Hertfordshire, will dated 2 June 1600) probated 12 January 1600/1601), wife of Sir Richard Morrison of Cashiobury, Hertfordshire (d. Strasbourg, 17 March 1556), Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland before 1563, without issue, and second wife of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford on 25 June 1566, without issue; her daughter by first husband Jane Sibella Morrison (d. July 1615, last will dated 6 March 1614/1615 probated 14 July 1615), naturalized as an English subject in 1575/1576, married c. 1571 Edward Russell, Baron Russell (d. bef. June 1572 without issue and intestate and his estate was administered on 30 June 1572, bur. Chenies, Buckinghamshire), son of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford and Margaret St John, and after 1572 Sir Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton, and had issue
• Anne Hussey
• Dorothy Hussey
• Mary Hussey
• William Hussey

After his execution, Hussey's home in Sleaford, as well as his other estates were confiscated by the crown. His children were restored to Parliament in 1563 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but Hussey's title was forfeited, and the estates were not returned.

Honors

• 6 December 1533, John Fewterer, Confessor-General of Syon Abbey, dedicated his book, The myrrour or glasse of Christes passion, to "the Honorable 'Lord Husey', from Syon".

References

Peerage of England
Preceded by New creation	Baron Hussey 1529–1537	Succeeded by Forfeit