Thomas Tesdale
| Thomas Tesdale | |
|---|---|
 Alabaster likeness of Thomas Tesdale in the Tesdale monument in Glympton parish church |
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| Born | 1547 Stanford Dingley, Berkshire |
| Died | 13 June 1610 Glympton, Oxfordshire |
| Occupation | Maltster, woad grower and dyer |
| Known for | Benefactor of Abingdon School and Pembroke College, Oxford |
| Spouse | Maud Stone |
Thomas Tesdale (1547–1610) was an English maltster, benefactor of the town of Abingdon in the English county of Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) and the primary founding benefactor of Pembroke College, Oxford.
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[edit] Life and career
Thomas was born in Stanford Dingley in Berkshire, the son of farmer and trader Thomas Tesdale (1507–1556) and his second wife, the twice widowed Joan (d. 1548), daughter of William Knapp of Stanton Harcourt in Oxfordshire. After his father's death, Tesdale was brought up by his uncle, Richard Tesdale, a saddler who lived in Abingdon, and was the first scholar admitted to John Roysse's Free School in Abingdon (now Abingdon School).
By the age of twenty Tesdale had taken over the malt-making side of the family business. In June 1567 he married Maud (1545–1616), daughter of Reynold Stone of Henley-on-Thames and widow of Edward Little of Abingdon. None of their children survived infancy.
Tesdale grew weathly as maltster in Abingdon,[1] and served as Master of Christ's Hospital of Abingdon. In 1581 he was elected mayor, but he did not serve his term as he had left the borough when he bought the manor of Ludwell[clarification needed] in Oxfordshire. Soon after 1586 he moved to Glympton near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, where he rented the manor, raised livestock and grew and milled woad for dyeing.[1]
[edit] Death and legacy
Tesdale died at Glympton on 13 June 1610 and was buried at Glympton parish church, where he was commemorated by a black marble tombstone in the chancel with a brass figure and inscription.[1] Following his widow's death in 1616 an ornate alabaster monument to husband and wife was erected on the chancel wall above his original tombstone.[1]
Tesdale left no children when he died, but bequests from his will dated 31 May 1610 gave £5,000 for the education of seven fellows and six scholars from Abingdon School at Balliol College, Oxford.[1] In 1623, this money was augmented by the Reverend Richard Wightwick of East Ilsley and used instead for the transformation of Broadgates Hall into Pembroke College, named after the Chancellor, William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke.
[edit] References
[edit] Printed sources
- Crossley, Alan (ed.); Baggs, A.P.; Colvin, Christina; Colvin, H.M.; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Selwyn, Nesta; Tomkinson, A. (1983). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 11: Wootton Hundred (northern part). Victoria County History. pp. 120–131.
- Macleane, Rev. Douglas (1897). A History of Pembroke College, Oxford, Recently Broadgates Hall. 33. Oxford Historical Society.
- Savage, H. (1668). Balliofergus, or, A commentary upon the foundation, founders, and affaires, of Balliol colledge.
[edit] External links
- 1547 births
- 1610 deaths
- 16th-century English people
- 17th-century English people
- English businesspeople
- Founders of English schools and colleges
- Old Abingdonians
- People from Abingdon, Oxfordshire
- People from West Berkshire (district)
- People of the Tudor period
- People of the Stuart period
- Balliol College, Oxford
- Pembroke College, Oxford
