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FISHER, Thomas I (1515/16-77), of St. Sepulchre's, Warwick.
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Biography Detail
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Constituency
Dates
Family and Education
b. 1515/16, s. of Thomas Hawkins alias Fisher, fishmonger and bro. of John Fisher I. m. (1) by 1547, Winifred (d.1557), da. of William Holte of Aston, Warws., 1s.; (2) Susanna, da. of John Hornyold, s.p.
Offices Held
Servant of John Dudley, Visct. Lisle; steward and bailiff, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leics. 1542; servant of Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford by 1544, sec. by 1547; constable, Warwick castle 1545-53, keeper, Banbury castle ?1550-68 or later; j.p.q. Warws. 1554, from c.1559; escheator, Warws. and Leics. 1559-60; Exchequer receiver, Leics., Warws. and Coventry 1559-72 or later.
Biography
By the accession of Elizabeth, Fisher, through his association with great men, was possessed of an impressive accumulation of church lands and property, including a house on the site of St. Sepulchre’s priory, Warwick. He conformed in religion under both Mary and Elizabeth, though he was classed as an ‘adversary’ of true religion in the 1564 reports. He remained on good terms with Sir William Cecil throughout his life, and his connexion with the Dudley family was never broken. The Earl of Leicester stayed at St. Sepulchre’s in 1571, and so did Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick, often, in 1572 bringing the Queen herself. It was perhaps through Dudley influence that Fisher obtained the receivership for Leicestershire and Warwickshire, his vigorous exploitation of which brought accusations of fraud; his account was later charged with a debt of £4,000. The protection of the Dudley family was extended to Fisher’s heir Edward, who, in 1581, was saved by the intervention of Leicester from a heavy fine when prosecuted by the lord keeper, John Puckering, in the Star Chamber for making a fraudulent conveyance.
Fisher died 12 Jan. 1577 and was buried in St. Mary’s, Warwick, beside his first wife. His heir wasted his estate and died in the Fleet.
DNB; Dugdale, Warws. i. 349, 442, 457-8; Vis. Warws. (Harl. Soc. xii), 20; Stratford Birthplace Trust, Archer mss; St. Nicholas’s churchwardens’ accts. 3-4 Ph. and M.; LP Hen. VIII, xx(1), 1335, g. 7; Stowe 571; CPR, 1558-60, pp. 27-8; Lansd. 1218, f. 33; Cam. Misc. ix(3), p. 7; Black Bk. of Warwick, 29; Nichols, Progresses Eliz. i. 318-19; CSP Dom. 1591-4, p. 498; C142/183/94.
