RHYS ap THOMAS
,
Sir
(
1449
-
1525
), the
chief Welsh supporter of Henry VII
,
was the third son of
Thomas ap Gruffudd ap Nicolas
. His grandfather,
Gruffudd ap Nicolas
(q.v.)
, had in
1440
leased the lordship of
Dinefwr
for a period of sixty years and thus laid the foundation of the family fortunes. His father,
Thomas ap Gruffudd
, had strengthened the position of the family by his marriage to
Elizabeth
, daughter and heiress of
Sir
John
Gruffydd
of
Abermarlais
, who could claim descent from the
Welsh
princes. As a lad he spent some time abroad with his father at the court of
Burgundy
, returning about
1467
. On the death of his father, who had been predeceased by his two elder sons,
Rhys ap Thomas
succeeded to the estate. The family tradition had been
Lancastrian
, but in the circumstances of the time caution was necessary. In the reign of
Edward
IV
,
Rhys
organized a local military force
in his support, but after the accession of
Richard
III
he got into touch with
Henry Tudor
who was then an exile in
Brittany
. There is little doubt that he promised to assist him and that, when
Henry
landed at
Milford Haven
, he used his great influence in his favour,
though the story that he salved his conscience by allowing
Henry
to cross over his body while he crouched under
Mullock Bridge
, near
Dale
, must be taken as legendary. He joined the invading force near
Welshpool
with levies raised in the
vale of Towy
and was
knighted
for his services on the field of
Bosworth
(
22 Aug. 1485
). In Nov. of the same year he received other tokens of royal favour. He was granted the offices of
constable
and
steward of the lordship
of
Brecknock
,
chamberlain
of the counties of
Carmarthen
and
Cardigan
, and
steward of the lordship
of
Builth
. He thus held the chief appointments which were in the gift of the
king
in
South Wales
.
Sir
Rhys
continued active in the support of the new dynasty. He was
in command of a troop of horse
at the
battle of Stoke
(
16 June 1487
) when the pretender
Lambert
Simnel
was defeated and captured, and he took part in the expedition against
Boulogne
in
Oct. 1492
. At the
battle of Blackheath
(
17 June 1497
) he took the leader,
lord Audeley
, prisoner, and was created a
knight-banneret
. He was present at the surrender of
Perkin
Warbeck
at
Beaulieu Abbey
in
Sept. 1497
. For these and other services he was made
Knight of the Garter
on
22 April 1505
. He continued in favour after the accession of
Henry
VIII
and took part in that
king
's invasion of
France
in
1513
. His later years he spent at
Carew castle
which the owner had mortgaged to him. It was there that he held a great tournament to celebrate his admission to the
Order of the Garter
and to which he invited representatives of the leading families from all parts of
Wales
. He also made extensive alterations to the castle, building the gate-house and inserting windows.
Sir
Rhys ap Thomas
m. (1)
Eva
, daughter of
Henri ap Gwilym
of
Cwrt Henri
, and (2)
Janet
, daughter of
Thomas
Mathew
of
Radyr
, who was widow of
Thomas
Stradling
of
S. Donats
. He d. in
1525
and was buried in
Greyfriars church
,
Carmarthen
. His body was later removed to
S. Peters church
; the tomb there was restored in
1865
. His widow d. at
Picton castle
in
1535
and was also buried in
Greyfriars church
. His estates, though not his offices, passed to his grandson,
Sir
Rhys ap Gruffydd
, who, in
1531
, forfeited them and his life for alleged conspiracy (see further the article on the
Rice
family)
.
Bibliography:
-
There are many references to Sir Rhys in the Tudor chronicles and in
Francis Bacon
's
Bacon's history of the reign of King Henry
VII with notes
, Cambridge, 1888
.
-
A detailed biography written in the early 17th cent, is printed in the
Cambrian Register
, three volumes,
1795–1818
,
1796
, i, and there are long excerpts from it in
Richard Fenton
's
A Historical Tour through
Pembrokeshire
,
1811
. This biography, the author of which is unknown [but see article Rice family], contains much that must be taken with some reserve.
Author:
Emeritus Professor Sir James Frederick Rees, Ll.D., (1883-1967), Tenby
/ Cardiff
