VAUGHAN
,
Sir
THOMAS
(d.
1483
),
soldier, court official, ambassador, chamberlain to the prince of Wales
.
He was the son of
Robert
Vaughan
of
Monmouth
and
Margaret
his wife. The assertion in
History of Parliament (1439-1509)
that he was the heir of
Sir
Roger
Vaughan
of
Tretower
must be rejected. He received
denizenship
(being a
Welshman
) by order of the
Privy Council
and at the instance of
lord Somerset
and
Adam
Moleyns
,
30 March 1442/3
. He was granted the offices of
steward
,
receiver
, and
master of the game
in
Herefordshire
and
Ewyas
, and
steward
,
constable
,
porter
, and
receiver
of
Abergavenny
,
15 June 1446
. He was
master of the king's ordnance
for some ten years from
23 June 1450
. At this time he was closely associated with
Jasper
Tudor
,
earl of Pembroke
; he was granted a house in
London
, jointly with the earl in
1456
, and was
main-pernor
for him,
21 April 1459
. He was, however, strongly drawn towards the
Yorkist party
, and was accused of imagining and compassing the death of the king on
4 July 1459
. He is said to have been with the
Yorkists
at
Ludford
, and is named among the dignitaries attainted by the
Coventry Parliament
at the close of the year
1459
. Like the others, he was fined,
20 May 1460
. He returned with the earls to
London
and by
14 Aug. 1460
he was back in his former offices. On
1 Sept.
he was appointed
keeper
of
Henry
VI
's great wardrobe. Before
28 Nov.
he was m. to
Eleanor
, daughter of
Sir
Thomas
Arundel
, and widow of
Sir
Thomas
Browne
, who had been
executed
on
28 July 1460
for his part in the defence of the
Tower of London
against the earls. The estates and grants of
Sir
Thomas
Browne
were confirmed to him and his wife, and so he acquired much wealth and power in
south-east England
. Following the
battle of S. Albans
,
17 Feb. 1461
, when
queen
Margaret
was threatening
London
,
Philip
Malpas
,
William
Hatclyf
,
physician
to
Henry
VI
, and
Vaughan
took what treasure they could on a ship from
Antwerp
and made for
Ireland
. They and their treasure fell into the hands of
French
pirates
.
Queen
Margaret
vainly entreated
Louis
XI
to hand them over to ker, but
Edward
IV
, on becoming
king
, contributed towards their ransom, and secured their release.
Vaughan
was sent with
lord Wenlock
to
arrange a commercial treaty
with
Burgundy
,
24 Oct. 1462
. In
May 1463
he escorted the
Burgundian
ambassadors
from
London
to
Sandwich
. Soon afterwards he was with
Louis
XI
at
S. Omer
, where he obtained compensation for the residents of
Calais
, who had been robbed by
Frenchmen
. He was appointed
treasurer of the king's chamber
and
master of the king's jewels
,
29 June 1465
. Throughout the
summer of 1467
he was in
Burgundy
in connection with arrangements for the marriage of
duke
Charles
and the
princess
Margaret
,
Edward
IV
's sister, and was there with the
bishop of Salisbury
to receive her when she went over to be m. in
June 1468
. He was commissioned to communicate the statutes of the
Order of the Golden Fleece
to
Edward
IV
, and was one of the commissioners who were sent to
Burgundy
to invest
duke
Charles
with the
Garter
,
4 Feb. 1470
. It is fairly certain that he accompanied
Edward
IV
into exile,
1470-1
. Upon their return he was appointed
chamberlain
to
Edward
,
prince of Wales
(b.
2 Nov. 1470
). He was appointed a
member of the prince's council
,
8 July 1471
, and it was in his arms that the infant
prince
paid his respects to his father's friend and benefactor,
Louis de
Gruthuyse
, in
Sept. 1472
. He was
knighted
,
18 April 1475
, on the day of
prince
Edward
's creation as
prince of Wales
at
Westminster
.
Vaughan
had built a magnificent house for himself and the
prince
at
Westminster
. When
Edward
IV
crossed to
France
in
July 1475
,
Vaughan
remained at home as a member of the
Great Council of England
. He was again in
Burgundy
in
Dec. 1482
. When
Edward
IV
d.,
9 April 1483
,
Vaughan
and others of the
prince's council
were at
Ludlow
. It was intended to crown
Edward
V
on
4 May
, and for that purpose he and his council left
Ludlow
on
24 April
. On reaching
Stony Stratford
the principal members of the council were arrested by
Richard
,
duke of Gloucester
, on a suspicion of plotting to retain the government in the hands of the
queen-mother
's family. They were sent north and there, sometime
between 13 and 25 June
,
Vaughan
was
executed
. In
Shakespeare
's tragedy
King Richard III
, his ghost is made to appear to the
king
on the night before the
battle of Bosworth
. There was a tomb in his memory in the
chapel of S. Paul
in
Westminster abbey
. Two children of his are recorded:
Ann
, who m.
Sir
John
Wogan
of
Wiston, Pembs.
, and
Henry
Vaughan
, father of
Sir
Thomas ap Harry
or
Parry
(q.v.)
(d.
1560
), who was
comptroller of the household
to
queen
Elizabeth
.
Bibliography:
-
;
-
;
- [P.R.O.E., 210/2694];
-
and
;
-
;
-
;
-
Scofield
,
;
-
Nichols
,
;
-
, xxvi;
-
W. A. Shaw
,
;
-
, i, 42;
-
, ii, 191;
-
E. Laws
,
, 425-6;
-
Gairdner
,
;
-
Gwallter Mechain
and
Ioan Tegid
,
(but incorrect, having confused him with Sir Thomas Vaughan of Tretower).
-
[
, viii, 349.]
Author:
