Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland
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Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland and 13th Baron de Ros of Hamlake, Baron Trusbut & Belvoir (c. 1492 – September 20, 1543) was created an earl by King Henry VIII of England in 1525.
His first wife was Elizabeth Lovell, whom he married in 1512. His second wife was Eleanor Paston, daughter of Sir William Paston of Norfolk. His children were:.
- Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland and 14th Baron de Ros
- Roger Manners
- Oliver Manners
- Sir Thomas Manners
- Sir John Manners
- Gertrude Manners
- Frances Anne Manners
- Katherine Manners
- Elizabeth Manners
- Isabel Manners
Earl Thomas was the son of Sir George Manners, 12th Baron de Ros, and was created the first Earl of Rutland on June 28, 1526. In 1531 Earl Thomas had a hand in the divorce of Katherine of Aragon and showed the brutality of the day in putting down the risings of the Catholics in the north. He died in 1543 after helping the Duke of Norfolk to ravage Scotland and allegedly burn twenty villages in a week.
He is buried in Bottesford Church, Leicestershire. His tomb is of alabaster and was created by Richard Parker of Burton on Trent with John Lupton (rough mason) and his father, over a period of six days, strengthening the floor supports to take the weight of the tomb. The Belvoir Castle accounts record in considerable detail the necessary arrangements for this funeral work. In commemorating the 1st Earl of Rutland and his wife this tomb also marks the first of the actual burials in the church of the eight earls and four dukes over a period of almost 250 years.
The Earl's effigy is in mail and full plate armour with a loose military tabard over which he wears the mantle of the Order of the Garter while on his left leg is the Garter itself. The head, on which appears an elementary form of coronet, is supported by the a tilt-heaume complete with the "Cap of Maintenance" and the peacock crest. The feet rest on a unicorn (the horn has disappeared).
The effigy of the countess, dressed in a gown and a short cape, wears an ermine trimmed mantle fastened by a cordon whose ends almost reach her feet, under which is a griffon. Tasselled cushions support her head.
The base of the tomb is decorated with corner pilasters, tasselled swags and "weeper" figures representing knights, ladies and others.
When the Earl died the body was embalmed with spices from Nottingham and a surgeon encased it in wax. A plumber then encased it in a close fitting leaden shell. While this was going on the masons were strengthening the chancel floor. Thos. Richard Parker "the alabaster man" was paid £20 for the sculpture and the supervision of its erection.
| Other costs were | £ s d | |
| To Richard Guy for carriage of two loads of timber from Nottingham to make the hearse at Bottesford | 6 0 | |
| For digging 12 loads of stone to repair the road so that the body on its great timber hearse could be moved from Belvoir to Bottesford | 2 6 | |
| For the King at Arms, a herald to come and proclaim the new Earl | 6 13 4 | |
| For the black cloth for palls and hanging | 160 0 0 |
| Legal Offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: The Earl of Essex |
Justice in Eyre north of the Trent 1540–1543 |
Succeeded by: Sir Anthony Browne |
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by: New Creation |
Earl of Rutland 1525–1543 |
Succeeded by: Henry Manners |
| Preceded by: George Manners |
Baron de Ros 1513–1543 |
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