The Spring Baronetcy, of Pakenham in the County of Suffiolk, is a title in the Baronetage of England.
Contents |
The Spring family were major landowners in East Anglia (principally Suffolk) between the late 15th and the early 18th centuries, when the family’s wealth and status began to go into decline. They originated from the town of Lavenham in Suffolk, where the family were important merchants in the cloth and wool trade during the Middle Ages. At the height of the wool trade in the late 1400s, the Springs were one of the richest families in England. The family owned sixteen manor houses in the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex, including Cockfield Hall, which they built in the 16th century, and Newe House.
Several members of the family were knighted before the creation of the Baronetcy. Sir John Spring of Suffolk (d. 1549) was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Spring (1456–1523), who had been knighted by Henry VII. Sir John ran the Spring family wool and cloth business upon the death of his father, before his brother Richard took over from him. He was also knighted by Henry VII.[1] He married Dorothy Waldegrave (d. 1564), the daughter of Sir William Waldegrave of Smallbridge. Spring aided the dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk in suppressing the Lavenham revolt of 1525, when he removed the church bells of Lavenham so that the rebels could not be called to arms.[2]
Their son, William, became High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1578 having served as MP for Suffolk and was knighted by Elizabeth I. His grandson was in turn knighted by James I, also serving as MP and High Sheriff of Suffolk.
On 11 August 1641, William Spring was created a Baronet, of Pakenham in the County of Suffolk, in the Baronetage of England by King Charles I, in an attempt by the king to buy over parliamentarian gentry families in the lead up to the Civil War. He was the High Sheriff of Suffolk and later served as MP for Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk, and was an active recruiter for the Parliamentarian army during the war. Following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the family was issued with a general pardon for their actions against the king. Sir William's son, the second Baronet, was also a MP for Suffolk and one of the earliest members to be designated a Whig. The baronetcy became dormant on the death of the sixth Baronet in 1769.
The family have a monument erected to them in the church of St Peter and St Paul in Lavenham and the parclose screen in the north aisle is to their chantry. The Springs funded the construction of the church, along with the de Veres. Despite intense local rivalry during the late 1500s, the Springs and the Veres would later become united through marriage[3]. The Springs were patrons of several other Suffolk churches, notably Cockfield and Pakenham.
The family motto is Non mihi sed Patriae (Latin), Not for myself but for my country[4].