Thomas de Ashton (alchemist)

Sir Thomas de Ashton or Assheton (fl. 1446), was an English alchemist.

Ashton Family
Ashton Coat of Arms
From: Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire
Original motto: Labor omnia vincit
Heads of the Ashton Family
Orm Fitz Edward Roger de Ashton Sir Thomas de Ashton Sir John de Ashton Sir Robert de Ashton Thomas de Ashton Sir John de Ashton Sir John de Ashton Sir John de Ashton
Family splits
See Sir Thomas de Ashton and Ralph de Ashton

Ashton was born in 1403, the son and heir of Sir John de Ashton, of Ashton-under-Lyne, who died in 1428. His half-brother Ralph de Ashton seems to have inherited the main family home, Ashton Hall. From roughly this date, differences appear in the coat of arms, motto and spelling of the two families, indicating that Sir Thomas may have distanced himself from his unpopular half-brother.

Alchemy

Permission was granted by Henry VI to Sir Thomas to transmute the precious metals, and on 7 April 1446 a special order was issued^[1], encouraging two Lancashire knights, Ashton and Sir Edmund de Trafford, to pursue their experiments in alchemy, and forbidding any subject of the king to molest them.

Descendants

Sir Thomas married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Byron, by whom he had eleven children. The eldest son, John, was knighted before the battle of Northampton, 10 July 1460, and died in 1508.

References

^ Rot. Pat. 2, No. 14

"Ashton, Thomas de (fl.1446)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Persondata
Name	Ashton, Thomas de
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1403
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death