BOYNTON, Thomas (1523-82), of Acklam and Barmston, Yorks.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Family and Education

b. 1523, o.s. of Matthew Boynton of Barmston by Ann, da. of Sir John Bulmer of Wilton. m. (1) Ellen, da. of Sir Nicholas Fairfax of Walton, s.p.; (2) Margaret, da. of Sir William St. Quintin of Harpham, Kent, s.p.; (3) by 1556, Frances, da. of Sir Francis Frobisher of Altofts and Finningly, 1s. 3da. suc. fa. 1541. Kntd. 1578.2

Offices Held

J.p. Yorks. (E. Riding) from 1569, sheriff 1576-7; member, council in the north Nov. 1577-Dec. 1581; commr. piracy Yorks. Jan. 1578.3

Biography

The Boyntons were Yorkshire gentry, whose name was derived from the place Boynton, or Bovington as it was sometimes spelt. In 1542 Sir Ralph Evers became Boynton’s guardian, with an order for the annual payment of £25 for him, out of the manor of Barmston. Boynton’s unconsummated first marriage was soon dissolved; his second wife died and he was still only 34 when his first daughter, by his third wife, was baptised in July 1557. His return for Boroughbridge was no doubt obtained through his connexions with several members of the council in the north, which he joined himself some years later. In the Commons he sat on the subsidy committee (7 Apr. 1571), and (21 May) was appointed to confer with the Lords on bills for the increase of tillage and for the maintenance of the navy. He was elected for Cumberland at a by-election on 4 Nov. 1580 and in the 1581 session he attended committees on sheriffs (4 Feb.), wool (13 Feb.), the better fortifying of the borders and frontiers towards Scotland (25 Feb.), and the city of Carlisle (27 Feb.).4

Between 1571 and 1575 Boynton bought three manors, 20 houses, ten cottages, a water mill, a windmill and lands, and sold one manor, five houses, ten cottages and some lands. He took some part in local affairs, being, for example, one of those entrusted by the Privy Council to survey the repairs necessary to the Hull fortifications.5 He is said to have fallen into debt. In his will he requested the Earl of Huntingdon to assume the guardianship of his only son Francis. For himself, he desired a private burial among his ancestors at Barmston, a wish that was fulfilled on 5 Jan. 1582.

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603

Author: N.M.S.

Notes

  • 1. Did not serve for the full duration of the Parliament.
  • 2. Foster, Yorks. Peds. ii.
  • 3. Reid, Council of the North, 495; Lansd. 46, f. 20; CSP Dom. Add. 1566-79, p. 535.
  • 4. East Riding Antiq. Soc. vii. 6; Foster, Yorks. Peds.; CJ, i. 83, 93, 122, 125, 129-30; D’Ewes, 159, 295.
  • 5. Yorks. Fines (Yorks. Arch. Soc. rec. ser. v), 14, 41, 62; CSP Dom. Add. 1566-79, p. 503; Foster, Yorks. Peds.