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Thomas Tresham was born in about 1420. He was the son of William Tresham and Isabel Vaux. (Isabel Vaux was the great-aunt of that Sir William Vaux who was executed at Tewkesbury.)

William Tresham was an important servant of Henry VI, which undoubtedly helped his son’s advancement. In 1443, father and son were appointed joint stewards of the Duchy of Lancaster’s estates in Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire.

Thomas was an esquire of Henry VI by 1446 and was made an usher of the King’s chamber in 1455. At the very least, these appointments would have given him plenty of opportunities to meet influential people.

He was Sheriff of the counties of Huntingdon and Cambridge in 1451-52 and JP for Huntingdonshire from 1446-1459. In 1453 he was MP for Northamptonshire. This pattern of service in local affairs is not unusual. It was quite common among leading members of a county community, those men with standing in the area who, crucially, were also willing to take on public office. Royal favour, of course, was no handicap to such a career.

On 22 September 1450, while riding to meet the Duke of York, or returning from meeting him (accounts differ), (1) Thomas and his father were attacked by a gang of men led by Simon Norwich. William Tresham was killed, but Thomas contrived to escape (although injured) from the ambush. This appears to relate to a land dispute involving William Tresham and was not necessarily political. (William had been indicted for involvement in the Jack Cade rising, but no judicial action had been taken against him at the time of his death. It would be interesting to know the full story.)

A useful account of the murder can be found here. It appears that Lord Grey of Ruthin was involved since his men were part of the ambush.

Thomas was elected MP for Northamptonshire in 1453. He was again appointed to shrievalties in 1457-58 (Cambridge and Huntingdon) and 1458-1459 (Surrey and Sussex). He was also JP for Northamptonshire from 1452 to 1460.

He was elected for Northamptonshire again in 1459, and this time was made Speaker. This was, of course, the Parliament that attainted the Yorkists and was (naturally) extremely Lancastrian in tone. Thomas then served on various judicial commissions set up to deal with Yorkist supporters. In 1460, he was made Comptroller of the Household, the peak of his court career.

He fought at the Battle of Northampton but survived and seems not to have been punished by the victorious Yorkists. Then he joined Margaret of Anjou and was knighted at the Lancastrian victory of 2nd St Albans. So far, so good.

Thomas next appears on the Lancastrian side at Towton. He again survived the battle but was not (unlike many) executed in the immediate aftermath. He was, however, captured and forfeited. What exactly happened to him after that is not clear, but perhaps he was imprisoned for a time.

In 1464 he was pardoned. However, it was a pardon for life and limb only, and his estates were not restored. Despite this, he was elected to Parliament for Northamptonshire in 1467! A landless MP in those times was quite unusual. He may genuinely have been respected in the county.

He involved himself in the (rather ineffective) plotting of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford and consequently was sent to the Tower. There he remained until the Readeption of 1470, when, for a brief time, all was sunny again as far as Thomas was concerned. Indeed, he was given several grants including a 7-year tenancy of Huntingdon Castle.

Some sources say he fought at Barnet but he certainly joined Margaret of Anjou and was executed on 6 May 1471 after the Battle of Tewkesbury and subsequently attainted.

Henry VII reversed his attainder and his lands were restored to his family.

Thomas married, after May 1447, Mary Zouche, the daughter of Lord Zouche of Harringworth. She was the widow of Edmund Lenthall. They had a daughter, Isabella, who married Sir Henry de Vere.

They also had a son, John, from whom Francis Tresham, of Gunpowder Plot fame, descended.

(1) York had landed on 7 September. It does not seem to be established exactly where he landed.

Sources: The DNB article by Julian Locke is invaluable but is only available to those with a DNB subscription.

See also: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tresham-4

Wiki – Thomas Tresham

Wiki – William Tresham