The New Murrey and Blue blog

While out churchcrawling, I recently visited the rather remote Dorset church of St Mary’s at Netherbury. We were looking for the tomb of my partner’s ancestor, William Purchase, who was lord of the manor in the early 1800’s. We found his posh tomb in the graveyard…but when we looked in the church, I found another ‘posh’ tomb, which I found even more interesting. A 15th century effigy of a knight lay in repose within a canopy. The figure had suffered damaged to arms and legs but the torso was in good condition, showing good detail of the armour, the collar of Lancastrian Esses and the man’s hairstyle. The weepers along the bottom were also in decent condition. The tomb was made from alabaster, which probably came from Nottingham, and was, along with the carving, of high quality.

It is not definitely known who the knight is, but the local legend is that he is one of the More family of nearby Melplash and that Thomas More himself was born in this hamlet. This, however, is not true, and is probably the result of confusion with another Thomas More, who was a sheriff of Dorset. In a book written by Thomas Fuller in the late 1600’s, Fuller wrote of this Thomas More–‘He dwelt at Melplash in the Parish of Netherbury, and by Tradition is represented a very humerous person. Aged folk have informed me (whilest I lived in those parts) by report from their Fathers, that this Sir Thomas, whilest Sheriffe, did in a wild fro∣lick, set open the Prison, and let loose many Malefactors. Afterwards considering his own obnoxiousness for so rash a fact, he seasonably procured his pardon at Court, by the mediation of William Pawlet Lord Treasurer (and afterward Marquess of Winche∣ster) and a Match was made up betwixt Mary this Sheriffs Daughter, and Co-heir, and Sir Thomas Pawlet, second Son to the said Lord, by whom he had a numerous Issue.’

The knight in the church then is likely to be Thomas of Melplash’s father. Thomas’s birthdate is given as 1494, which is likely not correct , because records from the reign of Henry VII say–‘Thomas More held this manor of the King in chief as of his manor of Marshwood. Robert his son and heir.’ So if Thomas was born in 1494 and Henry VII died in 1509, Thomas would only be 15 at the time of Henry’s death and it is rather unlikely he was married with an heir already at that age… However, a Richard More de Piket was mentioned in records from the reign of Henry VI, and he seems to be Thomas’s father, so this may well be our mysterious knight if he indeed is one of the Melplash Mores.

In any case, the connection with the ‘famous’ More just isn’t there–that Thomas More was from London as were his parents.