291:, another Essex ally, well ahead of John Sutton, Whorwood marched the Dudley supporters around the town centre, shouting, "A Dudley!" To make sure of his victory, Littleton demanded that Whorwood conduct a poll. This he began, but stopped when Dudley assured him he would protect him from the consequences. He then went off to dine. He had already furnished an electoral indenture, complete with seals and the names of witnesses, but with the names of the successful candidates left blank. These were then filled in as Sutton and Blount, in
306:, the Countess of Leicester, who was Blount's wife and the mother of Essex, wrote to Essex, complaining of the indignity of her husband being ranked lower in precedence than Sutton, and wishing that the Sheriff should be made to pay for his behaviour. The letter seems to have won Lord Dudley another Privy Council appearance. The outcome of the Star Chamber proceedings is not known: it is unlikely Whorwood escaped punishment. He never again occupied major office. Nevertheless, he was knighted in 1603.
161:, a post of honour, but also onerous and often expensive. However, Whorwood was known to be of very conservative religious views and was probably suspected of being a Catholic sympathiser. Certainly he had close Catholic connections within his family. His election in 1572, sharing the county with Fleetwood, known to be decidedly Protestant, may have been because of the backing of a conservative clique among the Staffordshire
205:, however impoverished, was still a social advantage to the Whorwood. At about the same time as the marriage the death of Ambrose Dudley, a very distant kinsman of his son-in-law soon after that of William Whorwood's widow, brought Thomas into his greatest inheritance. In all his years in the shade, he was never actually accused of any disloyalty to the Crown or the
201:. Apparently this was a runaway marriage. Sutton was the son and brother of peers, but the family was generally in debt. He was supposed, under the terms of his father's will, to receive an annuity of £300, but his brother was unable to pay it. As a result, he was forced to live with the Whorwoods at Compton Hallows. A connection with the
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until he promised to contribute to their upkeep. On his release, he not only fell rapidly into arrears, but immediately embarked on a course of further confrontation with the
Lytteltons. Part of Dudley's revenge was to intervene in the 1597 parliamentary elections. By supporting the candidature of
138:. The parliament technically lasted for almost twelve years, as the next was summoned in 1584. However, it actually met for only three widely spaced sessions. Whorwood's only known contribution came on 25 January 1572, when he spoke in favour of keeping the
186:, as "a knot hurtful to justice and great maintainers", i.e. magnates who had a large following whom they maintained through employment or tenancies. It was probably because of these associations that Whorwood lost his place on the
302:, proceeding against both the Suttons and Whorwood. It seems that he later allowed the complaints against the brothers to lapse, while pursuing Whorwood, who had behaved "in very indecent and outrageous manner".
235:, which fined him heavily. To smear Dudley, Lyttelton pointed out that he did not maintain his wife and children, choosing instead to live with his mistress, Elizabeth Tomlinson, a coal miner's daughter. The
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had great influence in the county and, although slowly losing their grip, were still a force to be reckoned with. William
Whorwood had married into the Grey family. The conservative group was described by
231:, a Staffordshire farm near Whorwood's Stourton Castle, near Kinver. The dispute escalated to violence on both sides. After a cattle raid by Dudley, Lyttelton had him brought before the
248:, Dudley could hope to repair some of the fractures in his own family, opening up a fresh route to profit for his impecunious brother, while damaging the interests of his enemies, as
209:. During the 1590s, his prestige began to rise again. From 1596 he was back on the commission of the peace for Staffordshire, and in the same year he was pricked Sheriff again.
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The family's surname had originally been
Horewood, but by this time normally spelt Whorwood, taking their name from a small manor in Horewood, later known as Compton Hallows in
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because of his religious principles. In 1578 he and
Whorwood partitioned William's inheritance. By this means Thomas Whorwood acquired the manors of Stourton and Kinver,
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However, Whorwood was now drawn into the Dudley family's violent and unscrupulous dealings, to his own detriment. The
Dudleys had long been at odds with the
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Now that he was better-known, and especially as he began to come into the property, Whorwood was appointed to public offices. About 1573 he was made a
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on the
Staffordshire-Shropshire border, but several of these were subject to the dower of William's widow Margaret Sheldon until her death in 1589.
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Thomas
Whorwood married Magdalene Edwards, daughter of Rowland Edwards of London, no later than 1563. They had at least one daughter and one son:
271:. On the day of the election, 6 October 1597, Whorwood, supposedly neutral, rallied the Dudley supporters on one side of the market square in
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Thus
Whorwood became considerably richer when his inheritance from his great uncle came into possession in 1590. At that point he moved to
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87:, had a life interest in her estates, but when he died in 1590, they passed to Thomas Whorwood. The other daughter Margaret married the
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79:, in addition to his ancestral estate. Some of these were derived from Sir William Whorwood, whose elder daughter
51:, but in 1387 as Haulowe, probably from its late 14th century owners or overlords. Whorwood was the first son of
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in the
Parliament of 1572. His colleague was John Fleetwood, a rich landowner who had made a fortune from the
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from the county gaol and allowed them and their wives to vote. He certainly permitted Edward Lord Dudley, a
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History of
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Sir Thomas Whorwood died on 2 November 1616. He was succeeded in his estates by his son, Gerard.
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History of Parliament Online: 1558–1603 Members – DUDLEY, alias SUTTON, Edward (Author: J.E.M.)
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The Dudley campaign was directed specifically against Littleton, who was an ally and client of
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History of Parliament Online: 1558–1603 Members – WHORWOOD, Thomas (Author: Author: W.J.J.)
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History of Parliament Online: 1558–1603 Members – FLEETWOOD, John (Author: Author: W.J.J.)
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275:. It was later alleged that Whorwood used his authority as Sheriff to release Catholic
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Deed of partition: Herefordshire Record Office, E12/S, Whorwood inheritance.
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History of Parliament Online: 1558–1603 Constituencies – Staffordshire
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in 1580 and for some years his public career was in eclipse.
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Person page 40338 at thepeerage.com, retrieved 27/04/2012.
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then intervened and in August 1597 confined Dudley in the
295:. Thus Littleton was simply excluded by blatant fraud.
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became embroiled in a bitter dispute over ownership of
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Gerard Whorwood (1565–1627), the heir to the estates.
83:, Countess of Warwick had died in 1552. Her husband,
193:About 1590, Whorwood's daughter Elizabeth married
283:to add his voice to his brother's vote. When the
173:and their kinsmen, the Astons and the Greys of
267:, a major force not only in the county but at
71:Whorwood ultimately had several properties in
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386:Victoria County History, Staffordshire
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298:Littleton immediately appealed to the
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265:Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
153:for Staffordshire. In 1574 he was
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323:Elizabeth Whorwood, who married
184:Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
199:Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley
20:(1544 – 2 November 1616) was a
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484:17th-century English people
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55:of Compton Hallows and of
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91:Thomas Throckmorton of
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489:English MPs 1572–1583
325:John Dudley or Sutton
195:John Sutton or Dudley
250:Sir Edward Littleton
244:his brother John in
151:justice of the peace
128:knights of the shire
75:, Staffordshire and
313:Marriage and family
293:order of precedence
221:Thomas de Littleton
499:English landowners
289:Christopher Blount
223:. Lord Dudley and
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260:in the election.
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479:1616 deaths
474:1540 births
468:Categories
388:, XX, 132.
358:, XX, 133.
343:References
285:voice vote
214:Lytteltons
157:to become
73:Shropshire
43:Background
277:recusants
229:Prestwood
167:Ellenhall
67:Landowner
25:landowner
273:Stafford
203:nobility
144:Stafford
93:Coughton
89:recusant
155:pricked
140:assizes
105:Dunsley
218:jurist
109:Tyrley
101:Broome
49:Kinver
269:Court
281:peer
169:and
130:for
31:and
16:Sir
252:of
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