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John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham (c. 1433–1501) was an English peer and politician. He was the Lord High Treasurer of England, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Baron Dynham. He was the owner of Souldern. He was one of the few men to serve as councillor to Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII and was trusted by all of them.

Background

He was born at Nutwell near Newton Abott in Devonshire, eldest son and heir of Sir John Dynham and Joanna (or Elizabeth) Arches, sister and heiress of John Arches. The Dynhams had been at Nutwell since about 1122 and were one of the leading gentry families in Devon.His father died in 1458, but his mother was in occupation of the lands until her own death in 1496. He made an advantageous marriage to the widowed Lady Radcliffe who was Baroness FitzWalter in her own right, but her estates passed on her death to her son, the 9th Baron FitzWalter, (who was in turn attainted for treason in 1495).

Yorkist

His service to the House of York began in 1459 when the future Edward IV and his Neville relatives, fleeing the disastrous Battle of Ludford Bridge took refuge with his mother, for which Edward later rewarded her; John himself bought the ship on which they fled to Calais. He was attainted by the Coventry Parliament and led two successful raids against the royal forces at Sandwich. During the first raid he captured Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, thus producing the (in retrospect) comical scene where Rivers was humiliated for his low birth by his future son-in-law, King Edward IV.

Under Edward IV

He was made High Sheriff of Devon and Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1460. After Edward IV's accession he became a member of the Privy Council and was created Baron Dynham in 1467, although no grant of lands accompanied the title, as was usual. Ross suggests that he did not become a leading figure in government until the death of Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Devon. During the years of crisis from 1469 to 1471 Dynham remained wholly loyal to Edward, and following Edward's return to power became one of the foremost members of the Government; he was Commander-in-Chief of naval forces during the brief Anglo-French War in 1475. On the other hand the Crown was somewhat grudging with grants of land, his estates being confined to Devon and Cornwall. Nor did he have a powerful network of family alliances: two of his sisters married into the Carew and Arundell families who were of purely local importance; the others married into the Zouche and Fitzwarin families, who were peers but not, until the accession of Richard III, of wide influence.

Under Richard III

After Richard III's accession he continued to flourish, becoming Lieutenant of Calais. In that capacity he recaptured Hammes Castle, which had defected to Henry VII but was criiticised for allowing the garrison to depart. His marriage connections now became useful since John, 7th Lord Zouche had married his sister Joan. Zouche was one of the coming men in Richard's reign, but his prospects were ruined by the Battle of Bosworth.

Under Henry VII

After Richard's death he remained at Calais until it became clear that Henry VII bore him no ill-will. In fact Chrimes suggests that Henry was anxious to obtain the services of a man with such a record of service and loyalty to the Crown. While the Zouche connection had been useful, Dynham acquired a new patron in Lord Willoughby de Broke, his second wife's father, who was Steward of the Royal Household. Certainly Dynham flourished under Henry; he was made a Knight of the Garter, and was Lord Treasurer from 1486 until his death: he took his duties at the Exchequer very seriously and spent most of his time at Lambeth for convenience. He received several grants and sat on numerous commissions. He was one of the judges who tried the rebels after the Cornish Rebellion of 1497.

His career did not suffer from the execution for treason of his stepson Lord FitzWalter in 1495; nor the attainder of his brother-in-law Lord Zouche; he was given an allowance to support his impoverished sister Lady Zouche, and Zouche after years of disgrace was eventually restored to a measure of favour.

He died at his home in Lambeth, 28 January 1501 and was buried in the London Greyfriars.

Family

He married firstly Elizabeth, Baroness FitzWalter in her own right, who died before 1485 and secondly in 1485 or 1486 Elizabeth Willoughby, daughter of Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke and had at least two children, George and Philippa who died young. His three brothers had all predeceased him and the title died with him. His widow remarried William FitzAlan, 18th Earl of Arundel, and died before 1510. His estates descended to the heirs of his four sisters:

• Joan, Lady Zouche
• Catherine, who married Sir Thomas Arundell
• Margaret, who married Sir Nicholas Carew
• Elizabeth, who married Fulk Bourchier, 10th Baron FitzWarin.

References

1. Hicks, Michael "Dynham, John" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
2. Hicks
3. Hicks
4. Hicks
5. Alison Weir Lancaster and York- the Wars of the Roses Arrow Books edition 1996 p.234
6. Hicks
7. Charles Ross Edward IV Eyre Methuen Ltd. 1974
8. Ross Edward IV
9. Hicks
10. Hicks
11. Ross Richard III University of California Press 1984 p.48
12. Chrimes, S.B. Henry VII Yale University Press 1999 pp. 107–8
13. Hicks
14. Chrimes p.108
15. Chrimes p.138
16. Jones, Michael and Underwood Michael The King's Mother Cambridge University Press 1993 p.113
17. Hicks
18. Hicks
19. Cockayne, G.E. Complete Peerage Reprinted Gloucester 2000 Vol.1 p.250
20. Mosley, ed. Burke's Peerage 107th Edition Delaware 2003 Vol. 3 p.4290

• Hicks, Michael. "Dynham, John". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/50234. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Template:Persondata

• 1433 births
• 1501 deaths
• People from Devon
• People of the Tudor period
• Barons in the Peerage of England
• Lord High Treasurers of England
• 15th-century English people
• 16th-century English people
• High Sheriffs of Devon
• Lord Chancellors of Ireland