# Matthew Colthurst

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**Matthew Colthurst** (by 1517 – 8 July 1559), of [Wardour Castle](/source/Wardour_Castle), [Wiltshire](/source/Wiltshire) and [Claverton](/source/Claverton,_Somerset), [Somerset](/source/Somerset), was an English politician during the reigns of [Henry VIII](/source/Henry_VIII) and [Edward VI](/source/Edward_VI).[1]

## Early life

Matthew was the son of Henry Colthurst of Edisford, near [Clitheroe](/source/Clitheroe), [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire). It is thought that he was educated at the [Middle Temple](/source/Middle_Temple) and that his first wife was Anne Grimston of [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk), daughter of Thomas Grimston. His second wife was Anne Sibell of [Farningham](/source/Farningham), [Kent](/source/Kent), a daughter of Nicholas Sibell. He had five sons and three daughters with his second wife.[1]

## Career

Matthew Colthurst may have been trained at an [Inn of Court](/source/Inns_of_Court), perhaps the [Middle Temple](/source/Middle_Temple), and is first mentioned in July 1538 when he acquired the lease of the tithes of [Tywardreath](/source/Tywardreath) rectory, [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall). A year later, he was working for [Edward Seymore](/source/Edward_Seymour,_1st_Duke_of_Somerset) as an [auditor](/source/Auditor) in the [Court of Augmentations](/source/Court_of_Augmentations) with responsibility for valuing Henry VIII's newly acquired monastic properties in the [West Country](/source/West_Country).[2] This afforded him with considerable opportunity for enrichment, and in 1543 Colthurst purchased [Bath Priory](/source/Bath_Abbey) from a land agent named [Humphrey Colles](/source/Humphrey_Colles).[3] Colthurst also worked for [Thomas Seymore](/source/Thomas_Seymour,_1st_Baron_Seymour_of_Sudeley) and in 1544, he was made treasurer of the ordnance at [Boulogne](/source/Boulogne).[4] The following year he became [Member](/source/Member_of_Parliament) (MP) of the [Parliament of England](/source/Parliament_of_England) for [Bath](/source/Bath_(UK_Parliament_constituency)). In about 1546 Colthurst purchased [Hinton Priory](/source/Hinton_Priory) from John Bartlett,[5] and acquired [Taunton Priory](/source/Taunton_Priory) in 1550, which he subsequently sold to Thomas More.[6] He became MP for [Bletchingley](/source/Bletchingley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in October 1553 and for MP for [Wilton](/source/Wilton_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in April 1554. In 1559, Colthurst was appointed to the [Court of First Fruits and Tenths](/source/Court_of_First_Fruits_and_Tenths), but died later that year.

## Death

He died on 8 July 1559. He was succeeded by his son [Edmund](/source/Edmund_Colthurst). His widow, Anne Colthurst, afterwards married Laurence Hyde, one of the executors of Colthurst's will. She thereby became grandmother to [Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon](/source/Edward_Hyde,_1st_Earl_of_Clarendon), and great-great-grandmother to [Queen Mary II](/source/Mary_II_of_England) and [Queen Anne](/source/Anne,_Queen_of_Great_Britain).[1]

## References

1. ["COLTHURST, Matthew (by 1517-59), of Wardour Castle, Wilts. and Claverton, Som."](http://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/colthurst-matthew-1517-59). *Historyofparliamentonline.org*. Retrieved 2015-09-05.

1. ["COLTHURST, Matthew (By 1517-59), of Wardour Castle, Wilts. And Claverton, Som. | History of Parliament Online"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200922110826/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/colthurst-matthew-1517-59). Archived from [the original](https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/colthurst-matthew-1517-59) on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.

1. ["Today's Abbey (1499-onwards) - Bath Abbey"](http://www.bathabbey.org/history/todays-abbey-1499-onwards). *Bathabbey.org*. Retrieved 16 March 2019.

1. ["COLTHURST, Matthew (By 1517-59), of Wardour Castle, Wilts. And Claverton, Som. | History of Parliament Online"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200922110826/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/colthurst-matthew-1517-59). Archived from [the original](https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/colthurst-matthew-1517-59) on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.

1. ["History of the Somerset Carthusians"](https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheSomersetCarthusians.1896/page/n383/mode/2up?q=1546). 1895.

1. Toulmin, Joshua (1822). ["The History of Taunton, in the County of Somerset"](https://books.google.com/books?id=tlsJAAAAIAAJ&q=taunton+priory+%22matthew+colthurst%22&pg=PA95)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Matthew Colthurst](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Colthurst) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Colthurst?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.