# Thomas Clere

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**Sir Thomas Clere** (died 1545) was a successful poet at the court of [Henry VIII](/source/Henry_VIII_of_England). He is commemorated in several poems by [Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey](/source/Henry_Howard,_Earl_of_Surrey), with whom he had a very close friendship. He was engaged to [Mary Shelton](/source/Mary_Shelton), a former [mistress of the King's](/source/Mistresses_of_Henry_VIII), in 1545,[1] but died before their love match could be made into a marriage.

Thomas Clere was the third son of [Sir Robert Clere](/source/Sir_Robert_Clere) (c.1493 - 10 August 1529) of [Ormesby St. Margaret](/source/Ormesby_St._Margaret), [Norfolk](/source/Norfolk), and his wife [Alice](/source/Alice_Clere), the daughter of [Sir William Boleyn](/source/William_Boleyn) and his wife Margaret Ormond (otherwise Butler), daughter and co-heiress of [Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond](/source/Thomas_Butler,_7th_Earl_of_Ormond). Alice was the sister of [Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire](/source/Thomas_Boleyn,_1st_Earl_of_Wiltshire), and the aunt of [King Henry VIII's](/source/Henry_VIII_of_England) second Queen, [Anne Boleyn](/source/Anne_Boleyn). Sir Thomas Clere was thus Queen Anne Boleyn's first cousin.[2]

His mother Alice Clere died in 1538, and left the family estates to his older brother [John Clere](/source/John_Clere_(died_1557)). She left Thomas "a salt of gold with a cover having a rose in the knop, and a pair of beads of gold" set with stones (a rosary) which had been gifts from [Anne Boleyn](/source/Anne_Boleyn).[3]

Clere died on 14 April 1545 from wounds received at the [siege of Montreuil](/source/Sieges_of_Boulogne_(1544%E2%80%931546)) in 1544, fighting for the [Earl of Surrey](/source/Henry_Howard,_Earl_of_Surrey).[4]

Thomas Clere was buried in the [Church of St Mary at Lambeth](/source/Garden_Museum) in Surrey. In his will, he made a bequest to his cousin Mary Shelton.[5] His monumental brass is currently in storage.[6]

His nephew, Robert Clere was killed at the [battle of Pinkie](/source/Battle_of_Pinkie) in 1547.

## Footnotes

1. Hart, Kelly (1 June 2009). [*The Mistresses of Henry VIII*](https://archive.org/details/mistressesofhenr0000hart). First ed. The History Press. pp. [126](https://archive.org/details/mistressesofhenr0000hart/page/126)–128. ISBN 978-0-7524-4835-0.

1. Richardson 2004, pp. 35, 179.

1. [*Descriptive catalogue of ancient deeds in the Public Record Office*, 5 (London: HMSO, 1906), p. 255, A. 12173](https://archive.org/details/descriptivecatal05grea/page/254/mode/2up)

1. *Visitation of Norfolk in the Year 1563*, 2 (Norwich, 1895), p. 267.

1. *Visitation of Norfolk in the Year 1563*, 2 (Norwich, 1895), p. 267.

1. [Thomas Clere memorial, IWM](https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/56680)

## References

- Bindoff, S.T. (1982). *The House of Commons 1509-1558*. Vol. III. London: Secker & Warburg.
- Block, Joseph S. (2006). "Shelton family (per. 1504–1558), gentry". 70835.
- Heale, Elizabeth (2004). "Shelton, Mary (married names Mary Heveningham, Lady Heveningham; Mary Appleyard) (1510x15–1570/71), contributor to manuscript miscellany". 68085.
- Herman, Peter C. (ed.) (1994). [*Rethinking the Henrician Era: Essays on Early Tudor Texts and Contexts*](https://archive.org/details/rethinkinghenric00herm). University of Illinois Press. pp. [40](https://archive.org/details/rethinkinghenric00herm/page/40)–77. ISBN 9780252063404. rethinking the Henrician era.
- Ives, E. W. (2004). "Anne (Anne Boleyn) (c.1500–1536), queen of England, second consort of Henry VIII". 557.
- Richardson, Douglas (2004). [*Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, ed. Kimball G. Everingham*](https://books.google.com/books?id=p_yzpuWi4sgC&q=plantagenet+ancestry). Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company Inc. ISBN 9780806317502.
- Weir, Alison (1991). *The Six Wives of Henry VIII*. New York: Grove Weidenfeld.

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