William ap Thomas

{{Short description|Welsh noble (died 1445)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = Sir | name = William ap Thomas | image = Tomb of Sir William ap Thomas (died 1446) - geograph.org.uk - 710370.jpg | caption = The tomb of William ap Thomas | death_date = 1445<br>London | occupation = Politician, Knight, Courtier | title = Sir | spouse = Elizabeth Bluet<br>Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam | children = 4 (including William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke) | parents = Sir Thomas ap Gwyllym (died 1438)<br>Maud Morley | resting_place = Abergavenny Priory, Abergavenny }}

thumb|Monumental effigy of Sir William ap Thomas. '''Sir William ap Thomas''' (died 1445) was a Welsh nobleman, politician, knight, and courtier. He was a member of the Welsh gentry family that came to be known as the Herbert family through his son William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (8th creation) and is the agnatic ancestor, via an illegitimate descendant of the 1st Earl of the 8th creation, of the current Herbert family of the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, and also of the Herbert Earl of Carnarvon.

William ap Thomas purchased the manor and lordship of Raglan (including the castle at Raglan) in 1430 for 1000 marks from his step-son, James Berkeley (1394-1463), Knt., 6th Lord Berkeley, son of William's wife, Elizabeth Bluet, and her second husband, Sir James Berkeley (1353-1405). No children came of the William ap Thomas and Elizabeth Bluet marriage. The castle was greatly expanded by William and his son, William Herbert, into the well-fortified Raglan Castle, one of the finest late medieval Welsh castles.

William served King Henry V of England during his first French campaign and in numerous subsequent capacities and was knighted in 1426.

== Early life == William ap Thomas was the son of Sir Thomas ap Gwyllym, Knt (d. 1438) of Perth-hir House and Maud Morley, daughter and co-heir of Sir John Morley of Llansantffraed. In 1400 Thomas and his wife Maud inherited Llansantffraed Court, the country seat and estate of Sir John Morley.<ref name="Nicholas">{{cite book | title=Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales: containing a record of all ranks of the gentry with many ancient pedigrees and memorials of old and extinct families | author=Nicholas, T. | location=Baltimore, MD, USA | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URGZQa6NeiAC&pg=PA777 | edition=Facsimile reprint| publisher=Genealogical Publishing.Com | year=2000 | page=777 | isbn=0-8063-1314-5 | orig-year=1872}}</ref><ref name="Llansantffraed">{{cite web | title=Llansantffraed Court, A Potted History of the House | author=Gobion, C | work=Llansantffraed Court | url=http://www.llch.co.uk/hotel.php?id=3 | access-date=25 February 2011}}</ref> Llansantffraed Court was located approximately {{convert|2|mi}} west of the town of Raglan and Raglan Castle,<ref name="Ragland">{{cite book | title=The Raglands: the history of a British-American family | volume=2 | author=Ragland, C | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4k1MAAAAMAAJ&q=Maud+%22Sir+John+Morley%22 | year=1978}}</ref> near Clytha and Abergavenny, Wales.<ref name="Llansantffraed"/>{{efn|Sir Thomas is buried in the church where a plaque records his death and that of his successors until 1624.<ref name="Nicholas"/> After Sir Thomas' death, Llansantffraed Court passed through William's brother, Philip.<ref name="Ragland"/> In 1449 Philip was given 'advowson of the living' by Sir Edward Nevill, 3rd Baron Abergavenny, and Elizabeth de Beauchamp, Lady of Abergavenny. Llansantffraed Court was held by Philip's descendants in an unbroken line until the 17th century.<ref name="Llansantffraed"/>}}

Later Herbert family pedigrees tracing the family's ancestry to a natural son<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3plOAQAAMAAJ&q=Heraldic+visitation+wales+herbert+page+312&pg=PA310|title=Page 312, Heraldic Visitations of Wales and Part of the Marches: Between the Years 1586 and 1613, Under the Authority of Clarencieux and Norroy, Two Kings at Arms|last=Dwnn|first=Lewys|date=1846|publisher=W. Rees|language=en}}</ref> of Henry I of England have been largely discounted as forgeries,<ref name="The Herbert Family Pedigree">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ancientwalesstudies.org/id40.html|title=The Herbert Family Pedigree|website=ancientwalesstudies.org|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref> and the dynasty is now considered to be of native Welsh origin, as a cadet branch of the pre-Norman Royal Family of the Kingdom of Gwent.<ref name="The Herbert Family Pedigree"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ancientwalesstudies.org/id24.html|title=Rethinking the Gwent Pedigrees|website=ancientwalesstudies.org|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref>

The second earl of the tenth creation quartered the ancient royal arms of Gwent in the 1620 heraldic Visitation, which supports this claim. [https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arms_of_2nd_Earl_of_Pembroke_as_recorded_by_York_Herald,_1620.jpg#]

==The Blue Knight of Gwent== thumb|Agincourt battlefield site and memorial. Sir William was thought by antiquarians to have fought at the Battle of Agincourt and Joseph Edmondson (died 1786) states that Sir William was made knight banneret on the battlefield by Henry V. More recent research of the rolls, however, of those who went to France has failed to reveal his name.<ref>"Sir Harris Nicolas, in his ''History of the Battle of Agincourt'', gives the name of every knight, man-at-arms, and esquire in the army, but does not name any William ap Thomas" {{harv|Morgan|1872|p=50}}</ref> and a primary source for Edmondson's assertion has not been found. It is possible he was in the entourage of his future wife's father Davy Gam, who fell at Agincourt. Primary sources exist to show that he was made a Knight Bachelor by Henry VI in 1426;<ref>{{harv|Morgan|1872|p=50}} cites Leland's ''Collectanea'', Vol. II., p. 491, in a copy made out of a "booke of ''Chroniques'' in Peter College Library".</ref> and—as Octavius Morgan (died 1888) pointed out—he could not have been knighted twice.{{sfn|Morgan|1872|p=50}} He became known to his compatriots as "Y marchog glas o Went" (the Blue Knight of Gwent), because of the colour of his armour.<ref name="clark">{{cite book | title=The Story of Monmouthshire, Volume 1 | author=Clark, Arthur | publisher=Christopher Davies |year=1962|page=122 |isbn=978-0-9506618-0-3}}</ref><ref name="castlewales"/>

William gradually began to establish himself as a person of consequence in South Wales, and held the following positions:<ref name="castlewales">{{cite book | url=http://www.castlewales.com/wmaptho.html | title=Guidebook for Raglan Castle | author=Cadw |author-link=Cadw |type=Section transcribed at CastleWales.com |year=1994 |publisher=Cadw |access-date=25 February 2011}}</ref> * William was Steward of the Lordship of Abergavenny by 1421. * He was appointed High Sheriff of Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire in 1435. * In 1440, he was appointed the position as High Sheriff of Glamorgan. * In 1442 or 1443, William became Chief Steward of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York's estates in Wales. * Was a member of the Duke of York's military council.

While William played an active role for the Duke of York, his sphere of influence was generally limited to South Wales.<ref name="castlewales"/>

== Death and burial == [[File:Priory1837.jpg|thumb| Gwladys and William ap Thomas were patrons of Abergavenny Priory, where they were both buried]] William ap Thomas died in London in 1445 and his body was brought back to Wales.<ref name="castlewales"/> Gwladys and her husband William ap Thomas were patrons of Abergavenny Priory where they were both buried; their alabaster tomb and effigies can still be seen in the church of St Mary's.<ref name="Fanthorpe"/><ref name="Prichard"/><ref name="Priory">{{cite web | url=http://www.monasticwales.org/person/3 | title=Abergavenney Priory-William ap Thomas, Sir | access-date=7 February 2011 | publisher=Aberystwyth University}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.stmarys-priory.org/history/monuments.htm | title=St. Mary's Priory of Abergavenny, William ap Thomas and Gwladys Monuments | publisher=St Mary's Priory Church | year=2008 | access-date=7 February 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112093845/http://www.stmarys-priory.org/history/monuments.htm | archive-date=12 November 2010 }}</ref>

== Family == William married first in 1406 Elizabeth (died 1420<ref name="castlewales"/>),{{efn|Elizabeth is also known as Isabel Bluet (also spelled Bloet)<ref name="Hull"/>}} the daughter of Sir John Bluet of Raglan manor and widow of Sir James Berkeley. Elizabeth, "the lady of Raggeland",<ref name="Hull"/> inherited Raglan Castle with her husband James Berkeley, who later died in 1405 or 1406.<ref name="castlewales"/><ref name="Hull">{{cite book | title=Britain's Medieval Castles | author=Hull, L | page=160 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBbNJLEWiLIC&pg=PA162 | isbn=978-0-275-98414-4 | year=2006}}</ref><ref name="Fanthorpe">{{cite book | title=The World's Most Mysterious Castles | first1=L | last1=Fanthorpe | first2=P | last2=Fanthorpe | year=2005 | location=Toronto | publisher=Dundurn Press | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R53cdDOMrckC&pg=PA144 | isbn=1-55002-577-5}}</ref><ref name="Newman">{{cite book | title=The Buildings of Wales: Gwent / Monmouthshire | author=Newman, J | location=London | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2000 | pages=16, 17, 490, 589 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=knRf4U60QjcC&pg=PA490 | isbn=978-0-300-09630-9}}</ref><ref name="Richardson">{{cite book | title=Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families | first1=D | last1=Richardson | first2=K | last2=Everingham | pages=100| year=2004 | publisher=Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc. | location=Baltimore, MD, US | isbn=0-8063-1750-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_yzpuWi4sgC&pg=PA100}}</ref> Before marrying Berkeley she had married and become the widow of Sir Bartholomew Picot. Elizabeth's third marriage, to William, was childless.<ref name="Richardson"/>

William married secondly heiress Gwladys ferch Dafydd Gam (died 1454<ref name="castlewales"/>), described by Welsh poet Lewys Glyn Cothi as 'The Star of Abergavenny' for her beauty. She was the daughter of Sir Dafydd Gam and the widow of Sir Roger Vaughan of Bredwardine. All three men had been part of the Welsh contingent that fought with King Henry V of England in France, including the Battle of Agincourt.<ref name="Nicholas"/><ref name="Fanthorpe"/><ref name="Prichard">{{cite book | title=The Heroines of Welsh History: Or Memoirs of the Celebrated Women of Wales | author=Prichard, T. J. Llewelyn. | publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4325-2662-7 |edition=Reprinted |orig-year=1854 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NxKTGgAACAAJ}}</ref>

William and Gwladys had children: * William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1423–1469) took the surname Herbert.<ref name="Prichard"/><ref name="Evansp244">{{cite book|author=Evans, Howell T. |title=Wales and the wars of the Roses |year=1915 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028052441 | page=244|lccn=15019453}}</ref> William's allegiance to Richard, Duke of York, and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, branded him Edward IV's Welsh "master-lock". He was the first full-blooded Welshman to enter the English peerage and he was knighted in 1452. He married Anne Devereux, daughter of Sir Walter Devereux, in 1449, and they had issue.<ref>{{cite ODNB | chapter=Herbert, William, first earl of Pembroke (c.1423–1469) |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |edition=Online | author=Griffiths, R. A. |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/48658 | year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/13053}}</ref> The modern Herbert family that holds the earldoms of Pembroke, Montgomery, and Carnarvon, are descended from an illegitimate son of this William Herbert. * * Sir Richard Herbert of Coldbrook, near Abergavenny; died at the Battle of Edgcote in 1469.<ref name="Prichard"/><ref name="Evansp244"/> * Elizabeth married Sir Henry Stradling<ref name="Prichard"/><ref name="Evansp244"/> (1423–1476), son of Sir Edward Stradling (d. c.1394) and Gwenllian Berkerolles, sister and co-heir of his neighbour, Sir Lawrence Berkerolles. Reversing alliances from the previous generation, Henry and his brothers-in-law were hostile to the Henry VI reign. Henry went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1476. Henry died on 31 August 1476 on his journey back to England and was buried at Famagusta, Cyprus. Thomas, Elizabeth and Henry's young son, died on 8 September 1480.<ref>{{cite ODNB | chapter=Stradling (Stradelinges, de Estratlinges) family |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |edition=Online | author=Griffiths, R. A. |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/48658 | year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/48658}}</ref> * Margaret married Sir Henry Wogan,<ref name="Prichard"/><ref name="Evansp244"/> steward<ref name="Cym">{{cite journal | journal=Cymmrodorion Record Series | title=Sloane Charters | volume=4 | publisher=Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion | location=London | year=1908 | page=618 }}</ref> and treasurer of the Earldom of Pembroke, tasked with securing war material for the defence of Pembroke Castle.<ref name="Evansp214">{{cite book|author=Evans, Howell T. |title=Wales and the wars of the Roses |year=1915 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028052441 | page=214|lccn=15019453}}</ref> Henry and his father, John Wogan of Picton, witnessed an act of Bishop Benedict in 1418. Their son, Sir John Wogan, was killed at the Battle of Edgcote in 1465, fighting by the side of his uncle, William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke.<ref>{{cite book | title=Old Pembroke Families in the Ancient County Palatine of Pembroke | author=Owen, Henry | url=https://archive.org/stream/oldpembrokefamil00owen#page/n5/mode/2up|year=1902 |publisher=C. J. Clarke |location=London | lccn=05015821 }}</ref>

Other children less consistently attributed to Gwladys and William include: Maud, Olivia, Elizabeth (who married Welsh country gentlemen, John ab Gwilym),<ref name="Prichard"/> and Thomas Herbert.<ref name="Evansp244"/>

The Cornish family of Thomas (Thomas of Lelant, Thomas of Crowan, Thomas of Tremayne, Thoms, and the Bosarvanes of St Just), all patrilineally descended from "Richard Thomas gent. of Wales" are acknowledged as legitimate agnatic descendants of William ap Thomas in the 1620 Visitation of Cornwall.<ref name="The Visitations of Cornwall">{{Cite web|url=https://ukga.org/england/Cornwall/visitations/p449.html|title=The Visitations of Cornwall|website=ukga.org|access-date=2019-08-15|archive-date=15 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815010018/https://ukga.org/england/Cornwall/visitations/p449.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Visitation records state "''This coate of Pr pale nebule Ar. B. was ye coate armor of Sr Willm ap Thomas, from whom this familye chalengeth to be descended.''"<ref name="The Visitations of Cornwall"/> thumb|one of the entries for the Cornish Thomas family from the 1620 Visitation thumb|The Thomas armorial achievement as borne by the living descendants of the Rev. William Courtenay Thomas, himself an agnatic descendant of William ap Thomas. Descendants of this family include Members of Parliament, such as John Thomas who sat in the 1555 Parliament for the Cornish borough of Mitchell,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/thomas-john-ii-153i-8190|title=THOMAS, John II (c.153I-81/90), of the Middle Temple, London and Constantine, Cornw. {{!}} History of Parliament Online|website=historyofparliamentonline.org|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref> members of the clergy such as Methodist minister the Reverend William Courtenay Thomas<ref>Joseph A. Alexander (ed.), Who's Who in Australia 1955 (Melbourne: Colorgravure Publications, 1955), p.749.</ref> and his descendants,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php/Jeffrey_Raeder_Thomas|title=Jeffrey Raeder Thomas - Coat of arms (crest) of Jeffrey Raeder Thomas|website=heraldry-wiki.com|language=en|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref> and related pioneering families in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://westerndistrictfamilies.com/hamiltons-ww1/hamiltons-soldiers/u-to-z/thomas-edward-courtney/|title=THOMAS, Edward Courtney|date=2017-09-21|website=Western District Families|language=en|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref>

=== Raglan Castle === thumb|250px|Reconstruction of Raglan Castle around 1620 When Sir John Bloet died, Raglan manor passed to Elizabeth Bloet and her husband James Berkeley.<ref name="Newman"/><ref name="Brown">{{cite book | title=Castles From the Air | author=Brown, R | publisher=Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge | location=Cambridge | year=1989 | isbn=0-521-32932-9 | page=190 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uu08AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA190 }}</ref> When William's wife Elizabeth died in 1420, Elizabeth's son Lord James Berkeley inherited Raglan Manor. William resided at Raglan manor as a tenant of his stepson<ref name="Hull"/> until 1432 when he purchased the manor<ref name="Newman"/> from Lord Berkeley.<ref name="castlewales"/><ref name="Hull"/>

Grandiose expansion for defence and comfort occurred between 1432 when William ap Thomas bought the manor and 1469 when his son, Sir William Herbert, was executed. Improvements by father and son included the twin-towered gatehouse, five storied Great Tower encircled by a moat, a self-contained fortress in its own right, South Gate, Pitched Stone Court, drawbridge and portcullis.<ref name="Hull"/><ref name="Newman"/>

Thomas Churchyard praised Raglan Castle in his 16th-century poem, ''The Worthiness of Wales'':<ref>{{cite book | title=Worthiness of Wales | chapter=A Description of Monmouth Shiere | author=Churchyard, T | url=http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=chadwyck_ep/uvaGenText/tei/chep_1.0105.xml;chunk.id=d6;toc.depth=1;toc.id=d3;brand=default | access-date=25 February 2011}}</ref>

:"The Earle of Penbroke that was created Earle by King Edward the four bult the Castell sumptuously at the first ::Not farre from thence, a famous castle fine ::That Raggland hight, stands moted almost round ::Made of freestone, upright straight as line ::Whose workmanship in beautie doth abound ::The curious knots, wrought all with edged toole ::The stately tower, that looks ore pond and poole ::The fountaine trim, that runs both day and night ::Doth yield in showe, a rare and noble sight"

Dafydd Llwyd proclaimed Raglan the castle with its "hundred rooms filled with festive fare, its hundred towers, parlours and doors, its hundred heaped-up fires of long-dried fuel, its hundred chimneys for men of high degree."<ref>{{cite book | title=Haunted castles of Britain and Ireland | author=Jones, R | year=2003 | url=https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Hundred+rooms+filled+with+festive%22+Kenyon&rlz=1I7ACGW_en#sclient=psy&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us%3AIE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7ACGW_en&tbs=bks:1&q=%22Hundred+rooms+filled+with+festive%22+Dafydd&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.1,or.&fp=14be60aa2370f745}}</ref>

==Notes== {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} {{reflist}}

==References== *{{cite book|last=Morgan |first=Octavius |author-link=Octavius Morgan |year=1872 |title=Some Account of the Ancient Monuments in the Priory Church, Abergavenny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqIaWFsGBeQC |publisher=Monmouthshire and Caerleon Antiquarian Association |page=[https://archive.org/details/someaccountofanc00morguoft/page/50 50]}}

==External links== * [https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/710370 Tomb of Sir William ap Thomas]

{{DEFAULTSORT:William}} Category:1445 deaths Category:Herbert family Category:People from Raglan, Monmouthshire Category:Welsh soldiers Category:High sheriffs of Cardiganshire Category:High sheriffs of Carmarthenshire Category:Year of birth missing Category:Knights banneret of England Category:Knights Bachelor