William Knyvett (died 1515)

Sir William Knyvett (c. 1440 – 2 December 1515) was an English knight in the late Middle Ages. He was the son of John Knyvett and Alice Lynne, the grandson of Sir John Knyvett, and assumed the titles of Sheriff of Norfolk & Suffolk, Burgess of Melcombe, Bletchingley, & Grantham, Constable of Rising Castle.

Life
Sir William married three times. The first was to Alice Grey (d. 1474 ), daughter of John Grey, Esq., of Kempston, eldest son of Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn by his second wife, Joan Astley; by whom he had issue. His second marriage was to Lady Joan Stafford, daughter of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lady Anne Neville, by whom he had issue. His final marriage was to Lady Joan Courtenay, widow of Sir Roger Clifford, and daughter of Thomas de Courtenay, 5th Earl of Devon, a friend of York, and his wife, Lady Margaret Beaufort; they had no issue.

Sir William Knyvett died 2 December 1515. In his will dated 18 September 1514 and proved 19 June 1516 he requested to be buried in the church of Wymondham, Norfolk.

At New Buckenham, in 1888, the following inscription was found on a brass, loose in the Church Chest: "To the memory of Alice, wife of William Knyvet, Esq., dau. of John Grey, son of Reginald Grey, Lord of Rythin, who died 4 April, 1474."

Issue
His children by his first wife, Alice Grey (d. 4 April 1474 ), were:


 * Sir Edmund Knyvett (d.1504 ) of Buckenham, who married Eleanor Tyrrell, the daughter of Sir William Tyrrell of Gipping, Suffolk by Margaret, daughter of Robert Darcy, knight. Eleanor was sister of Sir James Tyrrell. Sir Edmund Knyvett, his eldest son by his first marriage, was partly disinherited by his father, who left Buckenham Castle and other properties to Sir Edward Knyvett, the eldest son of his second marriage to Joan Stafford.  Children of Sir Edmund Knyvett and Eleanor Tyrrell:
 * Sir Thomas Knyvett of Buckenham, Norfolk (c. 1485 – 10 August 1512) who married Muriel Howard (d.1512), the widow of John Grey, 2nd Viscount Lisle, by whom she was the mother of Elizabeth Grey, Viscountess Lisle, who was at one time betrothed to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and was the wife of Henry Courtenay. Muriel Howard was the daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and Elizabeth Tilney. Children of Sir Thomas Knyvett and Muriel Howard, who through their mother were all first cousins to Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Katherine Howard:
 * Sir Edmund (1508–1551), who by 1527 had married Anne Shelton, the daughter of Sir John Shelton of Carrow, Norfolk, and his wife, Anne Boleyn. Knyvet's wife was a sister of Madge and Mary Shelton, and also a first cousin of Anne Boleyn. Sir Edmund Knyvett and Anne Shelton had two sons. After Sir Edmund's death, his widow remarried to Christopher Coote, Esq.
 * Katherine Knyvett, married firstly Sir William Fermor (d.1558), Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1540 and son of Sir Henry Fermor of East Barsham Manor in Norfolk and Margaret, through whom he was the half-brother of Elizabeth Wood, Lady Boleyn and uncle of John Astley, and secondly Nicholas Mynne of Walsingham Parva, Esquire
 * Ferdinand
 * Anne Knyvett, lady in waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon, m. 1) Thomas Thursby (d.1543) of Ashwicken, the son of Thomas Thursby (d.1510), Merchant, thrice Mayor of King's Lynn and founder of Thoresby College, in 1527;  and 2) Henry Spelman (d. 1581 ), the son of Sir John Spelman (d.1546), and the father of Sir Henry Spelman and of Erasmus Spelman, whose son Henry went to Virginia, by license dated 26 January 1543/4.
 * Sir Henry Knyvett (died c.1546), who married Anne Pickering, the widow of Francis Weston. Anne would thirdly marry John Vaughan, the nephew of Blanche Parry
 * Sir Henry Knyvet (1537–1598) of Charlton Park, Wiltshire, Member of Parliament
 * Katherine Knyvett (1564–1638) who married her third cousin Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk and is the ancestor of the Earls of Suffolk and Berkshire
 * Elizabeth Knyvett (c.1570–1638) who married Thomas Clinton, 3rd Earl of Lincoln
 * Frances Knyvet (1583–1605), first married Sir William Bevill, and secondly Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland
 * Anthony Knyvet, illegitimate son, pirate, slave and slave trader.
 * Anne Knyvet, illegitimate daughter, believed to by the same mother as Anthony
 * Elizabeth Knyvett
 * Alice Knyvett
 * Katherine Knyvett, Lady Paget, (1543 – 20 December 1622), married Henry Paget, 2nd Baron Paget and secondly Sir Edward Cary of Berkhamstead and Aldenham, Hertfordshire, Master and Treasurer of His Majesty's Jewels
 * Thomas Knyvett (1545–1622), English courtier and member of parliament who played a part in foiling the Gunpowder Plot
 * Margaret Knyvett, who married Henry Vavasour of Tadcaster, Copmanthorpe, Yorkshire, and was the mother of Anne Vavasour and Thomas Vavasour
 * Edmund Knyvett (d. 1 May 1539), esquire, sergeant porter to King Henry VIII, who married Joan Bourchier, the only surviving child of John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, and had:
 * John Knyvett (1510–1561), who m. Agnes, daughter of Sir John Harcourt of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, by settlement dated 14 February 1537, and had:
 * Thomas Knyvett (1539–1616) of Ashwellthorpe, de jure 4th Baron Berners, High Sheriff of Norfolk from 1579, m. Muriel Parry, daughter of Sir Thomas Parry, Comptroller of the Household to Queen Elizabeth I, and had:
 * Sir Thomas Knyvet (d. 1605), of Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk and Stradbroke
 * Katherine Knyvett, Lady Paston, one of the writers of the Paston Letters
 * Muriel Knyvett, who married Sir Edmond Bell, as his second wife
 * Mary Knyvett, who married Sir Thomas Holland of Quidenham, Norfolk, and had Sir John Holland, 1st Baronet
 * Abigail Knyvett, m. Sir Edmund Moundeford of Mundford and Hockwold, Norfolk the grandson of Francis Mountford, as his second wife. From his first marriage he had Sir Edmund Moundeford (1596 – May 1643), who left much of his inheritance to his half-sister, Abigail's daughter Elizabeth
 * Abigail Knyvett (d. 1623 ), who married Martin Sedley of Morley, Norfolk (1531 –1609/10 ), as his second wife, by settlement dated 1577
 * Edmund Knyvett
 * Rose Knyvett (d. 1587/8 ), married as his second wife Oliver Reims of Burnham Debden in Norfolk and of Hempton by Fakenham
 * Katherine Knyvett (d. 1595/6 ), married firstly Serjeant John Walpole of Harpley & Colkirk in Norfolk (d. 1557/8 ), Serjeant-at-law, Gray's Inn. M.P. for Lynn 1553, and secondly Thomas Skarlett of Harpley, Gentleman, the executor of the will of her first husband.
 * Christopher
 * Sir Anthony Knyvett, knight, who served as Black Rod, married Avise or Avice Mortelman (d. October 1554). She was the widow of Nicholas Gibson, grocer, citizen and Sheriff of London in 1539. The Nicholas Gibson Free School was founded by Avice and Nicholas.
 * James
 * William
 * Margaret
 * Dorothy
 * Anne Knyvett, lady in waiting to Katherine of Aragon, m. Sir George St. Leger (c.1475–1536) of Annery, Devon, and had Sir John St. Leger, Katherine, and George
 * Anne Knyvett who married John Thwaites, Esq.
 * Bennet Knyvett, a daughter
 * Elizabeth Knyvett

By his second wife, Lady Joan Stafford, Sir William Knyvett had three sons including along with three daughters:


 * Sir Edward Knyvett, (d.1528 ) the eldest son of his second marriage, who received a great inheritance from his father at the expense of his brother.  He married Anne Calthorpe (d.1498 ), widow of John Cressener, and daughter of John Calthorpe, knight, by Elizabeth, daughter of Roger Wentworth. Sir Edward Knyvett (d.1528) remarried to Anne (d.1540+), daughter and coheiress of Thomas le Strange of Walton D'Eivile in Warwickshire, Esq., widow of Robert le Strange and mother Sir Thomas le Strange and his two sisters.
 * Charles Knyvett, according to Carole Rawcliffe, in The Staffords, Earls of Stafford and Dukes of Buckingham 1394–1521, Charles Knyvett witnessed against the Duke because he had "wrongfully withheld" the possessions of Elizabeth Knyvett after her death. He married firstly before 1512 an unidentified wife, and secondly by settlement of 26 April 1513/4 Anne Lacy (d.1562), the daughter and heiress of Walter Lacy of London by his wife Lucy.
 * Robert Knyvett (c.1512–1549), gentleman, son and heir, slain in Kett's Rebellion, son by Charles Knyvett's first, unknown wife
 * Elizabeth, daughter by Charles Knyvett's first, unknown wife. Her uncle, Sir Edward Knyvet, in his will proven 10 December 1528, gave "C marks to his niece Elizabeth Knyvet, daughter of my brother, Charles Knyvet," if she married with the consent of the Duchess of Norfolk in whose household she was placed. Elizabeth married Richard Fitzwilliam, Esquire, of Kilburn, Middlesex, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, the brother of Mildred Cooke, Lady Burghley's mother, Anne Fitzwilliam, and the son of Sir William Fitzwilliam, Merchant Taylor, Sheriff of London, servant of Cardinal Wolsey, and a member of the council of Henry VII
 * By Anne Lacy:
 * Richard Knyvett (d.1559 )
 * Anthony Knyvett
 * William Knyvett
 * Lucy, the wife of Sir Henry Gates
 * Anne, who married firstly Nicholas Robinson, secondly Leonard Irby and thirdly Robert Carr
 * Alice, the wife of Edmund Verney, the grandson of Edmund Braye, 1st Baron Braye
 * John Knyvett
 * Elizabeth, likely the Elizabeth Knyvett who is mentioned in her father's will in 1514 as being of a marriageable age. And also likely the Elizabeth Knyvett who died in 1518, when Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham gives 15l 'To M. Geddyng, toward the burying of my said cousin', after giving at Easter last ' Eliz. knevet ' the 20l due to her at Lady Day. The two were related through her mother.
 * Anne Knyvett who married Charles Clifford, Esq.