House of de Vere family at Lavenham, Suffolk
Above and below: house of the de Vere family,
rebuilt in 1920.
Entrance to de Vere's house.
Among the richest of the wool merchants was Thomas Spryng. His name might have been forgotten had he not lived during the War of the Roses. This war came to an end in 1485 when Henry, Earl of Richmond, won the battle of Bosworth and became the first king of the Tudor dynasty as Hendrik VII. He had much to thank his commander-in-chief, John de Vere, for, who was amply rewarded for his services. The de Vere family was of Norman descent and had been donated large chunks of land by William the Conqueror; for example, the town of Kensington was among their private possessions. John de Vere was one of Edward III's greatest generals, serving in Scotland, France, Flanders, Brittany and Gascony.
The de Vere family remained closely related to the English court. The head of the family held the hereditary office of Lord Chamberlain, for many years Marquess of Dublin, Duke of Ireland, Earl of Oxford from 1156 to 1703 (when the family line died out), etc.
Among John de Vere's, thirteenth Earl of Oxford, many possessions was a mansion in Lavenham. By way of gratitude for the end of the War of Roses he proposed to the citizens to build a church. They accepted the proposal, and the existing church of St Peter and St Paul was largely demolished, to be replaced in the next 40 years with a tower, nave, side aisles en side chapels built in one style. Thomas Spryng, Branch and other wool merchants carried most of the bill with John de Vere, Lord of the Manor.
External link
Lavenham, St Peter and St Paul
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