Sir William Skeffington (c. 1465 – 31 December 1535) was an English knight who served asLord Deputy of Ireland.
William Skeffington was born inSkeffington Hall,Leicestershire, the eldest son of Thomas Skeffington by his wife, Mary.[1] His brother John was the patriarch of the Massareene family. He succeeded his father in 1496.
William was appointedHigh Sheriff of Leicestershire andWarwickshire for 1508, 1515 and 1521. He was knighted byKing Henry VII in 1509 and appointedMaster of the Ordnance from 1515 to 1534. He accompanied KingHenry VIII together with other knights to the king's iconic meeting in 1520 withKing Francis I of France at theField of the Cloth of Gold.[2] In 1523, he received from Henry VIII property near Tunbridge that had belonged to the executed traitorHenry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and in 1529 representedLeicestershire as aknight of the shire in the EnglishHouse of Commons.[2]
He was appointed in1529Lord Deputy of Ireland toHenry's son, the duke of Richmond, the nominalLord Lieutenant of Ireland. He crossed over in August 1529, but his power was so circumscribed by instructions from Henry that the head of the Fitzgeralds,Gerald, 9th earl of Kildare, and not Skeffington, was the real governor of Ireland.[3]
In May1531, Skeffington accepted the formal submission of the Gaelic leaderHugh Duff O'Donnell inDrogheda. This state of affairs lasted for three years, and then, in 1532, the deputy was recalled. In 1534, Kildare being in prison in England and his sonSilken Thomas, being in revolt, Skeffington was again appointed Deputy,[3] at approximately 70 years of age.
Due to his age and ill health, he was most reluctant to resume the office. He was also on the worst possible terms with his future successor as Lord Deputy,Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane, and their quarrels are said to have shortened Skeffington's life.[citation needed]
After some delay, he landed atDublin in October 1534, and marched at once to relieveDrogheda, but further progress in the work of crushing the rebellion was seriously delayed by his illness. However, in the spring of 1535, he was again in the field. He tookMaynooth Castle, executing the entire surviving garrison. The heavy artillery used by him on this occasion earned him the surname of "The Gunner". He forced some of Kildare's allies to make peace and capturedDungarvan.[3]
He died atKilmainham,Dublin on 31 December 1535, and was buried inSaint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.[1][4]
There is a monument to him in the parish church atSkeffington.[1][5] He was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas.
Skeffington married firstly Margaret Digby, daughter of Sir Everard Digby (died 1509) ofTilton,Leicestershire, by whom he had a son and heir, Thomas Skeffington.[1]
He married secondly, Anne Digby, the daughter of Sir John Digby (died May 1533) ofSouth Luffenham,Rutland, by Katherine (née Griffin), widow of John Bellers (died 27 January 1476), esquire, and daughter of Nicholas Griffin (died 6 June 1482), esquire,de jureBaron Latimer, by Katherine Curzon,[6][7] by whom he had several children, including a sonLeonard Skeffington "who served as aLieutenant of the Tower of London, as a soldier in Ireland, and as a messenger who regularly represented his father at court".[1][8] Leonard Skeffington is credited with having invented the "Scavenger's Daughter", a torture device used in the Tower during the reign ofHenry VIII.[9]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Skeffington, Sir William".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 169.| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Lord Deputy of Ireland 1529–1532 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Deputy of Ireland 1534–1536 | Succeeded by |
