William_Gonson
William Gonson
Naval Judge and Naval Administrator of the English Royal Navy (1482–1544)
Vice-Admiral Sir William Gonson [1] (1482–1544), was a Naval Judge and Naval Administrator of the English Royal Navy who served under King Henry VIII.
Vice-Admiral Sir William Gonson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1482 Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England |
| Died | 1544 London, England |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  England |
| Service/ |  Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1513–1544 |
| Rank | Vice-Admiral |
| Commands held | Vice-Admiral of Norfolk Vice-Admiral of Suffolk Clerk of Marine Causes Treasurer of the Navy Keeper of the Storehouses Captain Mary Grace |
Career
During the Tudor Period William Gonson's early career was as a private Merchant and Shipbuilder in the Royal Dockyards[2] before he began his naval career. He was given command of Mary Grace in April 1513 as captain.[3] In 1523 he was appointed Clerk of Marine Causes, which he held until 1533. In 1524 he was also appointed Paymaster or Treasurer of the Navy, holding until 1544.[4] William was a naval administrator of the English navy for over twenty years: he also held the title of Keeper of the Storehouses[5] at Erith Dockyard and Deptford Dockyard from 1524 to 1537. In effect he exercised together the responsibilities later distributed among three principal officers of the Council of the Marine. In 1536 he was appointed by Henry VIII to be Vice-Admiral of Norfolk and Suffolk. William eventually fell from grace, and he committed suicide in 1544,[6] leaving the navy disorganized. It took two years for Henry to reorganize, control and develop what was afterwards known as 'The Navy Board'. Along with William of Wrotham and Sir Robert de Crull, he is probably to be reckoned one of the three most important administrators of naval affairs of the English Navy prior to 1546.
Personal
William Gonson was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire in England, son of Christopher Gonson and Elizabeth Gonson (née: Trussell), and brother of Bartholomew Gonson. He married Bennett Walters and together they had six sons Anthony, Arthur, Benjamin, Christopher, David and Richard. They also had four daughters Avis, Elizabeth, Margaret and Thomasine.
His son Benjamin Gonson[7] made a career in the English navy and became Treasurer of the Navy.[8]
His son Sir David Gonson was a Knight of Malta. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1540 and was condemned to death by an Act of Parliament in 1541 for denying the authority of the King in spiritual matters and refusing to recant his Catholic faith. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at St Thomas' Waterings, Southwark on 12 July 1541. Pope Pius XI declared him Blessed on 15 December 1929.[9]
William Gonson was buried in the church of St Dunstan-in-the-East, under the terms of an agreement made by him with the parson and churchwardens four years previously.[10]
Citations
- Childs, David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. p. 263. ISBN 9781848320314.
- Williamson, James A. (1965). The Age of Drake. London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd. p. 260. ISBN 9780713601817.
- Brewer, J. S. (2015). Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII. Cambridge University Press. p. 552. ISBN 9781108062596.
- Miller, Helen Hill (1985). Captains from Devon : the great Elizabethan seafarers who won the oceans for England. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. p. 33. ISBN 9780912697277.
- Childs, David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Seaforth Publishing. p. 262. ISBN 9781473819924.
- Childs, David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Seaforth Publishing. p. 263. ISBN 9781473819924.
- Loades, David (2011). Henry VIII. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 1551. ISBN 9781445606651.
- Childs, David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. p. 263. ISBN 9781848320314.
- P. Whittemore, 'William Gonson's funerary agreement', Bulletin of the Monumental Brass Society, 146, 2010 Report and Accounts (February 2021), pp. 908-11 (Society's pdf).
Sources
- Bennell, John (2004). "Gonson, William (d. 1544)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47400. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Brewer, J. S. (2015). Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108062596.
- Childs, David (2009). Tudor Sea Power: The Foundation of Greatness. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848320314.
- Loades, David (2011). Henry VIII. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445606651.
- Williamson, James A. (1965). The Age of Drake. London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd. ISBN 9780713601817.