Thomas Long of Draycot

Sir Thomas Long of Draycot (c.1451 - 1509) was an English politician.

Born in Wiltshire, the son of John Long and his wife Margaret Wayte, he succeeded to the Draycot estates on the death of his father on 20 September1478, and inherited South Wraxall from his uncle Henry Long in 1490. Long was among the 'great compaignye of noble men' who went with Edward, Duke of Buckingham, in 1496 to meet the King at Taunton, then in pursuit of Perkin Warbeck. In 1501 he received a knighthood at the marriage of Henry VII's eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales, and he was also at the reception of Catherine of Aragon at Shaftesbury in October of that year.

Long was elected Member of Parliament for Westbury in 1491. He was appointed High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1500 and again in 1506. He was present at the coronation of Henry VIII in 1509.

He married Margery, daughter of Sir George Darell, of Littlecote House, and had one daughter and seven sons, including Sir Richard Long (c.1494-1546)‎ and Sir Henry Long (c.1489-.1556).

Long died in 1509 and his remains are entombed in a 'rich gothique altar monument' (as described by John Aubrey) in the church of St James at Draycot, Wiltshire. Hanging above his tomb until recently, and authenticated by the British Museum, were his armour Haume (helmet) and gauntlets, dating from c.1490. These are now safely kept in the Devizes Museum in Wiltshire.

Royal descendant

The present Charles, Prince of Wales is a descendant of Sir Thomas Long, as is Mark Phillips, the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal.

Sources

*A Political Index to the Histories of Great Britain & Ireland - Robert Beatson 1806
*The Gentleman's Magazine
*Burke's History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland - John Burke 1838
*Society in the Elizabethan Age - Hubert Hall 2003
*The Lineage and Ancestry of H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales - Gerald Paget 1977
*Hand of Fate. The History of the Longs, Wellesleys and the Draycot Estate in Wiltshire. Tim Couzens 2001 ISBN 1 903341 72 6