Life
Thomas was the son of William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal and the Hon. Elizabeth FitzHugh. He descended from King Edward III of England through his mother, Elizabeth.
Thomas' forebears were members of a rough-and-ready northern landed gentry clan, the Parr's of Kendal. They had been, after the crown, the most influential presence in southern Westmoreland since 1381. His mother and grandmother before him were royal ladies-in-waiting, and this enabled Thomas to acquire a polished upbringing at the English court.
According to biographer Susan James, the young Thomas most likely studied under Maurice Westbury of Oxford, learning (among other things) classical Greek and Latin as well as modern languages. Westbury had been installed as a teacher by Lady Margaret Beaufort at her estate of Colyweston. It was at Colyweston that certain gentlemen, including the son of the Earl of Westmoreland, not only received an education but also gained political connections that would prove useful in their future careers. Thomas' father, the first Baron Parr of Kendal, had once been Lady Margaret Beaufort's revisionary heir to her substantial lands in Westmoreland, known as the Richmond fee. Thomas' mother's family by her second marriage to Sir Nicholas Vaux (later 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden), were also close to Margaret, enjoying a long-term relationship with her.
In adulthood, Thomas found the educative tools that he had acquired as a young man to be of considerable practical use, and he would emphasise this aspect of household management when the time came to educate his own children.
Sir Thomas More's first wife, Jane, was a niece of Parr by marriage, thereby making More an in-law of his. Parr was fond of More — the future but ill-fated Lord Chancellor of the kingdom — and respected his intellect. He was also an advocate of the teachings of his erudite cousin, Sir Cuthbert Tunstall. These teachings embraced the discipline of mathematics, which Thomas' daughter Catherine would put to good use in her later capacity as the lady of a succession of important households.
Under the rule of King Henry VIII, the Parr family flourished. Their influence, income, and titles increased as Thomas' career advanced. He became a Master of the Wards and was appointed Master of the Guards and Comptroller to the King. He was knighted and made High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1509, and of Lincolnshire in 1510. His wife, Maud, became a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon. Shortly before the birth of their first surviving child, Catherine, the couple had bought a house in Blackfriars, London. Sir Thomas was popular with Henry and, as we have seen, served at court with Sir Thomas More. Although he was rich in land and money, Sir Thomas never attained the aristocratic title of baron. He did, however, hold messuages, lands, woods, and rents in Parr, Wigan, and Sutton, as well as the manor of Thurnham.
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