Sir John Donne - Later Life

Later Life

He acquired estates at Horsenden in Buckinghamshire in 1480, which then became his main British residence. He managed to avoid getting caught in the fall of Hastings in 1483, and was appointed High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire for 1485 under Richard III. After the change of dynasty in 1485, he must have made an accommodation with his fellow-Welshman, Henry VII, by which point he would have reached an age to retire in any case. Both he and his wife are buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, next to Edward IV and Hastings, which is in itself a mark of royal favour.

Two sons worked for Henry VIII, and Donne's descendants include the Earls of Oxford, Cumberland, and Burlington, and the Dukes of Devonshire (the Memling passed through these last three families).