Impaled arms of Parr and FitzHugh, Hampton Court Palace Pedigree window of Katherine Parr.
Hon. Elizabeth FitzHugh Lady Parr of Kendal and Lady Vaux of Harrowden (1455/65 – 29 January 1508) was an English noblewoman and the co-heiress to her father, Hon. Sir Henry FitzHugh, 5th Baron FitzHugh of Ravensworth. Lady Parr is best known for being the grandmother of the sixth queen of Henry VIII, Katherine Parr and her siblings Lady Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton.
Ravensworth Castle, ancestral home to the Barons FitzHugh
The current co-heirs to the barony are:
- Hon. Emily Douglas-Home, suo jure 29th Baroness Dacre (b. 1983)
- Hon. Tessa Ogilvie Thompson née Brand (b. 1934)
- Francis Brand, 7th Viscount Hampden (b. 1970)
- William Herbert, 18th Earl of Pembroke (b. 1978), a descendant of Lady Anne [Parr], Countess of Pembroke
Life
Elizabeth FitzHugh had an easy-going and pleasure-loving disposition. As Lady Parr, she joined the household of her cousin, the Duchess of Gloucester.[7] The Duchess of Gloucester was born Lady Anne Neville, the youngest daughter of Sir Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (“Warwick, the Kingmaker”) and Lady Anne Beauchamp. Lady Parr was close to her cousin which showed in her positions under Anne as Duchess and Queen consort. Because of the family connections, Elizabeth’s mother, Lady FitzHugh pressured Lady Parr’s husband, Lord Parr, to follow the rule of the Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III) while he was serving as Lord Protector of the Realm. When the Duchess became queen in 1483, Lady Parr was appointed by the Queen herself and served as lady-in-waiting. Lady Parr and her mother were both present at the coronation on 6 July 1483. Both were dressed in fine dresses made by cloth that the King himself had given them. Elizabeth received seven yards of gold and silk; her mother received material for two gowns, one of blue velvet and crimson satin as well as one of crimson and velvet with white damask. It is not known which gown Elizabeth wore as she rode behind Queen Anne; but she was one of the seven noble ladies given this honour. Her husband who had been deeply devoted to Edward IV declined his role in the coronation and headed north where he died shortly after.[8]
Marriages and Issue
- Anne Parr, Lady Cheney (AFT 1475–4 November 1513), who married Sir Thomas Cheney of Irthlingborough. Their daughter Elizabeth, would go on to marry the son of Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden (Elizabeth FitzHugh’s second husband) by his second marriage to Anne Green; maternal aunt to Katherine Parr. When Elizabeth Cheney married Lord Vaux, she was age 18 and he was age 14. While there were no blood relations, Lord Vaux’s father had issue by his marriage to his first wife (see below); thus making Hon. Katherine, Hon. Alice, and Hon. Anne Vaux her maternal aunts. Through these relations, Elizabeth Cheney and her husband, the 2nd Lord Vaux, would have Throckmorton cousins in common.[4]
Elizabeth Cheney (or Cheyne), Lady Vaux of Harrowden; daughter of Anne Parr and Sir Thomas Cheney.
Elizabeth was originally drawn by Holbein c.1536. For more on the original drawing and copies of paintings, see: The OTHER Elizabeth Cheney
- Sir Thomas Parr, Lord of Kendal (AFT 1475–11 November 1517), who was the eldest son, was knighted and was sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1509; he was master of the wards and comptroller to Henry VIII. He was rich, owing to his succeeding, in 1512, to half the estates of his cousin, Lord FitzHugh, and also to his marriage with Maud Green, daughter and coheiress of Sir Thomas Green of Boughton and Greens Norton in Northamptonshire. He died on 12 November 1518, and was buried in Blackfriars Church, London. His widow died on 1 September 1532, and was buried beside him. Of their children, Katherine Parr, queen of Henry VIII, and William Parr (afterwards Marquess of Northampton), are separately noticed; while a daughter, Anne, married William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke of the tenth creation. The couple also had two other children who died as infants; a son was born before their eldest, Katherine, but was stillborn. The second infant who was conceived after their fourth child, Anne; but was either miscarried, dead at birth, or died shortly after, the same year their father died, 1517. The only descendants alive today are the descendants of their youngest surviving daughter, Anne. Her descendants include the current Earls of Pembroke, Earls of Montgomery, Earls of Carnarvon, and more.[4]
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Sir William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton (BEF 1483–10 September 1547), the second son, was knighted on 25 December 1513, was sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1518 and 1522, and after his niece’s Katherine Parr’s promotion became her chamberlain. On 23 December 1543 he was created Baron Parr of Horton, Northamptonshire. He died on 10 September 1547, and was buried at Horton (for his tomb, see Bridges, Northamptonshire, i. 370). By Mary, daughter of Sir William Salisbury, he left four daughters.[4]
- John Parr, Esq. (BEF 1483–8 September 1508), married Constance, daughter of Sir Henry Vere of Addington, Surrey. They had no issue.[4]
- Alice, died young (b. before 1483).
Second Marriage
After the death of Sir William Parr in fall of 1483, Elizabeth re-married Sir Nicholas Vaux c.1484/5 (probably right before the fall of Richard III), who later became 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden as his first wife.[4] Vaux was the protege of Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, so the marriage came at a good time, saving the family fortunes. Vaux’s mother, Katherine Peniston, had been lady to Margaret of Anjou and as such, the Vauxs’ were sympathetic to the Lancastrian cause bringing the Parr family back in to favor. Lady Katherine Vaux (Peniston) would remain with Margaret of Anjou in exile and died in her service.[6] After the accession of Henry VII, Vaux was raised by Lady Margaret Beaufort.[6] Elizabeth’s son by her first marriage, Sir Thomas Parr (father of Katherine), is thought to have been educated under Beaufort’s tutelage (Susan James) which would explain the closeness he formed with her grandson, King Henry VIII. Vaux became close to his Parr step-children. After the death of Elizabeth, Vaux would re-marry to Anne Green, sister to Lady Maud Parr and thus sister-in-law to Sir Thomas Parr.
Their issue:
- Hon. Katherine Vaux (abt 1490-1552/1571)[5], married the Catholic Sir George Throckmorton of Coughton Court. Sir George was one of those opposed to the divorce of Henry VIII and Queen Katherine of Aragon. He also opposed the break from Rome. As the divorce of Queen Katherine and the marriage of Anne Boleyn was still pending, Sir George said that the king “had meddled with both the mother and sister.” The couple had 19 children and in his life time 112 grandchildren who were mostly ardent Catholics.[4] For over 500 years now, their family has remained one of England’s oldest Catholic families.
British English School An Unknown Lady once called Katherine Vaux, Lady Throckmorton National Trust Collections Coughton Court, Warwickshire 1576.
- Hon. Alice Vaux (d. 1543), married Sir Richard Sapcott/Sapcote c. 1501. No issue; some genealogies state she was the mother of one of Sapcott’s younger sons, but that has not been proven.[4]
- Hon. Anne Vaux, married Sir Thomas Le Strange (1493-1545) and had issue.[4]
Sources:
- The Complete Peerage vol. V, pp. 428-429.
- Crofts Peerage Online, Baron FitzHugh
- Susan James. “Catherine Parr: Henry VIII’s Last Love,” (2009), pg 15, 81.
- Douglas Richardson. “Plantagenet Ancestry,” Genealogical Publishing Com, 2004. pg 144, 561.
- Peter Marshall, Geoffrey Scott (OSB.) “Catholic Gentry in English Society: The Throckmortons of Coughton from Reformation to Emancipation,” Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., Nov 17, 2009. (several errors, i.e. Katherine Parr’s relation to the Throckmorton’s and Lord Throckmorton died in 1552, pretty sure his wife didn’t die in the same year.)
- Barbara J. Harris. “English Aristocratic Women, 1450-1550 : Marriage and Family, Property and Careers: Marriage and Family, Property and Careers,” Oxford University Press, Jul 26, 2002. pg 218.
- Michael Hicks. “Anne Neville: Queen to Richard III,” Tempus, 2006. pg 189.
- Linda Porter. “Katherine, the Queen,” Macmillan, 2010.
See also
tudorqueen6 
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Anne Vaux (wife of Sir Thomas LeStrange) was my 10th great grandmother. I have heard she was related to Queen Catherine Parr. At first I thought she was Catherine’s sister, but she was not. I believe that she was Catherine’s Aunt (I believe it was through Maud Green, somehow) If anyone has the answer to how Anne Vaux was related to Catherine Parr, please write me and explain how. I also believe that Anne Vaux and her Husband, Sir Thomas LeStrange had around 15 children. One of which her name was also Anne Vaux. I think that she had something to do with a gun powder revolt or something like that. Any information would greatly be appreciated. Thank you..Judy Anstess
If you can’t figure these things out, how do you know that Anne Vaux is your 10th great-grandmother? Anne Vaux was a half sister to Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal (father of Queen Katherine Parr) by his mother, Elizabeth’s (FitzHugh), second marriage to Sir Nicholas Vaux. After Elizabeth died, Nicholas remarried to Anne Green, sister of Lady Maud Parr (mother of Queen Katherine).
With Anne Vaux and Thomas LeStrange, not much is known about their children. A few descents have been figured out in various genealogy books. The DNB talks about his son, Sir Nicholas, who married twice and had issue by his first wife, Ellen FitzWilliam.
Anne Vaux of the gunpowder plot was the daughter of the 3rd Baron Vaux. The 3rd Baron was a grandson of Sir Nicholas Vaux (later 1st Baron Vaux) and his second wife, Anne Green (maternal aunt of Queen Katherine Parr).
Tudorqueen6 I agree with your reply to Judy Anstess but if you as you say are related to my family I would need your family name. When this came up as my fathers will was read we had some two hundred claims from world wide sources but only sixty paid out as proved respondents to my great grandfather Sir John Parr fortune. Some born Parrs named as servants to the main family had no such luck with will in law. It appeared that one,or maybe more,of many family, named Simon the carter not as Carter as name but Parr owing to his Lord as provider. We found by Legal searches that some 48 cases related to this. 19 fraud cases went to police files. 59 paid out 460 pounds each and the rest paid out shared the million.I found relatatives from Queenland to Bombay 2 coffee plantation owners who did not need the money and one from Sidney who was a solicitor. The chap from Bombay was Government of UK prior to loosing India so what he did he did not say. It was an education for me to interview that aged on things gone by.I would therefore wish for a connect to exist on my family tree that goes back before 1100.If you could be so good to give me some information.May be I have spoken to one of your family already in the many meetings in London in the days of legal arrangements as executor.
I’m related through Parr’s grandmother, Elizabeth, who married Nicholas Vaux. No direct link that I’ve found so far.
Lady Parr Elizabeth Fitzhugh married my ancestor and that connects me to King Edward 111. I have all papers and family tree to prove it.I also found I was related even to that Sainted fellow Sir Thomas More
Updated after extensive research and a trip to a trip to Engand, I now know that Anne Vaux/LeStrange, was indeed aunt to Quen Consort, Catherine Parr. Catherine was the daughter of Lady Elizabeth FitzHugh. Catherine was the daughter of Nicholas Vaux and Elizabeth FitzHugh, through Elizabeth’s second marriage to Nicholas. Thomas Parr (Catherine’s Parr’s father) was the son of Lady Elizabeth FitzHugh and her first husband, Sir William Parr. So, Anne Vaux was the “step sister” of Thomas Parr, making Catherine Parr the “step niece” of Lady Anne Vaux/LeStrange.
(Another interesting fact) Nicholas Vaux was raised and taught lessons by Lady Margaret Beaufort, (mother of King Henry VII) because his mother was attendant to Queen Margart of Anjou. When Margaret was imprisoned in the “Tower Of London”, Catherine Vaux, (mother of Nicholas Vaux) stayed loyal to Queen Margaret of Anjou, and stayed with the Queen, after she was exiled, and until Margaret of Anjou died.
So, Nicholas Vaux was raised in the same household as King Henry VII, making Nicholas part of the family, with much influence..
Actually, queen Katherine was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr and Maud Greene. Sir Thomas was a son of Sir William and Elizabeth FitzHugh. Anne Vaux was the daughter of Elizabeth FitzHugh and her second husband making her a SISTER of Sir Thomas; not step-sister.
Yes, Nicholas was a protege of Margaret Beaufort. It was Sir Thomas Parr who was educated under Beaufort and he grew up with Henry VIII’s circle of friends.
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