Thomas More and His Family
Family of Thomas More, Hans Holbein, Rowland Lockey, 1530 /1593
By Hans Holbein the Younger, Rowland Lockey © The National Trust Photographic Library. Hangs at Nostell Priory. From left to right: Elizabeth, Margaret Giggs (adopted daughter), Judge John More, Anne Cresacre (ward), Sir Thomas, John, Henry Patenson (the family “fool”), Cecily, Margaret, John Harris (More’s secretary), and Lady Alice.
More Family, recreation of Holbein sketch by Gary Chu
More Family, recreation of Holbein sketch by Gary Chu
Thomas More and His Family, Hans Holbein, Rowland Lockey, 1593-1594
Watercolor miniature by Rowland Lockey. This miniature was based on Hans Holbein’s portrait of the More family. With the permission of Victoria and Albert Museum. From left to right: Judge John More, Anne Cresacre, Sir Thomas, John, Cecily, Henry Patenson, Elizabeth, Margaret; John (son of Thomas More II and his wife, Maria), Thomas More II (who is the grandson of Sir Thomas More and the oldest son of Thomas More’s son, John), Cresacre (son of Thomas More II and his wife, Maria), Maria.
Thomas More, His Father and His Household, Hans Holbein, 1527
Sketch by Hans Holbein the Younger, Kunstmuseum, Basel. From left to right: Elizabeth (21), Margaret Giggs (22, adopted), Judge John More (76), Anne Cresacre (15, ward), Sir Thomas (50), John (18), Henry Pattenson (family “fool”), Cecily (20), Margaret (22), Lady Alice (57), family monkey!
Sir Thomas More’s Farewell to His Daughter, 1816-79
Painting by Edward Matthew Ward. Courtesy of Carol Gaerten-Jackson at Carol Jackson’s Fine Arts
Margaret’s Final Farewell to More
Courtesy of Tyburn Convent, London. Photograph by Séan Finnegan
Margaret Rescuing the Head of Her Father, 1873
Painting by Lucy Maddox Brown, Private Collection. Courtesy of My Studios.
Sir Thomas More
Hans Holbein the Younger, 1526-27, RL 12268, Royal Collection Trust/ © Her Majest Queen Elizabeth II 2018
Sir John More
Hans Holbein the Younger, 1526-27, RL 12224, Royal Collection Trust © her Majest Queen Elizabeth II 2018
Cecily Heron
Hans Holbein the Younger, 1526-27, RL 12269, Royal Collection Trust © her Majest Queen Elizabeth II 2018
Elizabeth Dauncey
Hans Holbein the Younger, 1526-27, RL 12228, Royal Collection Trust © her Majest Queen Elizabeth II 2018
Anne Cresacre
Hans Holbein the Younger, 1526-27, RL 12270, Royal Collection Trust © her Majest Queen Elizabeth II 2018
John More
Hans Holbein the Younger, 1526-27, RL 12226, Royal Collection Trust © her Majest Queen Elizabeth II 2018
Margaret Giggs
Hans Holbein the Younger, 1526-27, RL 12229, Royal Collection Trust © her Majest Queen Elizabeth II 2018
William Roper (1493/94-1578)
By Hans Holbein, miniature water-color, 1535-36. Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY
Margaret More (1504-1544), Wife of William Roper
By Hans Holbein, miniature water-color, 1535-36. Image copyright © The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY
Thomas More in London
Thomas More Defending the Liberty of the House of Commons, Parliament
Painting by Vivian Forbes, 1927, St. Stephen’s Hall, English Parliament, London. ©The Palace of Westminster.
View more commentary by clicking here.
Thomas More at the Opening of the 1523 Parliament, Windsor Castle
Engraving by an unknown artist for Richard Fiddes’ Life of Wolsey (London, 1724); based on a painting done c.1523 (Windsor Castle, MS 1114). Courtesy of Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Thomas More statue at the School of London
Photograph by Nick Wignall.
Sir Thomas More, Knight, Lincoln’s Inn
Statue by George Sherrin, c. 1889, above the “More Passage” to Lincoln’s Inn, overlooking the Royal Courts of Justice, London. Photograph by Tommy Heyne.
The inscription underneath reads:
SIR THOMAS MORE, KT. SOME TIME LORD CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND MARTYRED JULY 6TH 1535 THE FAITHFUL SERVANT BOTH OF GOD AND KING.
Thomas More and Erasmus Visit the Children of King Henry VII at Greenwich in 1499
Painting by Frank Cadogan. ©The Palace of Westminster
Brompton Oratory Tryptic: Thomas More, Tyburn, Cardinal Fisher
Photograph by Tommy Heyne.
Relief of Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher, Westminster Cathedral
Photograph by Tommy Heyne.
Sir Thomas More, Chelsea
“Sir Thomas More,” 1969, sculpture by L.Cubitt Bevis, Chelsea, London, photo by Tommy Heyne, © CTMS.
On the banks of the Thames in front of the House of Commons. On the three other sides of the pedestal are inscribed: SCHOLAR, STATESMAN, SAINT. More’s head is turned slightly to the left looking downstream toward his last journey. Beneath the statue is a reproduction of his signature, the signature that would have saved his life if he had taken the oath. The face, cross, hands, and chain are in gold leaf.
Thomas More Bust, Tower of London
Bust by Raphael Maklouf in the crypt of St. Peter’s Chapel, Tower of London. Photograph by Tommy Heyne.
Thomas More stained glass, St. Lawrence Jewry
Photograph by Nick Wignall.
Guildhall Crypt stained glass- Sir Thomas More, 1971
Stained glass design by A. E. Buss, M.G.P., Guildhall crypt, London. Photograph by Nick Wignall. More, Bible in hand, is standing before the gates of St. James’ Palace. His family Arms are shown at the head of the light.
View the details of the Guildhall Crypt stained glass by clicking here.
Thomas More stained glass, Lincoln’s Inn
Photograph by Tommy Heyne.
Charterhouse/St. Etheldreda’s Tour
Thomas More around the World
Washington, D.C., 1984
By H. Reed Armstrong, for the Thomas More Society of America.
San Diego, CA, 1989
Sculpture by D. J. Dixon, University of San Diego School of Law.Courtesy of Charles S. LiMandri.
Dallas, TX, 1989
Sculpture by Duward Campbell, Lifetime Achievement Award, St. Thomas More Society of Dallas. Photograph by John Haynsworth. Courtesy of W. David Holliday.
Washington, D.C., 2000
By Franz Schroeder, Catholic Information Center, Washington, D.C., photograph by Veronica Conkling.
Sydney, Australia, 1993
By Martin Van Der Toorn, University of Sydney, Australia. Photograph courtesy of John McCarthy, Q. C.
Canterbury, England
St. Dunstan’s Church, photograph by Tommy Heyne.
Vatican
Thomas More Tapestry at the Vatican
Angers, France
Sketch by Jean Schoevaert-Brossault. Courtesy of Moreanum, Angers, France.
St. Louis, MO, 2001
Sketch by Colleen Westman, St. Louis
Boston, MA, 2014
Sculpture by Pablo Eduardo, Boston College Law School.
View more details, photos, and an interview with the sculptor by clicking here.
Moscow, Russia, 1918
This monument, by order of Lenin in 1918, was used to list the nineteen most influential thinkers “who promoted the liberation of humankind from oppression, arbitrariness, and exploitation.” Thomas More is the ninth from the top. It is in Aleksndrovsky Garden near the Kremlin.
The Thomas More Window, Canterbury, England
New York City, NY, 1527
Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, Frick Collection, New York. Prints may be ordered from the Frick.
New South Wales, Australia, 2006
Life-sized bronze statue by Louis Lamen,
Speaker’s Garden, New South Wales Parliament House, Australia. Sculptor’s comments: “Mindful of the intended location, my idea was to portray Thomas More as if he had taken a moment to pause and think about the gravity of his situation, not yet having decided between duty to his King and his higher Conscience.”
Miami, Florida, 2005
Statue by Leo Irrera at St. Thomas University Law School. Photograph by Roger Rich. 18″ marble model available for purchase: call 202-362-1430. At the feet of this ten-foot-tall, 2.5 ton Carrera-marble sculpture of Thomas More is his chain of office, capturing the moment of More’s decision to resign as Lord Chancellor. Around his feet are Utopia, English Poems, De Tristitia Christi [The Sadness of Christ], and [The Workes of] Thomas More. Dedicated February 7, 2005.
San Francisco, CA, 1996
St. Thomas More Award, St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco, Farnan Studios.
More engraving by Bartolozzi
More engraving by Bartolozzi
People in Thomas More’s Life
Erasmus, 1523
Oil painting. © National Gallery, London. Erasmus and More were friends. Erasmus’ In Praise of Folly was dedicated to More, and its title may have been a pun on More’s name: More’s name in Latin is “morus”, which is translated as “fool.”
Erasmus
Stained glass window, Christ Church, Oxford. Photograph by Tommy Heyne. Erasmus and More were friends. Erasmus’ In Praise of Folly was dedicated to More, and its title may have been a pun on More’s name: More’s name in Latin is “morus”, which is translated as “fool.”
Archbishop Cranmer
Statue at Canterbury Cathedral. Photograph by Tommy Heyne.
John Houghton and the Carthusians at Tyburn
Photograph by Tommy Heyne. This window shows Houghton, prior of a Carthusian house, and three fellow Carthusians, who were hung, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn after refusing to take the oath that recognized Henry VIII as head of the Church. Thomas More, watching them go to their deaths from his cell window in the Tower, said to his daughter Margaret, “Look, Meg, these blessed Fathers be now as cheerfully going to their deaths as bridegrooms to their marriage!” The figure on horseback on the right panel of the window is Henry VIII. View the details of John Houghton and the Carthusians at Tyburn by clicking here.
Portrait of Henry VIII, c. 1545
After Hans Holbein. Courtesy of Walker Art Gallery.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, portrait in Christ Church, Oxford. Photograph by Tommy Heyne.
Lady Alice, Meg, and Will Roper
From St. Dunstan’s stained glass window, Canterbury. More’s wife Lady Alice (left), his daughter Margaret (right bottom), and her husband Will Roper (right). St. Dunstan’s was Will and Margaret Roper’s parish church, and is the site where Thomas More’s head, retrieved by Margaret, is buried.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
Stained glass at Hampton Court. Photograph by Tommy Heyne. Wolsey was archbishop of York and chancellor to Henry VIII prior to Thomas More’s holding that office. He built Hampton Court Palace as his residence.
Bishop John Fisher
Statue at Rochester Cathedral. Photograph by Tommy Heyne. Fisher was Bishop of Rochester. He was beheaded just 2 weeks before Thomas More’s beheading.
Our Lady of Pew
Now in Westminster Cathedral. Photograph by Tommy Heyne.
Thomas More’s Office and Estate
Sir Thomas More’s Estate at Chelsea
Sketch by Colleen Westman, based on a 1695 engraving of the property. Chelsea was a working farm outside of London.
Sir Thomas More’s Coat of Arms
The More coat of arms is above the entrance of Holy Redeemer and St. Thomas More Church in Chelsea. More loved puns on his name, as evidenced by the moorhens.
Sir Thomas More’s Coat of Arms
By Peter Drummond-Murray, Slains Pursuivant of Arms. Courtesy of W. David Holliday. Argent chevron engrailed between three moorcocks sable. Argent refers to the metal silver (Latin, argenturn), represented in heraldry by the color white. A chevron is an heraldic device shaped like an inverted V. Engrailed means indented along the edge with small curves. The moorcock is a pun on the name “More.” Sable in heraldry refers to the color black.
Sir Thomas More’s Chain of Office
Sketch by Colleen Westman. This striking chain of office, commonly referred to as the “SS collar” was an insignia of public service reserved for knights and nobility, and later for England’s chief justices. In the center is the Tudor rose, attached to the Ss on either side by a “portcullis,” a design imitating the heavy latticed gateways of a fortress.