Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Ashton, Thomas
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Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
d 1578
History
Educated at St John's College, where he was made a Fellow in 1520. MA, 1521; BTh, 1531. Senior Bursar at St John's, 1535-1539. Held a benefice in the Diocese of Lincoln. Appointed as Headmaster of Shrewsbury School, 1561-1571. Under his headship, the school was attended by an increased number of sons of the nobility, with pupils from as far away as Buckinghamshire. Philip Sidney was a pupil there during his tenure. On retiring from Shrewsbury, entered the service of Walter Devereux, later 1st Earl of Essex, overseeing Devereux's affairs while he was away and acting as tutor to his son. He also worked for the Crown and was twice sent to Ireland: in 1574 to persuade the Essex to make peace with Turlough Luineach O'Neill, lord of Tír Eoghain, and in 1575 to communicate the Queen's desire that Essex halt his attempts to subdue part of the province of Ulster. After Essex's death in 1576 and the settlement of his affairs, Ashton concentrated on securing the adoption of the ordinances he had written for governing Shrewsbury School, which succeeded in August 1578. He died in Cambridge on 28 August 1578.