William Scott (Lord Warden)


Sir William Scott of Scot's Hall in Smeeth, Kent was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Family

William Scott was the son of Sir John Scott and Agnes Beaufitz, daughter and co-heiress of William Beaufitz. His sister, Elizabeth Scott, married Sir Edward Poynings.

Career

Scott rose to favour following the seizure of the throne by Henry VII. Within a few years he had been appointed to the Privy Council, appointed Comptroller of the Household and in 1489 was created a Companion of the Bath at the same ceremony as Prince Arthur. He served as High Sheriff of Kent in 1491, 1501 and 1510, and was also to become Constable of Dover Castle, Marshal of Calais and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. He remained in favour under Henry VIII, being present at the famous meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520 and one of the deputation sent to greet Emperor Charles V when he landed at Dover in 1522.
Scott inherited the manor of Brabourne in 1495, and had Scot's Hall elaborately rebuilt so that it came to be regarded as one of the foremost houses in Kent.
He was buried at Brabourne, where there is a memorial brass to him in the Scott chapel in St Mary's church.

Marriage and issue

Scott married Sibyl Lewknor, the daughter of Sir Thomas Lewknor of Trotton, Sussex, and Katherine Pelham, widow of John Bramshott, and daughter of Sir John Pelham, Chamberlain to Katherine of Valois, by whom he had two sons and four daughters: