"Thomas Poyntz had strenuously tried to get Tyndale released. He attempted to make a deal with the guards at Vilvoorde Castle and petitioned Henry VIII, but it was all in vain.
As a result of his efforts Thomas Poyntz was branded as a heretic and, although placed under house arrest in Antwerp, he managed to escape back to North Ockenden.
However, his life and business were in ruins. As a known heretic he was under surveillance by Henry’s spies. This, despite the fact that John Poyntz, his elder brother, was a member of the household of Queen Catherine of Aragon, and had been at “The Field of the Cloth of Gold” with Henry VIII.
Thomas Poyntz felt vindicated when, two years after the death of Tyndale, Henry VIII decreed that Miles Coverdale’s English Bible, based largely on Tyndale’s translation, must be used in every parish church.
But the damage was done and Poyntz’s fortunes did not improve. In 1547 his brother John died but his will left all his estate to his wife Anne. Only on her death would it pass to Thomas and his sons. The only immediate benefit Thomas gained was a length of black cloth for a gown and hood!
It was not until Anne’s death in 1558 that Thomas succeeded to the Manor of North Ockendon. By that time he was so poor that he could not afford to live there. He died in 1562 and is buried in St Dunstan’s in the West, in Fleet Street."
No comments:
Post a Comment