Sulham and Shiplake's Forgotten Link to Henry VII and the Battle of Bosworth in 1485

The Wilder family of Sulham are known best for their monuments in Sulham church, and the building of Wilder's Folly, the red-brick tower in the countryside off Nunhide Lane which acted as a meeting place and a reminder of young love. But did you know that the family's origins are knitted with the dawn of the Tudor dynasty? 

According to the nineteenth-century Wilder family historian Moses H Wilder, the Wilder family first appear in documents in around 1485, with Nicholas Wilder believed to have been a member of Henry Tudor Earl of Richmond's army. Tudor defeated Richard III to claim the throne after the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, and Nicholas was among those that, muddy and exhausted, celebrated his victory on the boot-trodden field. He would have been one of those that helped bury the dead in a nearby churchyard and marched south from Leicester, following the corpse of the dead king slumped over the saddle of a horse. Henry rewarded those who helped him reach the throne, and almost two years after Bosworth, Henry granted Nicholas a landed estate, on 15 April 1497. In 1525, during the reign of Henry VIII, we see him based at a family home in Shiplake, a riverside village near Henley-on-Thames. The early Wilders would have known the church of St Peter and Paul in the village, which dates to the thirteenth century and would have occupied a manor house somewhere in the area. It was soon after Bosworth too, that Nicholas was permitted to use a crest or coat of arms, which, according to Moses H. Wilder, incorporated a lion rearing up to attack prey, a fitting visual, he says, for a noted soldier in Henry VII's victorious army. 

Battle of Bosworth depiction, via Wikimedia Commons

Few other details are known of Nicholas, although it is believed that he was German, or of German descent, which is partly down to surname evidence along with the fact that there is no trace of him before 1485. We know that Henry had European fighters in his Bosworth army raised during his exile, and so this is certainly plausible, although I have been unable to find a grant of denizen for Nicholas. This grant, given by the king, allowed those born outside the realm to live with almost the same rights as English citizens, and with certain legal protection. It's possible that the grant hasn't survived, or Nicholas settled in England without one. The name of his wife is not known, as far as I can see, but he did have a son named John, who became heir to the family estates. The younger John married Agnes and they had a son and daughter named John and Agnes. The Wilders definitely had a tradition of naming their children after relatives in theirs and previous generations.

The family are well known from the 1700s as living in Sulham, but their first link to the village dates to the mid-1500s, when the younger John (son of John and Agnes) married Alice Keats, the only child, and daughter of Thomas Keats of Sulham House. Thomas Keats was the first builder of this house and, through their marriage, this passed to the Wilders, although it's believed that the family continued to base themselves in Shiplake during this period as their main home. Alice and John had four sons - John, Nicholas, William and Thomas. They also had three daughters, named Eleanor, Joan and Alice. In 1582 the large, three-storied Sulham House was granted to the couple's son William, through a grant by his father, and this is where he lived.  The property stayed in the Wilder family until 1777, when it was sold by Rev. Henry Wilder. The relationship between John and Alice seems to have been strong; she was named executor in his will, they had seven children together and were married at the time John finished his will in October 1588. The couple then, lived through the later Elizabethan period and would have celebrated that summer with bonfires and wine on news that the Spanish Armada had been defeated. In the same year, John's youngest brother Thomas, also died. The Wilders of the next generation were known to be of the Puritan faith, and so it is possible that Alice and John had similar religious leanings. They were therefore safe from the hunting down of Catholics under Elizabeth, unlike other local figures like Sir Francis Englefield.

Both Sulham - a small village in Berkshire, and Shiplake - a riverside settlement in Oxfordshire - are not often known for their links with the famous Battle of Bosworth and the beginning of the Tudor age. However it was at Shiplake that they first emerged, off the back of Nicholas Wilder's efforts of helping Henry VII to the throne. He must have been recognised by the king in particular, given permission to use a coat of arms and provided for with an estate by the riverside. Sulham is linked to the battle by Nicolas' grandson John, who, after the family was established, attained the Sulham estates through his marriage to Alice Keats. 

Next time you visit the churches of villages of Shiplake and Sulham, you might find lots of eighteenth and nineteenth century Wilder monuments. But remember that their family settled here in the Tudor age, and their timeline runs alongside that of the Tudors, who ruled England for 118 years.

Note: most of the narrative of the Wilder's history comes from Moses H. Wilder, who researched the family, including a detailed genealogy, in the 1870s. Mary Rose Wilder Turner, who updated the family's history in the 1920s, follows this same line of research.  I have tried, where possible, to substantiate the facts they have presented, which is an ongoing work. I'll update here when and if I find anything else. Both authors are quite adamant about Nicholas' story and that of later generations, and Moses in particular may have been working from family documents that have not survived to us today. In the early seventeenth century, Nicholas' descendants went to live in America, possibly also explaining the potential loss of important documents. The birth of the Wilder family of Shiplake and Sulham is a fascinating one, and I'll keep you posted. 

Like this? You might also like my other posts that delve into the history of Reading and surrounding areas.

Interested in the Wars of the Roses? My first book explores the roles of women from all sectors of fifteenth century society and the impact they had on the Wars of the Roses conflict. Order your copy here. 

My second book, Power Couples of the Tudor Era, published by Pen and Sword Books, explores the contributions sixteenth century couples made to their own times as well as how they influenced our own. Order your copy here. 

Sources: 

Moses H. Wilder, Book of the Wilders, E.O. Jenkins, New York. 1878. 

Mary Rose Wilder Turner, Book of the Wilders & Sketch of the Wilkinson Family. Ohio, 1927.

Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry VII: 1476-1485, and 1485-1494.