Paternal Family Tree: Southwell
In or before 1503 [his father] Francis Southwell [aged 26] and [his mother] Dorothy Tendering [aged 17] were married.
Around 1506 Robert Southwell was born to Francis Southwell [aged 30] and Dorothy Tendering [aged 21] at Windham Manor, Norfolk.
On 2nd September 1512 [his father] Francis Southwell [aged 36] died at Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk.
In 1520 [his mother] Dorothy Tendering [aged 35] died.
In or before 1524 [his son-in-law] Thomas Sydney [aged 23] and [his daughter] Mary Southwell were married.
In 1529 Robert Southwell [aged 23] was elected MP King's Lynn.
In 1531 Robert Southwell [aged 25] was obliged to pay £1,000 for a pardon for his involvement with his two brothers Robert Southwell and [his half-brother] Francis Southwell of Wymondham [aged 19] for the murder of Sir William Pennington. The pardon was later confirmed by Act of Parliament (25 Hen. VIII, c.32).
In 1534 Robert Southwell [aged 28] was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk and High Sheriff of Suffolk.
In 1536 Robert Southwell [aged 30] was elected MP King's Lynn.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In 1536 Robert Southwell [aged 30] was appointed Master of Requests.
On 1st May 1536 Robert Southwell [aged 30] and Margaret Neville [aged 16] were married at Mereworth, Kent.
On 24th March 1537 [his son] Thomas Southwell was born to Robert Southwell [aged 31] and [his wife] Margaret Neville [aged 17] at Mereworth, Kent.
In 1538 [his daughter] Anne Southwell was born to Robert Southwell [aged 32] and [his wife] Margaret Neville [aged 18]. She married before 24th August 1585 Edmund Bedingfield.
In 1539 Robert Southwell [aged 33] was elected MP King's Lynn.
In 1539 Robert Southwell [aged 33] was appointed Commissioner for the Suppression of Monasteries.
On 16th January 1542 Robert Southwell [aged 36] was appointed Master of the Rolls which position he held until 1550.
Around 1552 [his daughter] Dorothy Elizabeth Southwell was born to Robert Southwell [aged 46] and [his wife] Margaret Neville [aged 32]. She married before 4th May 1589 Thomas Bedingfield and had issue.
In October 1553 Robert Southwell [aged 47] was elected MP Kent.
On 28th January 1554 the Battle of Hartley was fought at Hartley Sevenoaks, Kent between a rebel force of Wyatt's Rebellion led by Henry Isley [aged 54] and a loyal royalist force led by Henry Neville 6th and 4th Baron Abergavenny [aged 24] and Robert Southwell [aged 48]. The rebels were defeated. Rebel Anthony Knyvet [aged 37] fought and was captured.
In October 1555 Robert Southwell [aged 49] was elected MP Kent.
On 26th October 1559 Robert Southwell [aged 53] died at Mereworth, Kent.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 8th November 1559. [The viij day of November was buried in Kent] ser Robartt Sowthwell [deceased] knyght, sum-tyme master of the rolles, with a harold of armes, and a standard, a penon of armes, a cot armur, a target, a elmett, and a viij dosen skochyons of armes.
Note. P. 217. Funeral of sir Robert Southwell. Constituted master of the rolls July 1, 1542; resigned in 1550. He was brother to sir Richard Southwell [aged 56], a member of the privy council, and executor to Henry VIII. Sir Robert resided at Jotes Place in the parish of Mereworth, Kent. (Hasted, iii. 269.)
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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On 25th December 1575 [his former wife] Margaret Neville [aged 55] died.
[his daughter] Mary Southwell was born to Robert Southwell and Margaret Neville. She married (1) Thomas Sydney (2) in or before 1524 Thomas Sydney and had issue.
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Southwell of Felix Hall 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Southwell
Grandfather: Richard Southwell
father: Francis Southwell
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Tendering
Grandfather: William Tendering
mother: Dorothy Tendering
Great x 1 Grandfather: William IV Sidney 
Grandmother: Thomasine Sidney