Spring family

The Spring family is a historic English family associated especially with Lavenham and the county of Suffolk. Its recorded history reaches back to the early fourteenth century, while the family’s rise to prominence began in the fifteenth century through participation in the cloth and wool trade. Lavenham was then one of England’s most important textile towns, and the Springs became among the leading merchant families of the region. Their wealth enabled them to acquire and develop a substantial portfolio of landed property across Suffolk and neighboring counties, and helped support the family’s transition from the merchant class into the rural gentry. The family’s most prominent early merchant was Thomas Spring of Lavenham, who lived approximately from 1474 to 1523. He became the first member of the Suffolk branch to hold public office and used part of his fortune to support the rebuilding and decoration of the parish church of St Peter and St Paul in Lavenham, where he was buried. The Spring name remains closely associated with the church, whose fabric and memorials reflect the family’s wealth and patronage during the high period of the East Anglian textile economy. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Springs consolidated their status through landownership, advantageous marriages and public service. Their estates included Cockfield Hall and Newe House, as well as numerous manors in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. Marriage alliances connected them with established local families including the Waldegraves, Jermyns and de Veres. Members of successive generations served as Members of Parliament for Suffolk, High Sheriffs of Suffolk and local officeholders. Sir John Spring was knighted under Henry VII and was involved in the suppression of the Lavenham revolt of 1525. His son, Sir William Spring, served as a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff and was knighted by Elizabeth I. A later descendant received a knighthood from James I. The family was also associated with Protestant and particularly Puritan religious culture. Under Spring patronage, Cockfield became a center of Puritan activity and discussion. In the political crisis preceding the English Civil War, Sir William Spring was created a baronet of Pakenham on 11 August 1641. He subsequently supported the Parliamentary side, served as a recruiter for the Parliamentary army and represented Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk in Parliament. After the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the family received a pardon for its earlier opposition to Charles I. The second baronet became one of the early figures identified with the Whig interest. The baronetcy became dormant after the death of the sixth baronet in 1769. A separate and important branch developed in Ireland. In 1578, Captain Thomas Spring, a descendant of the Lavenham merchant family, became constable of Castlemaine in County Kerry. The Crown granted him more than 3,000 acres in Kerry and elsewhere in Munster, including the lands of Killagha Abbey. Through marriages with established Old English families of Munster, the Irish Springs became part of the Anglo-Irish landed and political elite. One branch later joined the Rice family and became known as the Spring Rice family. Thomas Spring Rice served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and was raised to the peerage as Baron Monteagle of Brandon. The family’s Irish estates included substantial holdings in County Limerick, County Kerry and other parts of Ireland. Members of the wider family and its associated branches have pursued political, diplomatic, military and public careers. They include the diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice, who served as British ambassador to the United States during the First World War; the Irish nationalist activist Mary Spring Rice; the politician Dick Spring; the British politician Lord Risby; and several officers of the British Army, Irish Guards and Royal Air Force. The family’s historical identity is expressed by the motto “Non mihi sed Patriae,” meaning “Not for myself but for my fatherland.” Its heraldic arms, granted in the reign of Henry VI, feature red mascles and gold cinquefoils on a chevron, with variations in the crest including an antelope or stag and, in some uses, an eagle. The Spring family is not a modern commercial brand or operating company. It is better understood as a historic lineage and landed family whose significance lies in the social, economic and political history of East Anglia and Ireland. Its surviving monuments and heraldic associations remain visible in Lavenham, Cockfield, Pakenham and other locations connected with the family.

The earliest recorded association of the Spring name with northern England dates to 1311, when Sir Henry Spring held the manor of a settlement later known as Houghton-le-Spring. The family’s historically important Suffolk branch emerged in Lavenham during the fifteenth century. Lavenham’s prosperity was based on the production and export of high-quality woollen cloth, and the Springs accumulated considerable wealth as merchants. By the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, they were among the most prosperous families in the English wool trade. Thomas Spring of Lavenham, who lived approximately from 1474 to 1523, was the outstanding merchant of this period. He entered public life and financed major work at Lavenham’s parish church, St Peter and St Paul. His burial there and the family’s continuing memorial presence helped establish the church as one of the principal monuments to the family’s local importance. The Springs used their commercial fortune to purchase land and manorial rights, beginning a transition from urban merchant wealth to landed status. Over subsequent generations, the family became established among the Suffolk gentry. Their property holdings extended across Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex and included Cockfield Hall and Newe House. The family’s advancement was supported by marriage alliances with prominent regional families, including the Waldegraves, Jermyns and de Veres. Public service was another major source of status: members represented Suffolk in the House of Commons, served as High Sheriffs and held local administrative positions. Sir John Spring was knighted by Henry VII and helped the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk suppress the Lavenham revolt of 1525. Sir William Spring served as a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Suffolk and was knighted by Elizabeth I. A later generation continued this pattern under James I. The Springs were associated with Puritan religious views during the Reformation and early Stuart periods. Their patronage made Cockfield an important local center for Puritan thought and activity. Their political alignment became especially significant in the years before and during the English Civil War. On 11 August 1641, Sir William Spring was created a baronet of Pakenham by Charles I, in part as an attempt to secure the support of Parliamentarian gentry. Despite receiving the title from the Crown, he later recruited for and supported the Parliamentary army and represented Bury St Edmunds and Suffolk. Following the Restoration in 1660, the family received a royal pardon for its role in the Parliamentary cause. The second baronet was associated with the early Whig interest. The baronetcy became dormant when the sixth baronet died in 1769. The family’s history also developed along a major Irish branch. In 1578, Captain Thomas Spring, a descendant of the Suffolk line, was appointed constable of Castlemaine in County Kerry. The Crown granted him more than 3,000 acres in Kerry and other parts of Munster, including Killagha Abbey. The Irish Springs strengthened their position by marrying into Old English Munster families. Political upheaval during the Irish Confederate Wars affected the family’s landholding: Walter Spring, who became involved in the conflict, forfeited much of his property. His descendants later married into the Anglo-Irish Rice family, forming the Spring Rice branch. The Spring Rice family attained a higher political and aristocratic profile. Thomas Spring Rice became Chancellor of the Exchequer and was created Baron Monteagle of Brandon. The family held extensive Irish estates, including thousands of acres in Counties Limerick and Kerry and additional land elsewhere. Later generations included politicians who sat in the House of Lords as Liberals and Conservatives, as well as the diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice, British ambassador to the United States during the First World War. Other descendants entered Irish nationalist politics, the British and Irish civil services, the armed forces and diplomatic service. The family’s modern historical profile is therefore dispersed across Suffolk, Ireland and the wider British political world. Notable descendants include Mary Spring Rice, an Irish nationalist activist; Dick Spring, an Irish politician; Lord Risby, a British politician associated with Suffolk; and several officers who served in the British Army, Irish Guards and Royal Air Force. Physical reminders of the family survive in the monuments at St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Lavenham, the church at Cockfield, Pakenham and sites around Ullswater. The family motto is “Non mihi sed Patriae,” translated as “Not for myself but for my fatherland.”

• 1769

  Baronetcy becomes dormant

  [1]Spring familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Spring baronetcy becomes dormant after the death of the sixth baronet.

• 1660

  Pardon after the Restoration

  [1]Spring familyen.wikipedia.org

  Following the restoration of the monarchy, the family receives a pardon for its support of the Parliamentary side during the Civil War.

• 1641

  Creation of the Spring baronetcy

  [1]Spring familyen.wikipedia.org

  Sir William Spring is created a baronet of Pakenham in the Baronetage of England.

• 1578

  Settlement of the Irish branch

  [1]Spring familyen.wikipedia.org

  Captain Thomas Spring becomes constable of Castlemaine and receives extensive Crown lands in County Kerry and elsewhere in Munster.

• 1525

  Suppression of the Lavenham revolt

  [1]Spring familyen.wikipedia.org

  Sir John Spring assists the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk in suppressing the Lavenham revolt.

• 1474

  Rise of Thomas Spring of Lavenham

  [1]Spring familyen.wikipedia.org

  Thomas Spring, the family’s leading Suffolk cloth merchant, is born approximately during this period and later becomes the first Suffolk Spring to hold public office.

• Earliest recorded association

  [1]Spring familyen.wikipedia.org

  Sir Henry Spring is recorded as lord of a manor in northern England at the settlement later known as Houghton-le-Spring.

Historic Suffolk gentry and merchant family rather than a commercial product brand.

1. 1Spring familyen.wikipedia.org