Robert Tyrwhitt

Sir Robert Tyrwhitt (died 1581), of Kettleby in Lincolnshire, was an English landowner, politician and administrator whose adherence to Roman Catholicism later led to imprisonment. Origins Born about 1510, he was the eldest son of Sir William Tyrwhitt (died 1541), of Scotter, MP and Sheriff of Lincolnshire, and his wife Isabel (died 1559), widow of Christopher Kelke and daughter of William Girlington, of Normanby. Among his brothers were two who also became MPs: Marmaduke Tyrwhitt and Tristram Tyrwhitt. He is often confused with Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, his uncle, who not only had the same name and was also an MP but married a woman of the same name (his wife was the other Elizabeth's niece). Life Apart from an initial career at the court of King Henry VIII under the tutelage of his uncle and three spells as an MP at Westminster, he spent his life managing his lands and taking part in the affairs of his county. His marriage to an heiress before 1531 brought him valuable estates and in 1548, his father having died in 1541, he inherited the lands of his grandfather Sir Robert. This made him a substantial landowner and public recognition followed.