John Wingfield
Encyclopedia
Sir John Wingfield was an English soldier.

Life

He was the third son of Richard Wingfield of Wantisden
Wantisden
Wantisden is a small village and civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal district of Suffolk in eastern England. Largely consisting of a single farm and ancient woodland , most of its 30 residents live on the farm estate. It shares a parish council with nearby Levington.-External links:*...

 in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, and Mary, daughter and coheiress of John Hardwick of Derby, and the sister of Bess of Hardwick
Bess of Hardwick
Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1521 – 13 February 1608, known as Bess of Hardwick, was the daughter of John Hardwick, of Derbyshire and Elizabeth Leeke, daughter of Thomas Leeke and Margaret Fox...

. His brother Anthony Wingfield was reader in Greek to Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

.

A volunteer against the Spanish in Holland, he was appointed captain of foot in the expedition there of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...

 in December 1585. Wounded action before Zutphen on 22 September 1586, he was knighted by Leicester. He was one of the twelve knights, friends and relations, who walked at the funeral of Sir Philip Sidney on 16 February 1587.

Returning to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, he was appointed governor of Gertruydenberg. With the assistance furnished him by his brother-in-law, Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby
Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby
thumb|Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de EresbyPeregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby was the son of Catherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, and Richard Bertie. Bertie was Lady Willoughby de Eresby's second husband, the first being Charles Brandon, Duke of...

, he managed to hold out successfully during 1588, and to assist materially in forcing Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...

 to raise the siege of Bergen
Bergen, North Holland
Bergen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its North Sea beaches make it a popular destination for tourists, especially Germans. In 2001, the municipality was expanded to include the former municipalities of Egmond and Schoorl.Since about 1900, Bergen...

 in November. His position, though, suffered from tension between the English auxiliaries and the States-General. The garrison lacked pay, and was mutinous. A rumour arose that he intended to hand over the place to the Spanish, and Maurice of Nassau came with a demand for its surrender. Wingfield denied the imputed treason; but Gertruydenberg was on 10 April 1589 delivered to the Spanish.

Returning to England with his wife and newly born child, Wingfield served as master of the ordnance under Sir John Norris
John Norreys
Sir John Norreys , also frequently spelt John Norris, was an English soldier of a Berkshire family of court gentry, the son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys a lifelong friend of Queen Elizabeth....

 in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

 against the forces of the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...

 in 1591, and the following year he is mentioned as being in charge of the storehouse at Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...

.

In June 1596 he sailed on board the Vanguard, as camp-master with the rank of colonel, in the expedition under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...

 against Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

. After the attack on the Spanish fleet, in which he bore his took part, he was one of the first to enter the town. Sir Francis Vere warned him not to expose himself recklessly without his armour, but he was struck down by a shot in the market-place as the mopping-up was starting. He was buried with military honours in Cadiz, and the following year the queen granted his widow an annuity.

Family

Wingfield married, about 1582, Susan Bertie, countess of Kent
Susan Bertie, countess of Kent
Susan Bertie was the daughter of Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, née Willoughby, by her second husband, Richard Bertie. Susan was the noblewoman memorialized by Lanyer at the beginning of the Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum as the "daughter of the Duchess of Suffolk." At sixteen years of age, she...

, sister of Peregrine Bertie, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, and widow of Reginald Grey, 5th Earl of Kent
Reginald Grey, 5th Earl of Kent
Reginald Grey, 5th Earl of Kent was an English peer.-Biography:He was a son of Henry Grey and Margaret St John...

, by whom he had two sons, Peregrine, born in Holland, presumably named after her brother, and Robert Wingfield.
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