The son of Thomas Hobart and Audrey Hare, and great-grandson of Sir James Hobart of Monks Eleigh, Suffolk, who served as Attorney General during the reign of King Henry VII. He would further this lineal occupation and was admitted to Lincoln's Inn on 10 August 1575, and was later called to the Bar in 1584, and subsequently became governor of Lincoln's Inn in 1591.[citation needed]
He was the stepson of Sir Edward Warner (1511–1565), Lieutenant of the Tower of London, and William Blennerhassett. His mother Audrey (d. 16 July 1581), daughter and heiress of William Hare of Beeston, Norfolk, was married three times. Her first husband was Thomas Hobart of Plumstead[1] (d. 26 March 1560[2]), her second Sir Edward Warner, who been knighted on 18 May 1544,[1] and her third William Blennerhassett. Her epitaph describes all three of them as cousins-german of each other.[2] Audrey's mother was Alice Wayte (1494 – 11 July 1566),[2] the daughter of William Wayte of Tittleshall. As the widow of William Hare of Beeston, Alice married secondly, as his second wife, Robert Rugge, Mayor of Norwich (d. 18 February 1558/9).[3]
His grandmother Alice, who lived until he was six years old, lies buried in the church in Little Plumstead, Norfolk.[2] The daughter Etheldred mentioned in her epitaph is her daughter Audrey. Audrey was a common nickname for Etheldred. There is a tablet in the same church to Audrey, in which she is remembered lovingly by her two sons, Henry and his elder brother Miles.[2]
His father Thomas, who lived until he was not two months old, rests in the same church, his gravestone is in the north chapel, next to Miles Hobart, Esq. and Hellen his wife, daughter and coheir of John Blennerhassett of Frense, Esq.,[2] his parents and Sir Henry's grandparents.
Miles Hobart (d. 1557), Esq., Sir Henry's grandfather, was the second son of Sir James Hobart. By his will, dated 6 August 1557, he appoints to be buried in the chapel on the north side of the church. His will was proven on 22 February 1557. He married Hellen, daughter and coheir of John Blennerhasset of Frense, in Norfolk, Esq. Anne, sister and coheir with Hellen, married Sir Henry Grey, knight, of Bedfordshire.[4]
Miles Hobart, Esq., Sir Henry's brother, was the eldest son and heir of their father Thomas Hobart. He was also a minor at the death of their father. He was living and lord in 1576 and 1595. Margaret, his wife, was a daughter of Sir Thomas Woodhouse, knight, of Waxham, in Norfolk, and the niece of Sir William Woodhouse. His son, Sir Thomas Hobart, married Willoughby Hopton, daughter of Sir Arthur Hopton of Westwood, and Blyburgh in Suffolk. Sir Thomas's son, Miles, succeeded his father. He was knighted at the coronation of King Charles I, and, as Sir Miles Hobart, married Margaret, daughter of Edward Sutton, 5th Dudley. She is buried in the church of St Margaret's, Westminster.[4]
He successfully acquired a fair amount of Norfolk property, including the estates of Intwood in 1596 and Blickling in 1616, where he was buried on 4 January 1626 (new calendar).
Family
On 21 April 1590, he married Dorothy Bell, the daughter of Sir Robert Bell, in Blickling, Norfolk. A letter sent to Dorothy Hobart in 1626 was discovered at Lauderdale House in 1800.[6]
They had twelve sons including John Hobart and four daughters.[7] The following analysis should be regarded as a work in progress as of August 2020:
All four daughters are believed to be identified:
Dorothea or Dorothy [8] 1592–1624 but Lothian Blickling Collection suggests alive in 1635. Investigation ongoing
Philippa [8] Cited as a daughter dates not known but Lothian Blickling Collection suggests alive in 1635
^ ab"Blofield Hundred: Plumstede Parva". An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 7. British History Online. 1807. Retrieved 23 September 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^State trials at the time, before the Law Lords en banc, had two rounds of arguments, one apiece by Solicitor- then Attorney-General.
^Frederick Prickett, History and Antiquities of Highgate (London, 1842), pp. 163–165.
^Dictionary of National Biography ed Sir Leslie Stephen 1921–1922 via ancestry.co.uk