| Notes |
- Sheriff of Lincolnshire 13 Dec 1389 - 7 Mar 1390.
Knight of the shire for Lincolnshire, Feb 1383, 1386, Feb 1388.
HoP and Richardson's RA concur in giving him a birth date of 2 Feb 1350. But RA, AR8, and VCH Durham give his father birth years ranging from 1334 to 1337, making his father 12 to 15 years old when Sir Walter was conceived. Not impossible, but a red flag.
From the History of Parliament:
"Although he was still in his early thirties when he moved south, Tailboys had already gained some experience of local government in Northumberland. He was, moreover, a seasoned campaigner, having on his own testimony begun the profession of arms at about the age of 19. His military exploits seem to have been confined to the Anglo-Scottish border, which was the scene of protracted hostilities throughout this period. Indeed, in 1380, he was actually taken captive and ransomed by the Scots, King Richard intervening to authorize an exchange of prisoners and the shipment of grain supplies to Scotland as measures towards his release. Tailboys may well have fought in the retinue of the earl of Northumberland, to whom, as we have seen, his mother became connected by marriage. He certainly took part in Richard II's unsuccessful expedition to Scotland in 1385, although by then his involvement in border society had virtually ceased. Within less than two years of his arrival in Lincolnshre, Tailboys was returned by the county electors to Parliament, and soon after that he began serving regularly as a royal commissioner there. His servants were accustomed to the lawlessness of the northern march, and found it less easy to settle down: in 1384, for example, a commission of oyer and terminer was set up to investigate a robbery committed by them on the widowed Lady Roos's estates at Wragby. Even so, their master soon established himself as a leading member of the local community. He was again returned to the House of Commons in 1386, giving evidence during the session on behalf of Richard, Lord Scrope of Bolton, in his celebrated dispute with Sir Robert Grosvenor over their claim to the same coat of arms.
"We do not know if Tailboys was an active supporter of the Lords Appellant, but his return to the Merciless Parliament of 1388 in which they secured the downfall of the court party suggests that he had some sympathy with their cause. This is borne out by his decision to sue out royal letters of pardon in April 1398, when Richard had already punished the chief of his enemies of ten years before. On the other hand, however, the King thought sufficiently well of him to entrust him with the difficult task of settling the civic disturbances which affected Lincoln so seriously in the spring of 1393; and although the problem eventually proved too delicate for a routine commission, it is clear that Tailboys was regarded by the authorities as a man of some consequence. [...]
"He was [...] summoned as a representative for Lincolnshire to the great councils of August 1401 and 1403; and although he performed comparatively few official duties after this date he remained active for several more years. This is evident from a complaint made by the citizens of Lincoln in the spring of 1411, alleging that Tailboys and a retinue of 'about 160 horsemen' had tried to murder Sir Thomas Chaworth in the city, killing two local men and wounding many others in their attempt. He and his brother-in-law, Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, were, moreover, charged with laying ambushes for local wool merchants on their way to the coast and terrorizing the countryside. The severity with which these crimes was viewed may be gauged from the size of the pledges for good behaviour (£3,000) demanded from Tailboys at this time, and the setting up of a commission of oyer and terminer to examine those concerned."
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Note: The Luttrell that was brother-in-law to Walter Tailboys was Andrew Luttrell (1365-1367), husband of Tailboys' sister Joan, not "Geoffrey." HOP is in error here.
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Nielsen Hayden genealogy
1350 - 1417 (67 years)
[3, 4]