Thomas Dacre, 6th Baron Dacre

Naworth Castle, seat of the Dacre family

Thomas was the son and heir of William Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre of Gilsland (c. 1357–1399), and Joan Douglas, the illegitimate daughter of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas.[1][2] He was born at Naworth Castle, Cumberland, on 27 October 1387, and baptized the following day in Brampton church.[3][4] Thomas received livery of his father's lands at age 21 on 10 November 1408, and was summoned to parliament from 1 December 1412 as 'Thomas Dacre of Gillesland' (Gisland). He held the office Chief Forrester of Inglewood Forest.[3]

Before his father died on 20 July 1399, Dacre married Philippa Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Margaret Stafford.[3] Dacre became his father-in-law's ward after his father's death, as he was still under age.[5] He died on 5 January 1458[6] and was buried at Lanercost Priory. His wife was still living on 8 July 1453, but predeceased her husband.[3]

Thomas and Philippa had seven sons and two daughters.[7] The eldest son, Thomas, knight, married Elizabeth Bowet, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Bowet, and had two daughters. He was living in 1453 but predeceased his father.[8] The second son, Randolf, was childless, slain at the Battle of Towton in 1461.[9] Humphrey, the third son, married Mabel Parr, daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and by her had issue.[10] The other sons – Ralph, Richard, George, and John – are thought to have died young.[7] The eldest daughter, Joan, married Thomas, Lord Clifford, with issue. The younger, Margaret, married John Scrope (son of John 4th Lord Scrope of Masham), without issue.

After Thomas's death in 1458, his granddaughter Joan (daughter of his eldest son) and her husband Richard Fiennes were recognized as heirs to the barony of Dacre. His second and third sons, Randolf and Humphrey, on the other hand, were each summoned to parliament as lords Dacre, in 1459 and 1482 respectively.[11] His heirs general became known as barons Dacre "of the South", and his heirs male were called barons Dacre "of the North".[12]

• Collins, Arthur (1812). Egerton Brydges (ed.). Collins's Peerage of England. Vol. 6. London.
• Cokayne, G.E.; Gibbs, Vicary & Doubleday, H.A., eds. (1916). The Complete Peerage. Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). London: St. Catherine Press.
• Davies, P.V. (1939). Calendar of Fine Rolls vol 19: Henry VI, 1452–1461. London: Stationery Office.
• Kirby, J.L. (1992). Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Volume 19: Henry V, 1405–1413. London: HMSO. pp. 234–250.
• Richardson, D. (2011). Kimball G. Everingham (ed.). Magna Carta Ancestry. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 978-1-4499-6638-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Storey, R.L. (1957). "The Wardens of the Marches of England towards Scotland, 1377–1489". English Historical Review. 72 (285): 593–615. doi:10.1093/ehr/LXXII.CCLXXXV.593. JSTOR 557957.
• Watson, G.W. (1916), "Dacre (1321–1458)" in Cokayne, Gibbs & Doubleday 1916, pp. 1–8.

• Dunning, R.W. (1968). "Thomas, Lord Dacre and the West March towards Scotland, 1435". Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research. 41 (103): 95–99. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2281.1968.tb01442.x.
• Farrer, William & Brownbill, John, eds. (1914). A History of Lancashire, volume 8. Victoria County History. London: Constable and Company. pp. 120–121, 142.