Note 250 — Chapter X · VOYAGES AND PROJECTS OF DISCOVERY UNDER HENRY VIII

The Dictionary of National Biography states: (1) that Nicholas Thorne was the father of Robert, and the participator in Hugh Elyot’s voyage; and (2) that Robert Thorne junior died in 1527 at Seville. The latter statement is evidently due to the fact that the inventory of Thorne’s goods, drawn up by his brother, is calendared in the Letters and Papers under the date 1527. There is nothing in the document itself (R. O., S. P. Hen. VIII, § 40, f. 219) to indicate its date. On the other hand, the will (Vitellius A xvi, f. 209b) distinctly says, ‘Anno 1532 on whitsonday dyed Robart Thorn’. The grant in connexion with the Grammar School on March 2, 1532 (Letters and Papers, v, No. 909), shows that Robert Thorne junior was living at that date, and also speaks of Robert Thorne deceased. The possibility that the Robert Thorne of Seville and the Robert Thorne who died in 1532 were two different men is negatived by a comparison of the inventory with a signed letter (R. O., S. P. Hen. VIII, § 81, f. 151) by Nicholas Thorne. The handwriting of both is identical, showing that the inventory was written by Nicholas, and therefore that it referred to the goods of his brother who, as the will shows, died in 1532.