Thomas Dacre was born in Cumberland, the eldest of nine children. His father Humphrey died of natural causes on 30 May 1485, whereupon, Thomas succeeded him as Baron Dacre of Gilsland. Dacre took part in the Battle of Bosworth on the Yorkist side against Henry Tudor, where the Yorkist king, Richard III of England, was defeated and killed. He however quickly made peace with the victor. This early support for the House of Tudor earned him some favour with Henry Tudor, who would continue to trust his services for the remainder of his reign. King Henry VII named him a Knight of the Bath in 1503. Dacre later swore loyalty to King Henry's son and successor, Henry VIII of England, when he ascended the throne in 1509. , Cumbria. He was named deputy of the Lord Warden of the Marches in 1485, and then Warden of the Western marches, and finally Warden-general over all the marches in 1509. Dacre and his forces served under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey at the Battle of Flodden, where the invading army of King James IV of Scotland was crushingly defeated and its king killed. Dacre had commanded the "Border Lancers" at the battle, and their charge had saved Lord Edmund Howard, commander of the English right wing. King James IV himself had been killed, and the Kingdom of Scotland then ceased its involvement in the War of the League of Cambrai. The victory further helped solidify the reputation of Dacre as a soldier. After the battle, Dacre discovered the body of the Scottish king, informed Thomas Howard, Lord Admiral, and took it to Berwick upon Tweed. He later wrote that the Scots, "love me worst of any Inglisheman living, by reason that I fande the body of the King of Scotts." King Henry VIII named him a Knight of the Garter in 1518, alongside William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys of the Vyne. He was present, with all the other Garter Knights, at the meeting in 1520 between Henry VIII and Francis I of France now known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Dacre died on the borders on 24 October 1525, killed by a fall from his horse, and was buried in his family's mausoleum at Lanercost Priory. By the time of his death, he held about 70,000 acres of land in Cumberland, 30,000 acres in Yorkshire, and 20,000 acres in Northumberland. Much of these lands had been inherited through marriages with the heiresses of the Greystoke, de Multon, and de Vaux families, as well as grants given by both Kings, Henry VII and Henry VIII. Known as "the Builder Dacre", Thomas Dacre built the gateway of Naworth Castle, and placed over it his coat of arms with the Dacre family motto below: Fort en Loialte.
Hon. Humphrey Dacre, married Isabel Martindale, daughter and co-heiress of James Martindale of Newton, Allerdale, Cumberland.
Jane Dacre, wife of Lord Tailboys.
Legacy
His illegitimate son Thomas Dacre, nicknamed "the Bastard", successfully led a few hundred English bordermen against part of the invading force of James V of Scotland on 12 November 1542. His success paved the way for the Scottish defeat at Battle of Solway Moss. This Thomas was rewarded with land grants and from him starts a secondary line of "Dacres of Lanercost". Letters between him and Lady Maud Parr for the marriage of his grandson, Henry le Scrope, to her daughter, Catherine Parr survive. The marriage never happened, but Catherine would go on to become queen consort to King Henry VIII.
