Robert Drury

Sir Robert Drury (1456–1536) was an English knight, Lord of the Manor of Hawstead, Suffolk, and Knight of the Body to Kings Henry VII and Henry VIII. As a politician he was Knight of the Shire for Suffolk, Speaker of the House of Commons (elected 4 October 1495), and Privy Councillor. He was also a barrister-at-law. His London townhouse was on the site of today's Drury Lane. Family Robert Drury, born before 1456 at Hawstead, Suffolk, was the eldest of four sons of Roger Drury (d. 1496) of Hawstead, Suffolk, by his second wife Felice Denston, daughter and heiress of William Denston of Besthorpe, Norfolk. Career With Sir Robert Drury began for this family a long connection with the courts of the Tudor sovereigns, and a succession of capable and eminent men whose careers are part of English history throughout the 16th century. In 1473 he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn, where he became a prominent figure. However, according to Hyde 'there is no evidence, as was once thought, that he was educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge'.