Portrait of Henry, 1st Baron Norris, of Rycote, three-quarter-length, in a black doublet and cloak with a white ruff collar and a black hat

Sir Henry Norris (?1525-1601) was the son and heir of Henry Norris (d.1536), who was executed and attainted as the alleged lover of Anne Boleyn. King Henry VIII however restored him to much of his father's estate and as a young man he became an attendant in the private chamber of Edward VI. He married Marjorie, daughter of John Williams, who was created Lord Williams of Thame in 1554. In 1555-6 the site and lands of the monastery of Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire, were alienated to Norris and Lord Williams jointly. Williams' death in 1559 gave Norris and his wife possession of the estate and manor-house of Rycote, near Thame, Oxfordshire. Norris and his wife were shown exceptional favour by Queen Elizabeth I. She did not forget the lenience with which she had been treated by Lord Williams when she had been placed in his charge by Queen Mary I, nor did she forget Norris's father whom she believed to have sacrificed his life for her mother, Anne Boleyn. In 1561 Norris was appointed Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and in 1566 the Queen visited him at Rycote, knighting him before her departure. He was later appointed Ambassador to France (1566-70) and Lord Lieutanant of Oxfordshire in 1596. He was succeeded by his grandson Francis.