<sod>[[Nicholas Wadham|Nicholas II Wadham]] (1532-1609), their eldest son and heir, of Merifield and Edge was co-founder with his wife [[Dorothy Wadham]] of the college that bears their name, and was the last male descendant in direct succession of the main line of the Wadhams. He was born in 1532, and according to all accounts was educated at Oxford.<ref>T.G.Jackson,Wadham College Oxford</ref> He is probably the same 'Nicholas Wadham, of Brimpton, Somerset,' who entered himself at the [[Inner Temple]] on March 9, 1552, for although Brimpton never belonged to the Wadhams, Alvington in the same parish did, and the Sydenhams at Brimpton ([[Brympton d'Evercy]]) were close neighbours and related by marriage. A direct ancestor, Richard de Sydenham, had been raised to the bench as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas at the same time as Sir John II Wadham in 1388.<ref>Foss;Judges of England,pp101&108-109</ref> At the age of twenty-three Nicholas married Dorothy, daughter of [[Sir William Petre]], of [[Ingatestone Hall]] and Writtle in Essex, a statesman "who, by carefully trimming his sails to the stormy politics of the age, contrived to retain the confidence and remain a privy councillor of monarchs so diverse as Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth I. For his zeal when acting under Cromwell in the [[suppression of the monasteries]] he was rewarded by a knighthood, a seat in the Privy Council, and a Secretaryship of State, and more substantially by the grant of a great estate in abbey lands amounting to twelve manors and four rectories (in Devon alone, he is thought to have owned over 36,000 acres). On the restoration of the Romish religion by Queen Mary he was uniquely careful to secure his spoils by a  [[Papal Bull]] which he obtained from Paul IV in 1555, professing that he was ready to employ his possessions for spiritual uses. The accession of Elizabeth no doubt relieved him from this obligation, and it does not appear that beyond eight fellowships which he founded at Exeter College in 1566, and some unimportant charities in Essex, any of his wealth was diverted to spiritual or charitable purposes."<ref>T.G.Jackson, Wadham College Oxford;p.7</ref> In 1585 Nicholas Wadham was Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset.<eod>
<sod>[[Nicholas Wadham|Nicholas II Wadham]] (1532-1609), their eldest son and heir, of Merifield and Edge was co-founder with his wife [[Dorothy Wadham]] of the college that bears their name, and was the last male descendant in direct succession of the main line of the Wadhams. He was born in 1532, and according to all accounts was educated at Oxford.<ref>T.G.Jackson,Wadham College Oxford</ref> He is probably the same 'Nicholas Wadham, of Brimpton, Somerset,' who entered himself at the [[Inner Temple]] on March 9, 1552, for although Brimpton never belonged to the Wadhams, Alvington in the same parish did, and the Sydenhams at Brimpton ([[Brympton d'Evercy]]) were close neighbours and related by marriage. A direct ancestor, Richard de Sydenham, had been raised to the bench as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas at the same time as Sir John II Wadham in 1388.<ref>Foss;Judges of England,pp101&108-109</ref> In 1555, at the age of twenty-three at St Botolph's, Aldersgate, Nicholas married Dorothy, daughter of [[Sir William Petre]], of [[Ingatestone Hall]] and Writtle in Essex, a statesman "who, by carefully trimming his sails to the stormy politics of the age, contrived to retain the confidence and remain a privy councillor of monarchs so diverse as Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth I. For his zeal when acting under Cromwell in the [[suppression of the monasteries]] he was rewarded by a knighthood, a seat in the Privy Council, and a Secretaryship of State, and more substantially by the grant of a great estate in abbey lands amounting to twelve manors and four rectories (in Devon alone, he is thought to have owned over 36,000 acres). On the restoration of the Romish religion by Queen Mary he was uniquely careful to secure his spoils by a  [[Papal Bull]] which he obtained from Paul IV in 1555, professing that he was ready to employ his possessions for spiritual uses. The accession of Elizabeth no doubt relieved him from this obligation, and it does not appear that beyond eight fellowships which he founded at Exeter College in 1566, and some unimportant charities in Essex, any of his wealth was diverted to spiritual or charitable purposes."<ref>T.G.Jackson, Wadham College Oxford;p.7</ref> Nicholas and Dorothy seem to have retired early on to lead a country life at Merifield where they lived with Nicholas's father. In 1585 Nicholas Wadham was Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset.<eod>