Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609)

A biography written before 1637 states that Wadham attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford as a commoner, but did not take a degree.

The other letter was to Sir John Talbot of Grafton (1545–1611), who had married Dorothy's sister Katherine Petre, regarding Wadham's work in negotiating a lease.

Wadham was known for his hospitality and he maintained a fine household at Merifield, described by Thomas Fuller (1608–1661) as "an inn at all times, a court at Christmas".

John Carpenter, Rector of Branscombe, dedicated to him his literary work "Contemplations", for the Institution of Children in the Christian Religion (1601), noting his "gentle affability with all persons" and his generosity.

Thomas Moore (1779–1852) described him as "an ancient schismatic", referring to his attendance at Church of England services, and described Wadham as "dying a Catholic".

Wadham had also been saving money to found a college at Oxford, yet his intentions had not been written down and his instructions on his death-bed were contradictory.

Despite this, his wife Dorothy, adding much of her own paternal inheritance,[16] attended to his wishes and, in her old age, oversaw the construction Wadham College, Oxford to its completion.