Thomas Spring I (died 1440) is regarded to be the first member of the Spring family to have held any position of influence in Lavenham since Anglo-Saxon times. He is known for having started the Spring family cloth business in Lavenham during the early 1400s, which quickly expanded to become one of the major textiles businesses in East Anglia. His wife was called Agnes and together they had three children - Thomas, Katherine and William. The eldest of these, Thomas, took on the family business upon his father’s death.
From Thomas’ will, we learn that he had a tenement in the neighbouring village of Preston, and also a tenement in Masterjohn Street in Lavenham. He is buried in Lavenham in the Church of St Peter and St Paul, where the parclose screen in the north aisle is to the Spring's chantry. In her book on the Spring family, McClenaghan regards Thomas I as the 'father of the Spring dynasty.'
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