Thomas Thynne (died 1639)

Sir Thomas Thynne (c.1578–1639), of Longleat, Wiltshire, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1629. His romance with the daughter of his family's enemies may have inspired Shakespeare to pen Romeo and Juliet.

For other men of the same name, see Thomas Thynne (disambiguation).

Longleat in the 17th century

Life

Thynne was the son and heir of Sir John Thynne of Longleat, a knight of the shire,[1] and Joan Hayward, daughter of Sir Rowland Hayward, a Lord Mayor of London.

Thynne first made his mark in May 1594, at the age of sixteen, when he clandestinely married Maria (or Mary) Touchet, also sixteen, a gentlewoman at the court of Queen Elizabeth and a daughter of Lord Audley. The two were married on the day they first met[2] and for some time kept their marriage secret because their fathers were bitterly opposed to each other,[3] continuing a feud which had begun in the previous generation. When their story became known, Thynne's parents and Joan Thynne in particular, tried unsuccessfully to have the marriage annulled. These events are speculated to have provided the impetus the next year for Shakespeare to produce the play Romeo and Juliet, based on an earlier Italian story that begins with a similar clandestine marriage between feuding families.[4] With Maria, Thynne had three sons, before his wife died in childbirth. Two of these sons survived childhood, James Thynne (died 1670) and Sir Thomas Thynne.[5][6] Thomas's mother did not forgive him for his marriage and she took out a court case on behalf of her daughters against Thomas.[7]

Maria's surviving correspondence between 1595 and 1611 was published by the Wiltshire Record Society in 1983 under the title Two Elizabethan Women: correspondence of Joan and Maria Thynne.[6] After the death of Maria in 1611, Thynne married secondly Catherine Howard, a daughter of Hon. Charles Howard, son of the first Viscount Howard and niece of Lord Howard of Bindon. With her he had further sons, including Sir Henry Frederick Thynne, 1st Baronet (1615–1680), ancestor of the Marquesses of Bath.[5]

In 1601 Thynne was elected Member of Parliament for Hindon. He was re-elected MP for Hindon in 1604. In the same year, he succeeded his father to the family estates and on his father's death, he had himself returned at a by-election for the county of Wiltshire. However, this election was disallowed by the Commons on the grounds that a sitting member was not eligible to be returned for a second constituency. Thynne was High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 1607–08.[8] In 1621 he was elected MP for Heytesbury and was re-elected MP for Heytesbury in 1624. He was elected MP for Hindon again in 1625 and was re-elected MP for Hindon in 1626 and 1628.

Among the estates Thynne inherited was one at Kempsford in Gloucestershire, where he built a new country house, demolishing an important fortified manor house which since the 13th century had defended a crossing of the River Thames.[9]

Thynne died on 1 August 1639.

Notes
  1. 'Parliamentary history : 1529–1629', in A History of the County of Wiltshire, vol. 5 (1957), pp. 111–132, accessed 7 July 2011
  2. David Booy, Personal disclosures: an anthology of self-writings from the seventeenth century (2002), p. 41: "Maria Touchet (c. 1578–1611), the daughter of Lord Audley, married Thomas Thynne, the heir to Longleat, on the day she first met him, 16 May 1594. They were both 16."
  3. Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004), "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. ref:odnb/64887, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64887, retrieved 3 January 2023
  4. Cathy Hartley (15 April 2013). A Historical Dictionary of British Women. Routledge. p. 428. ISBN 978-1-135-35533-3.
  5. Charles Mosley, ed., Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition (Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), vol. 1, p. 212
  6. Alison D. Wall, ed., Two Elizabethan Women: correspondence of Joan and Maria Thynne, 1575–1611 (Wiltshire Record Society, vol. 38, 1983)
  7. "Thynne [née Hayward], Joan, Lady Thynne (bap. 1558, d. 1612), gentlewoman". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64886. Retrieved 7 December 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. Richard K. Evans, The Ancestry of Diana, Princess of Wales, for twelve generations (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007): "Nr. 4152: Sir Thomas Thynne, M.P. 1601, 1604, 1621, 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628, Sheriff of Wiltshire 1607–8, etc, born ca. 1578 and died 1 August 1639."
  9. Anthony Emery, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England, p. 132
  10. Burke, Sir Bernard, (1938 ed) Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Shaw, London. p. 243
  11. Woodfall, H. (1768). The Peerage of England; Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the Peers of that Kingdom Etc. Fourth Edition, Carefully Corrected, and Continued to the Present Time, Volume 6. p. 258.
  12. Lee, Sidney; Edwards, A. S. G. (revised) (2004). "Thynne, William (d. 1546)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27426. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  13. Girouard, Mark, Thynne, Sir John (1515–1580), estate manager and builder of Longleat in Oxford Dictionary of Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004)
  14. Booth, Muriel. "Thynne, John (?1550–1604), of Longleat, Wilts". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  15. Lancaster, Henry; Thrush, Andrew. "Thynne, Charles (c.1568–1652), of Cheddar, Som". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  16. Pugh, R. B.; Crittall, Elizabeth, eds. (1957). "Parliamentary history: 1529–1629". A History of the County of Wiltshire. Vol. 5. London: Victoria County History – via British History Online.
  17. Ferris, John P. "Thynne, Sir James (c.1605-70), of Longbridge Deverill, Wilts". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  18. Helms, M. W.; Ferris, John P. "Thynne, Sir Thomas (c.1610–c.69), of Richmond, Surr". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  19. Marshall, Alan (2008) [2004]. "Thynne, Thomas [nicknamed Tom of Ten Thousand] (1647/8–1682)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27423. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  20. Heath-Caldwell, J. J. "Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, 3rd Viscount Weymouth". JJ Heath-Caldwell. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  21. Hayton, D. W. "Thynne, Hon. Henry (1675-1708)". The History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  22. Dunaway, Stewart (2013). Lord John Carteret, Earl Granville: His Life History and the Granville Grants. Lulu. p. 33. ISBN 9781300878070.
  23. "Bath, Thomas Thynne". Encyclopedia Britannica 1911. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  24. Thorne, Roland. "Carteret [formerly Thynne], Henry Frederick". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  25. "Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (1765–1837)". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  26. Escott, Margaret. "Thynne, Lord Henry Frederick (1797-1837), of 6 Grovesnor Square, Mdx". History of Parliament. The History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  27. "John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831-1896), Diplomat and landowner". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
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