Nathaniel Tomkins (baptised 25 October 1584 - 5 July 1643) was a British

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

. He represented Carlisle and

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. Tomkins was born the son of the rector in

Harpole Harpole is a village west of Northampton, England, along the A4500 road (formerly the A45) about east of the M1 Motorway junction 16. The village's name means "filthy pool". Governance Harpole is in the unitary authority area of West North ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and attended Magdalen College, Oxford. He obtained his BA in 1602 and MA three years later. It was in Oxford when he met

Sir John Digby John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol (February 1580 – 21 January 1653),David L. Smith, 'Digby, John, first earl of Bristol (1580–1653)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008. was an E ...

. The latter took notice of him and then made him the tutor of his oldest son. No doubt it was Digby, who had influence at Court, provided Tomkins with a pension of £102 per year in 1613 and the next year during his visit to London Digby arranged Tomkins' return for Carlisle defending the

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's interest. He represented Carlisle in Parliament from 1614 to 1620, when he was replaced by Sir Henry Vane, before being returned for the seat of Christchurch the following year. He briefly represented

Ilchester Ilchester is a village and civil parish, situated on the River Yeo or Ivel, five miles north of Yeovil, in the English county of Somerset. Originally a Roman town, and later a market town, Ilchester has a rich medieval history and was a nota ...

in 1624, before handing the seat over to his brother-in-law,

Edmund Waller Edmund Waller, FRS (3 March 1606 – 21 October 1687) was an English poet and politician who was Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1624 and 1687, and one of the longest serving members of the English House of Commons. S ...

and sitting again for Christchurch. Tomkins was appointed clerk to the duchy of

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( kw, Konsel Kernow) is the unitary authority for Cornwall in the United Kingdom, not including the Isles of Scilly, which has its own unitary council. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition ...

in 1625. But when he returned to the duchy borough of St. Mawes he preferred to sit for Christchurch on 11 July 1625. He continued to represent Christchurch until 1629. In 1628 he served as a clerk to

Queen Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

’s Council. In 1643, Tomkins was implicated in "Waller's Plot", an attempt to force an armed rising against Parliament during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. He was arrested and hanged outside his home on

Fetter Lane Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. It forms part of the A4 road and runs between Fleet Street at its southern end and Holborn. History The street was originally called Faytor or Faiter Lane, then Fe ...

on 5 July 1643, aged 58.

References

1584 births 1643 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 {{England-politician-stub