Sir Thomas Hewett, 1st Baronet (1605 – 4 August 1662) was an English landowner of the Civil War period, who briefly sat in Parliament for

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. He made his home at Pishiobury, which he bought in 1635. Hewett was baptized on 6 October 1605, the eldest son of Sir William Hewett and his wife Elizabeth Wiseman. His father had prospered in business in London and arranged a comprehensive education for Thomas, who attended the Merchant Taylors' School from 1611 to 1612, the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1618,

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

from 1619 to 1622, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1622. Thomas traveled abroad from 1625 to 1628, when his father's interest as keeper of Windsor Little Park secured him a seat at

. He left no particular mark on that turbulent Parliament which produced the

Petition of Right The Petition of Right, passed on 7 June 1628, is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. It was part of a wider ...

. On 14 May 1629, he married Frances Hobart (daughter of Sir Henry Hobart of

Blickling Hall Blickling Hall is a Jacobean stately home situated in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure, near the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England. The mansion was built on the ruins of a Tudor building for Sir Henry ...

), who died three years later in May 1632 leaving one daughter. He married again, in about 1633, to Margaret (d. 1 August 1689), the daughter of Sir William Lytton and widow of Thomas Hilldersden. They had five sons and eight daughters, of whom one son,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

, and six daughters survived him. These included Elizabeth, wife of Sir Richard Anderson, 2nd Baronet, Arabella, wife of Sir William Wiseman, 2nd Baronet, Margaret, wife of Sir Edward Farmer, Mary, wife of Sir Charles Crofts Read, Anne, wife of Sir John Rivers, 3rd Baronet, and Jane, wife of Charles Staples. In 1635, he purchased the manor of

Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping. It is the northernmost part of the Greater London Built-up Area. History Prior to the Norman ...

(Sayesbury and Pishobury) from

Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575 – 6 August 1645) was an English merchant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Cranfield. Life He was the second son ...

, Arthur Brett, and Nicholas Harman for £16,500. He succeeded to his father's estate in 1637, and in the same year became a trustee for Lady Elizabeth, widow of Sir Robert Bevill (d. 1634). In November 1638, he was pricked as

Sheriff of Hertfordshire The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provis ...

the next year, experiencing difficulty in levying

ship money Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs co ...

. Hewett was knighted on 10 July 1641 and named a commissioner for the subsidy in Hertfordshire that year. In 1642, he was named to the commission of assessment for the county, and made a

commissioner of array A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military ...

and justice of the peace, sitting on the Hertfordshire Bench until about 1650. Hewett took little part in 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 named a commissioner of militia in 1648, and held local offices under Parliament, as a commissioner of assessment for Westminster in 1652 and Hertfordshire from 1657 to 1661. He did not interfere with the persecution of Quakers around

under the Commonwealth. Upon the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...

, he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

on 19 July 1660, served as commissioner of militia for the county, and was chosen sheriff of Hertfordshire again in November. Hewett died on 4 August 1662 and was buried at Sawbridgeworth, leaving a portion of £13,000 for his five unmarried daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewett, Thomas 1605 births 1662 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of England High Sheriffs of Hertfordshire Knights Bachelor People educated at Eton College English MPs 1628–1629