Sir Thomas Higgons (c 1624 – 24 November 1691) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1687.

Life

Higgons was the son of Rev. Thomas Higgons, DD, rector of

Westbury, Shropshire Westbury is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. It includes the settlements of Caus Forest, Lake, Marche, Newtown, Stoney Stretton, Vennington, Wallop, Westbury, Whitton, Winsley and Yockleton. It lies west of the town of Shrewsbury, ...

, and his second wife Elizabeth Barker, daughter of Richard Barker of

Haughmond Abbey Haughmond Abbey ( ) is a ruined, medieval, Augustinians, Augustinian monastery a few miles from Shrewsbury, England. It was probably founded in the early 12th century and was closely associated with the FitzAlan family, who became Earls of Arund ...

, Shropshire. His father died in 1636. History of Parliament Online - Higgons, Thomas
/ref> He matriculated at

St Alban Hall, Oxford St Alban Hall, sometimes known as St Alban's Hall or Stubbins, was one of the medieval halls of the University of Oxford, and one of the longest-surviving. It was established in the 13th century, acquired by neighbouring Merton College in the ...

on 27 April 1638, aged 14 and was a student of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1639.'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Hieron-Horridge', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714 (1891), pp. 706–747. Date accessed: 17 June 2012
/ref> He travelled abroad in Italy from about 1643 to 1646 and learned the language well enough to translate an account of Venetian triumphs over the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He lived at

Greywell Greywell is a small village and civil parish in Hampshire, England – a past winner of the Best Kept Village in Hampshire competition and a recent winner of Best Small Village in Hampshire. It lies on the west bank of the River Whitewater, 6 mil ...

, Hampshire after his marriage. In 1659 Higgons was elected

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 of ...

for Malmesbury in the

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a powe ...

. He was elected MP for Windsor for the Cavalier Parliament in 1661. Also in 1661, he was commissioner for assessment for Shropshire to 1663 and commissioner for assessment for Hampshire to 1680. He was knighted on 17 June 1663. Also in 1663, he was commissioner for assessment for Westminster to 1669 and commissioner for assessment for Devon to 1674. He was sub-commissioner for prizes at Newcastle from 1665 to 1667 and a J.P. for Hampshire from 1665 until his death. In 1668 he became Surveyor-general for the

Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...

and was appointed envoy extraordinary to Saxony until 1669. He was envoy extraordinary to Venice from 1674 to 1679. In 1685 he was elected MP for St Germans. He was commissioner for assessment for Hampshire from 1689 to 1690. Higgons died of apoplexy in the Court of King's Bench at the age of about 66 and was buried in Winchester Cathedral.

Family

Higgons married firstly in about 1647, Elizabeth, dowager Countess of Essex, widow of

Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, KB, PC (; 11 January 1591 – 14 September 1646) was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the 17th century. With the start of the Civil War in 1642, he became the first Captain ...

and daughter of Sir William Powlett of

Edington Eddington or Edington may refer to: People *Eddington Varmah, Liberian politician *Eddington (surname), people with the surname Places Australia * Eddington, Victoria United Kingdom * Eddington, Berkshire * Eddington, Cambridge * Ed ...

, Wiltshire. They had two daughters; she died in 1656, being buried on 16 September. He married secondly by licence dated 11 November 1661, Bridget Leach, widow of Simon Leach of Cadleigh, Devon, and daughter of the royalist leader Sir Bevil Grenville of Stow, Cornwall, and had three sons (George,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

and Bevil) and three daughters. She died in 1692.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgons, Thomas 1624 births 1691 deaths Politicians from Shropshire Alumni of St Alban Hall, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple 17th-century English diplomats Italian–English translators 17th-century English translators Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1659 English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1685–1687 Knights Bachelor Burials at Winchester Cathedral