Sir Thomas Windebank, 1st Baronet (born ''c.'' 1612) was Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Wootton Bassett and supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

cause 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 Clerk of the Signet from 1641 until 1645 and again (after the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

) from 1660 to 1674.

Biography

Thomas Windebank born about 1612, the eldest son of Sir Francis Windebank, (later Secretary of State to King Charles I). He was intended to follow in his father's footsteps into the service of

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

. He matriculated from

St. John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, on 13 November 1629, aged 17, but did not graduate. In 1631 his father secured for him the reversion of a clerkship of the signet, and soon afterwards, he entered the service of Thomas Howard the Earl Marshal. In 1635–1636 he was travelling in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. By 1640 he was back in England and was M.P. for Wootton Basset in Wiltshire in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...

. He took up his duties as Clerk of the Signet in 1641. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War, and was created a baronet on 25 November 1645. He compounded on the Oxford articles. cites Cal. ''Comm. for Comp.'' p. 1465. After the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, Windebank was clerk to the signet again from 1660 to 1674.

Family

He was married and left a son Francis, on whose death in 1719 the baronetcy became extinct.

Notes

References

* * * * ; Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Windebanke, Thomas 1610s births Year of death missing Politicians from Wiltshire Baronets in the Baronetage of England Cavaliers English MPs 1640 (April)