Thomas Bacon (c. 1620 – 1697) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

in 1654 and 1660. Bacon was the son of Nathaniel Bacon of

Friston Friston is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is southeast of Saxmundham, its post town, and northwest of Aldeburgh. The River Alde bounds the village on the south. The surrounding ...

, Suffolk, and his wife Anne Le Gros, daughter of Sir Thomas Le Gros of

Crostwick Crostwick is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is part of the civil parish of Horstead with Stanninghall. Crostwick is located 2.6 miles from Wroxham and 5.2 miles from Norwich. History Crostwick's name is of Viking origi ...

, Norfolk. He was a student of

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

in 1637. He entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in May 1640 and was called to the bar in 1651. In 1654 he 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 ...

(MP) for

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Hou ...

. He was elected MP for

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

, Suffolk in 1660 for the Convention Parliament.P. Watson, 'Bacon, Thomas (c.1620-97), of Friston, Suff. and Wandsworth, Surr.', in B.D. Henning (ed.), ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690'' (from Boydell and Brewer 1983)
History of Parliament Online
By his first wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Brooke of

Cockfield Hall Cockfield Hall in Yoxford in Suffolk, England is a Grade I listed private house standing in of historic parkland, partly dating from the 16th century. Cockfield Hall takes its name from the Cokefeud Family, established there at the beginning ...

, Yoxford, and his wife

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, he was the father of Nathaniel Bacon (1647-1676), the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

n colonist leader of

Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Colony of Virginia, Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon (Virginia colonist), Nathaniel Bacon against List of colonial governors of Virginia, Colon ...

. They also had a daughter. Elizabeth dying in 1649, he married the second time to Martha, daughter of Sir John Reade of

Wrangle, Lincolnshire Wrangle is a village in the Boston Borough of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east from the town of Boston. The population of Wrangle civil parish in 2001 was 1,265, increasing to 1,397 at the 2011 census. Wrangle is ...

(and widow of Edward Empson of

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

), by whom he had another daughter. Making his will in 1695, he had by then removed to

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

, but still held Alderton Hall Farm in Suffolk, with the mill and mill-house, and the advowson of the church of Alderton. These he gave to his granddaughter Mary Bacon, with payments to his grandchildren Nathaniel, Thomas, Mary and Martha Andrew out of the corn tithes of Snape and Friston. Thomas received his library of books, and Mary (Bacon) "my Mother Pearl cabinet, and that therein, which being her Grandmothers is likest to be most valued by her". (This most likely refers to Thomas Bacon's wife Elizabeth Brooke.) Thomas Andrew and Mary Bacon (who married Hugh Chamberlain) were his executors at his probate in 1699.Will of Thomas Bacon of Wandsworth (P.C.C. 1699, Pott quire).

References

1620 births 1697 deaths English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1660 {{17thC-England-MP-stub