Thomas Bendish
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Sir Thomas Bendysh, 2nd Baronet (c.1607–1674), served as the English ambassador to the Ottoman sultanate in the mid-17th century.


Life

Son of Sir Thomas Bendish, 1st Baronet of Bower Hall,
Steeple Bumpstead Steeple Bumpstead is a village and civil parish south of Haverhill in Braintree district, Essex, England. The parish church does not have a steeple, however the Congregational Church has a small Victorian one. It is believed that the steeple ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, Bendish the younger enrolled in
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 1626, after earlier studying at
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
. Later in life, he donated fifty books to St John's, of which forty are still kept today.Sir Thomas Bendish's bookplate
/ref> Sir Thomas succeeded to the Baronetcy in 1636. A decade later he was banned from Essex, had his estates seized, and was imprisoned in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
after siding with King Charles I 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 released on 28 September 1644, after paying a 1,000 pound fine, although he remained banned from coming within 20 miles of Essex. Bendysh was appointed on 8 January 1647. On 29 January 1647 the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
confirmed that Sir Thomas was named as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A Royal Commission set up by parliament followed on 1 February. Bendysh received articles with the
Levant Company The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...
from 18 March, set sail and arrived in Constantinople by 26 September. Upon his entrance to Constantinople (now
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
) he was confronted by the previous ambassador, who refused to relinquish his post, and had to be forcibly removed from office. While in office, it is known that Sir Thomas personally saw to
Isaac Barrow Isaac Barrow (October 1630 – 4 May 1677) was an English Christian theologian and mathematician who is generally given credit for his early role in the development of infinitesimal calculus; in particular, for proof of the fundamental theorem ...
. He was imprisoned by the Ottomans at one point due to a commercial dispute with clerics. Bendysh was recalled from his post some time before 1655 but he continued to offer his services without commission.Daniel Goffman, Britons in the Ottoman Empire, 1642-1660 (Seattle & London, 1998), pp. 194-6 He was recalled by Cromwell's Protectorate at 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 ...
on 25 June 1660. However, in light of the changing political situation, he delayed his departure until 11 March 1661. He died at his home in Bower Hall in 1674. He was succeeded by son and heir Sir John Bendish, 3rd Baronet (1630–1707).


Family

Sir Thomas's wife Anne, the daughter of Henry Baker, died before 1661 in Constantinople and was buried at Steeple Bumstead.


See also

*
List of baronetcies in the Baronetage of England A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
: Bendish of Steeple Bumpstead, created 1611, extinct 1717.


Notes


References

*Anderson, James. ''Memorable women of the Puritan times'', Volume 2, Blackie and son, 1862.


Further reading

* Oliver Cromwell's letter to Sultan Han, mention of Bendish * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bendish, Thomas 1607 births 1674 deaths Ambassadors of England to the Ottoman Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of England Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 17th-century English diplomats People from Steeple Bumpstead