Sir Thomas Bludder (died 29 September 1655) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

variously between 1621 and 1640. Bludder was the son of Sir Thomas Bludder of Flanchford Reigate, and his wife Mary Herries, the daughter of Christopher Herries, of Shenfield, Margaretting, Essex. His father was a commissioner of the Victualling Office. ''Parishes: Reigate'', A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 (1911), pp. 229-245, accessed 19 February 2011
/ref> He matriculated at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, in 1614 and graduated BA in 1617. He was admitted to 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 Wal ...

in 1616 and was knighted in 1618. In 1621 Bludder 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 Gatton. He was elected Member for

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

in 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628. He sat until 1629, after which King Charles ruled without Parliament for eleven years. From 1627 to 1628 he was Surveyor of the Ordnance, a Crown appointment. In April 1640, Bludder was again elected Member for Reigate 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 was a benefactor of Christ's College. Bludder died in 1655 and was commemorated by a tablet over the vestry door of the church of St Mary Magdalene Reigate. Bludder married three times. His third wife who survived him was Elizabeth Bret daughter of Robert Bret.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bludder, Thomas Year of birth missing 1655 deaths English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April)