Sir Thomas Canon (born 1567) was a Welsh antiquarian and 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. ...

from 1625 to 1629. Canon was the son of

John Canon John Canon (generally referred to as Colonel John Canon) (September 11, 1726 – November 6, 1798) was an American Revolutionary soldier, miller, judge, and businessman, who founded three towns, including Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, which bears his ...

of Kilgetty. He matriculated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

on 5 February 1585, at the age of 17. He was sometime of

Clifford's Inn Clifford's Inn is a former Inn of Chancery in London. It was located between Fetter Lane, Clifford's Inn Passage, leading off Fleet Street and Chancery Lane in the City of London. The Inn was founded in 1344 and refounded 15 June 1668. It was di ...

and became a student of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1593. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Cabell-Chafe', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 228-254. Date accessed: 26 November 2011
/ref> On 13 April 1603, he was appointed J.P. and of the Quorum, Pembrokeshire. He was described as " a great antiquarian, and a man of learning, enterprize, and fortune". In 1619, he was Surveyor General of Crown lands in Wales in and by deed of partnership dated 12 March 1623 was concerned with his father-in-law in an attempt to work a silver mine at St Elwys, Pembrokeshire. He took great interest in preserving the monumental brasses in

St David's Cathedral St Davids Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Tyddewi) is situated in St DavidsBritain's smallest city in the county of Pembrokeshire, near the most westerly point of Wales. Early history The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot ...

. On 30 June 1623 he received a knighthood. He was appointed Deputy Constable of Haverfordwest Castle by the Constable Thomas Acton.W R Williams ''The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> In 1625, Canon 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

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

. He was re-elected MP for Haverfordwest in 1626. In 1628 he was elected MP for

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. Canon married a daughter of John Voyle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canon, Thomas 1567 births Year of death missing Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn People from Pembrokeshire English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629