Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1 August 1630 – 17 October 1673) was an English statesman who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1660 to 1672 when he was created

Baron Clifford Baron Clifford is a title in the Peerage of England created by writ of summons on 17 February 1628 for Henry Clifford, the heir of Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland. Francis was believed to hold the Barony de Clifford, created in 1299, ...

. He was one of five leading politicians who formed the Cabal ministry between 1668 and 1674 in the reign of Charles II.

Background

Clifford was born in Ugbrooke, the son of Hugh Clifford of

Chudleigh Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England; it is sited between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 5,919 at the 2021 United Kingdo ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, and his wife Mary Chudleigh, daughter of

Sir George Chudleigh, 1st Baronet Sir George Chudleigh, 1st Baronet (c. 1578 – 15 January 1658), of Manor of Ashton, Ashton, Devon, was an English landowner and politician, who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1625. He ...

. He was baptised on 4 August 1630 at Ugbrooke. He matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

in 1647 and entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1648.History of Parliament Online- Thomas Clifford
/ref> His aunt, Sabina Clifford, married Matthew Hals (or (Halse) of Kenendon. Their daughter, Anne, married Rev John Tindal and was the mother of Dr Matthew Tindal, the eminent deist and author of ''Christianity as Old as the Creation''.

Political and public life

In April 1660, Clifford was elected Member of Parliament for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

in the Convention Parliament. He was re-elected MP for Totnes in 1661 for the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

. He distinguished himself in naval battles, and was knighted. During the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

, Clifford served as one of four Commissioners for taking Care of Sick and Wounded Seamen and for the Care and Treatment of Prisoners of War (the others were Sir William D'Oyly,

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

and Bullen Reymes). In August 1665, Clifford was named Ambassador Extraordinary to Sweden; he traveled to Denmark in October, before returning to Britain the following February. He became

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of ...

in 1666 and a member of the Privy Council. At the end of the Dutch war in 1669 he intrigued against the peace treaty, preferring the French interests."Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh", National Portrait Gallery
/ref> He was one of the five Counsellors who formed the

Cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state (polity), state, or another community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue, intrigue and usually without the kn ...

, each of whom pursued their own interests. Clifford was known as 'the Bribe Master General'. King Charles II entrusted for safekeeping to Clifford, his favorite aide, the British state papers of the 1670

Treaty of Dover The Treaty of Dover, also known as the Secret Treaty of Dover, was an agreement between Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England signed at Dover on 1 June 1670. Officially, it only committed England to provide France with general diplomatic ...

, which "led to war between England and the Netherlands and might have ended British parliamentary rule and the Church of England". Clifford was created the first Baron Clifford of Chudleigh on 22 April 1672 for his suggestion that the King supply himself with money by stopping, for one year, all payments out of the Exchequer. He was

Lord High Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...

from 28 November 1672 to June 1673, when, as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, he found himself unable to comply with the

Test Act The Test Acts were a series of penal laws originating in Restoration England, passed by the Parliament of England, that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Catholics and nonconformist Prote ...

and resigned. He died possibly by his own hand (perhaps "strangled with his

cravat Cravat, cravate or cravats may refer to: * Cravat (early), forerunner neckband of the modern necktie * Cravat, British name for what in American English is called an ascot tie * Cravat bandage, a triangular bandage * Cravat (horse) (1935–1954) ...

t upon the bed-tester") a few months after his retirement.

Marriage and children

He married Elizabeth Martin, who died in 1709. She was the daughter of Richard (William) Martin of

Lindridge House Lindridge House was a large 17th-century mansion (with 20th-century alterations), one of the finest in the south-westBeckett situated about 1 mile south of Ideford in the parish of Bishopsteignton, Devon, about 4 1/2 miles NE of Newton Abbot ...

, Devon. *They had fifteen children, eight of which were daughters: #Elizabeth, born before 1655, died as infant. #Elizabeth, born 1655, died 1677, married in 1673 Henry Carew, 2nd Baronet Carew of Haccombe. They had no issue (?). #Mary, born 1658, died 9 October 1715, married in 1673 Sir Simon Leach of Cadeleigh. They had no issue (?). #Amy, born 1661, died 1693, married in October 1681 John Courtenay (d.1724) of

Molland Molland is a small village, civil parish, dual Civil parishes in England, ecclesiastical parish with Knowstone, located in the foothills of Exmoor in Devon, England. It lies within the North Devon local government district. At the time of the ...

, Devon. They had numerous issue, as the mural monument in Molland Church attests. No male grandsons resulted and Molland descended via their daughter Mary who married William Paston of Horton Court, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire. #Anne, born 1662, died 1678. #Rhoda, born 1665, died 1689. #Isabel Clifford, born between 1665 and 1669, died as infant. #Catherine Clifford, born 1670, died 1708. And their sons were: #Thomas, born before 1652, died as infant. #Thomas, born before 1652, died as infant. #Thomas, born on 3 December 1652, died in 1671 in Florence, Italy. #George, born between 1653 and 1662, died as infant # Hugh, 2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1663–1730) #Simon, born 1666, died ?, acceded in 1686. #Charles, born 1671, baptized on 24 June 1671, died on 4 July 1691, buried in Ugbrooke.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford Of Chudleigh, Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford, Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford, Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford, Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford, Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Totnes English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 Peers of England created by Charles II Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism English Roman Catholics Suicides by hanging in England British politicians who died by suicide British military personnel who died by suicide Treasurers of the Household 1

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

People of the Second Anglo-Dutch War