Sir Thomas Dunk (died 1718) was an English ironmonger and benefactor. He was appointed

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

in 1711, and served under

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

Sir Richard Hoare. Dunk lived at Tongs in

Hawkhurst Hawkhurst is village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Nat ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England,

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

, and was from a family of 'great clothiers'. His family's wealth derived from centuries of textile production and diversification into ironmaking.Saint Ronan's School: Tongswood Estate
Tongswood – January 2010 version. Accessed 12 February 2022. The forests of Hawkshurst provided wood for smelting iron from local sandstone. In his will, Dunk endowed for Hawkhurst six

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

s, a school for twenty boys, and a house for a school master. In 1704 Thomas married Cornelia née Palmer (1668–1717), the daughter of Ralph Palmer and Alice née White and sister-in-law to

John Verney, 1st Viscount Fermanagh John Verney, 1st Viscount Fermanagh (5 November 1640 – 23 June 1717), known as Sir John Verney, 2nd Baronet, between 1696 and 1703, was an English peer, merchant and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1710 to 1717. Early life V ...

. There were no surviving children from the marriage. In his will Thomas named William Richards (1690–1733), presumed to be an illegitimate son, as his executor; he left William his estate in Chieveley, Berkshire, on condition that William and his heirs took the name and arms of Dunk. William's daughter Anne née Richards (1726–1753) - by his wife Ann née Davis (1704–1727), eldest daughter of John and Elizabeth Davis of Hawkhurst, Kent - married, in 1741, George Montagu, 2nd Earl of Halifax who took the name Dunk and became

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, (6 October 1716 – 8 June 1771) was a British statesman of the Georgian era. Due to his success in extending commerce in the Americas, he became known as the "father of the colonies". President of th ...

. Lord Halifax conveyed a lease on Tongs wood to Jeremiah Curteis of Rye for one thousand years, for a yearly rent of six pence. Curteis was one of the leaders of the notorious gang of smugglers – The Hawkhurst Gang. Dunk's former manor, known as Tongswood, was eventually purchased in 1945 and placed in trust in 1958 for use by Saint Ronan's School.

References

External links

The Montague Millennium websitePhoto of plaque on Dunk's Alms Houses
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List of Mayors and Sheriffs of London
1718 deaths 18th-century English businesspeople People from Hawkhurst Sheriffs of the City of London Year of birth unknown {{UK-business-bio-stub