Sir Thomas Fanshawe KB (1580 – 17 December 1631) was an English government official 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. ...

between 1601 and 1629. Fanshawe was the second son of

Thomas Fanshawe Sir Thomas Fanshawe KB (1580 – 17 December 1631) was an English government official and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1601 and 1629. Fanshawe was the second son of Thomas Fanshawe and first son by his second wife Jo ...

and first son by his second wife Joan Smythe, daughter of

Customer Smythe Thomas Smythe or Smith of London, Ashford and Westenhanger, Kent (1522–7 June 1591). was the collector of customs duties (also known as a "customer") in London during the Tudor period, and a member of parliament for five English constituenc ...

and was baptised on 15 September 1580. His father was

Queen's Remembrancer of the Exchequer The King's Remembrancer (or Queen's Remembrancer) is an ancient judicial post in the legal system of England and Wales. Since the Lord Chancellor no longer sits as a judge, the Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in continual existence ...

.Sybil M. Jack
‘Fanshawe, Sir Thomas (1580–1631)’
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 29 June 2010 He was educated at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

and admitted at 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 1595. He was an auditor for the Duchy of Lancaster.''HMC Laing Manuscripts'', vol. 1 (London, 1914), pp. 107-8. In 1601, he inherited the estate of Jenkins and Barking Manor, Essex, on the death of his father. Also in 1601 Fanshawe 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

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

. He was elected MP for Lancaster in 1604. In 1606 became a barrister. He was re-elected MP for Lancaster in 1614 and 1621. He was knighted by King James in 1624. He was reelected MP for Lancaster in 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. Fanshawe married Anne Babington, daughter of Urias Babington and had three sons, of which only one,

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 Ap ...

, survived him. He was half-brother of Sir Henry Fanshawe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanshawe, Thomas 1580 births 1631 deaths English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple Fanshawe family