Thomas Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh (1595 – 22 February 1672) 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 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 1628 to 1629. He supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and was created a baron in 1643. Leigh was the son of Sir John Leigh and his first wife Ursula Hoddesdon, daughter of Sir Christopher Hoddesdon, of

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is nor ...

, Bedfordshire. George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage Volume 1'' 1900
/ref> He matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, under entry dated 4 November 1608, aged 13.'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Lee-Llewellin', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714 (1891), pp. 892-921. Date accessed: 3 June 2012
/ref> He succeeded to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on the death of his grandfather, Sir Thomas Leigh, 1st Baronet, of

Stoneleigh, Warwickshire Stoneleigh, or Stoneleigh-in-Arden, is a small village in Warwickshire, England, on the River Sowe, situated 4.5 miles (7.25 km) south of Coventry and 5.5 miles (9 km) north of Leamington Spa. The population taken at t ...

on 1 February 1626. In 1628, he was elected member of parliament for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

and sat until 1629 when

King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, S ...

decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. He was Sheriff of Warwickshire from 1636 to 1637. During the Civil War, Leigh showed intrepid loyalty to the king whom he entertained at Stoneleigh when the gates of

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

were shut against him. He was created

Baron Leigh Baron Leigh has been created twice as a hereditary title, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The writer Jane Austen is associated with this dynasty. The first creation came in the Peerage of England ...

of Stoneleigh on 1 July 1643. Leigh died at the age of about 77. Leigh married in about 1615 Mary Egerton, daughter of

Sir Thomas Egerton Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley, (c. 1540 – 15 March 1617), known as Lord Ellesmere or Lord Egert from 1603 to 1616, was an English nobleman, judge and statesman from the Egerton family who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor ...

, who was the son of

Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley, (c. 1540 – 15 March 1617), known as Lord Ellesmere or Lord Egert from 1603 to 1616, was an English Peerage of England, nobleman, judge and Politician, statesman from the Egerton family who served as L ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Venables. Leigh and Mary had at least seven children, five sons and two daughters. Thomas, the eldest son, predeceased his father, and the title passed to the eldest grandson, also named Thomas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Thomas 1595 births 1672 deaths Cavaliers English MPs 1628–1629 1

102 102 may refer to: *102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal E ...

Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford High sheriffs of Warwickshire Sheriffs of Warwickshire People from Warwick District