Sir Thomas Cheek, Cheeke or Cheke (died March 1659) 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 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. T ...

in every parliament between 1614 and 1653.

Life

Cheek was the son of Henry Cheke and his wife Frances Radclyffe (daughter of Sir Humphrey Radclyffe of Elstow and sister of Edward Radclyffe, 6th Earl of Sussex), and grandson of Sir

John Cheke Sir John Cheke (or Cheek) (16 June 1514 – 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar and statesman. One of the foremost teachers of his age, and the first Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, he played a great ...

, royal preceptor and classical scholar. He was educated at York where his school fellows included Thomas Morton, afterwards

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

, and

Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated ...

. He lost his father while a minor: he wrote a Greek letter and Latin verses to the Lord Treasurer in 1586 in which he called himself an orphan, and spoke of his father being gone to the joys of heaven. In it he prays his Lordship, that as he was always a help and a sanctuary unto his father, so he would be to him. Cheek was knighted by King James I on 11 May 1603. In 1614, Cheek 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 o ...

for Newport, and was elected MP for Harwich Harwich in 1621. In 1624 he was elected MP for both

Bere Alston Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. History and geography With a population of about 2,000, the village lies in the Bere peninsula, between the river ...

and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, and chose to sit for Essex. He was MP for Bere Alston again in 1625 and was elected MP for Maldon in 1626. In 1628 he was elected MP for

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

where he sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. He was awarded MA from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

in 1629. Cheek was elected MP for Harwich in April 1640 for the Short Parliament and was re-elected for Harwich again in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

in November 1640. He survived at least until

Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...

. Cheek purchased Pirgo Park in

Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

, Essex from the Grey family. He died at "a great age", and was buried on 25 March 1659 in St Alban, Wood Street in the north chapel near his grandfather Sir John Cheke.

Family

Thomas Cheek's first wife was a daughter of Peter Osborne and his wife Anne Blyth. Osborne was a very loyal friend of Cheek's grandfather, and had given him a home in his last months following his release from the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

in 1556. Anne Osborne was the daughter of John Blyth, first Regius Professor of Physick in the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

(1540), who had married Sir John Cheke's sister. Thomas Cheek therefore married his own second cousin: they were married for nearly twenty years, and had a son Anthony in Virginia . Anne Cheek died on 11 February 1615 of sepsis or gangrene after being bled by the queen's surgeon for a minor complaint. He married secondly Lady Essex Rich, third daughter of

Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick Robert Rich, 3rd Baron Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick (December 1559 – 24 March 1619), was an English nobleman, known as Baron Rich between 1581 and 1618, when he was created Earl of Warwick. He was the first husband of Penelope Devereux, whom he d ...

. They had three sons and six daughters. * Robert Cheeke * Thomas Cheeke of Pirgo * Charles Cheeke * Frances Cheeke, married Lancelot Lake. * Essex Cheeke, later Dame Essex Bevil and then Countess of Manchester; she married: **(1) Sir Robert Bevil, KB, **(2)

Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, KG, KB, FRS (16025 May 1671) was an important commander of Parliamentary forces in the First English Civil War, and for a time Oliver Cromwell's superior. Early life He was the eldest son of Henry M ...

(1602-1671), as his third wife, on 30 December 1642. Montagu was previously married to her cousin Lady Anne Rich (d. 1641/2), daughter of

Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick (5 June 158719 April 1658), Lord of the Manor of Hunningham,Hunningham, in A History of the County of Warwick: Vol. 6, Knightlow Hundred, ed. L F Salzman (London, 1951), pp. 117–120. was an English colonial ad ...

. (Lady Anne Rich was Manchester's second wife, and the mother of his heir.) Of their children, ***

Robert Montagu, 3rd Earl of Manchester Robert Montagu, 3rd Earl of Manchester JP (baptised 25 April 1634 – 14 March 1683) was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1671 when he inherited the peerage as Earl of Manchester. Early life Mont ...

(b. 1634) was father of the 1st Duke of Manchester. ***Lady Anne Montagu (d. circa 1689) married her second cousin (as his 2nd wife) Robert Rich, 5th Earl of Warwick, the son of Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland (a younger son of the 1st Earl of Warwick). ***Lady Essex Montagu (died 1677) married

Henry Ingram, 1st Viscount of Irvine Henry Ingram (1640–1666) was the first to hold the title Lord Ingram, and Viscount Irvine, in the Peerage of Scotland, which in English sources is usually written Viscount Irwin. The Viscountcy existed in four generations of his family before ...

(7 June 1661).H.W. Forsyth Harwood, 'Ingram, Viscount Irvine', in J. Balfour Paul, ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland'' (David Douglas, Edinburgh 1908), V (1908)
pp. 9-20, at p. 13
* Anne Cheeke, later Countess of Warwick and then Countess of Clanricarde; she married: **(1) Richard Rogers, **(2)

Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick Robert Rich, 3rd Earl of Warwick (28 June 1611 – 29 May 1659 in London), supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War (his father the 2nd Earl supported the Parliament of England). Biography Robert Rich was the eldest son of Robert Ri ...

(1611-1659), her cousin (as his second wife). They had issue three daughters, who were raised by their uncle Charles Rich, 4th Earl of Warwick (d. 1673) and his second wife Lady Mary Boyle (d. 1678). **(3)

Richard Burke, 8th Earl of Clanricarde Richard Burke, 8th Earl of Clanricarde (; ; died 1709); styled Lord Dunkellin (; ) until 1687; was an Irish peer who served as Custos Rotulorum of Galway. Career Richard was the elder son of William Burke, 7th Earl of Clanricarde and appear ...

. * Isabel Cheeke, later Dame Isabel Gerard; married

Sir Francis Gerard, 2nd Baronet Sir Francis Gerard, 2nd Baronet (12 October 1617 – December 1680) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1641 and 1660. Gerard was the son of Sir Gilbert Gerard, 1st Baronet of Harrow on the Hill and ...

(1617-1680). * Elizabeth Cheeke, married Sir Richard Franklyn, 1st Baronet * Jane Cheek * Lucie Cheeke.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheek, Thomas Year of birth missing 1659 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Bere Alston English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Members of Parliament for Maldon

Life

Family

See also

References