John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet (15 December 1608 – 7 May 1664) was an English nobleman and supporter of
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649.
Charles was born ...
. He was the eldest son of
Nicholas Tufton, 1st Earl of Thanet, and Lady Frances Cecil, granddaughter of
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State (1550–1553 and ...
.
Career
Thanet was a staunch
Cavalier
The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...
, taking part in the
Battle of Edge Hill and in 1642 he led a regiment of 100 horse to try to raise a rebellion in
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, taking part in the
Capture of Chichester, the
Battle of Muster Green, and the
Siege of Chichester in support of
Sir William Brockman in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. However, Brockman's revolt quickly collapsed, and Thanet was forced to surrender. He suffered considerably from confiscations and sequestrations of his large estates during 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 ...
.
Among his properties was
Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle () is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III of England, Edward III, with the permission of Richard II of England, R ...
, purchased from the
Levett
Levett is a surname of Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories.
Origins
This surname comes from the village of ...
family in 1639, which Thanet sold for £6,000 in 1644.
Personal life
On 21 April 1629, he married Lady Margaret Sackville (1614–1676), daughter of
Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset and
Lady Anne Clifford
Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, ''suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became ''suo jure'' ...
. They had eleven children:
*
Nicholas Tufton, 3rd Earl of Thanet (1631–1679). no issue
* Lady Margaret Tufton (b. 1636), who married
George Coventry, 3rd Baron Coventry on 18 July 1653.
[Jessica L. Malay, ''Anne Clifford's Autobiographical Writing, 1590-1676'' (Manchester, 2018), p. 129.]
*
John Tufton, 4th Earl of Thanet (1638–1680), unmarried.
*
Richard Tufton, 5th Earl of Thanet (1640–1684), unmarried.
*
Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet (1644–1729), married Catherine Cavendish, daughter of
2nd Duke of Newcastle, had many issues including
Margaret, Countess of Leicester, who oversaw decorating of
Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century English country house, country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation), Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of ...
.
* Col.
Sackville Tufton (–1721), had
Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet.
* Lady Anne Tufton, who died young.
* Lady Frances Tufton, who married Henry Drax, son of Sir
James Drax, died without issue.
* Lady Cicely Tufton (1648–1672), who married
Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton on 12 February 1667. Had issue
Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham.
* Lady Mary Tufton (d. 1674), who married
Sir William Walter, 2nd Baronet (d. 1693).
* Lady Anne Tufton, who married
Sir Samuel Grimston, 3rd Baronet
Curiously, he was succeeded as
Earl of Thanet
Earl of the Isle of Thanet, in practice shortened to Earl of Thanet, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Nicholas Tufton, 1st Earl of Thanet, Nicholas Tufton, 1st Baron Tufton. He had already succeeded as second Baron ...
by four of his sons in succession, the first three having no issue.
Arms
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
External links
Tufton genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thanet, John Tufton, 2nd Earl of
1608 births
1664 deaths
Earls of Thanet
Cavaliers
17th-century English nobility