Humfrey Tufton, 1st Baronet (1584 – October 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. ...

from 1640 to 1648. Tufton was a son of

John Tufton John Tufton may refer to: *John Tufton (cricketer) (1773–1799), cricketer and MP for Appleby 1796–1799 *Sir John Tufton, 1st Baronet (died 1624), see Earl of Thanet *John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet (1608–1664), English nobleman, supporter of C ...

of Hothfield, and brother of Nicholas Tufton, 1st Earl of Thanet. He purchased The Mote near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

.John Burke, John Bernard Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies''
Accessed 16 December 2022. Humfrey Tufton was involved in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

with Murray of Prince Charles's bedchamber (a brother of Secretary Murray) in March 1625, after having an argument at a stage play. They went to

St George's Fields St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in south London, England. History Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south side of the Thames, which was low-lying marshland unsuitable even for agricultural purposes. There ...

to fight. Tufton noted the presence of Gibson, a Scottish armourer, although they had agreed not to have "seconds" present. Tufton objected and left the field. The events offended Gibson's sense of honour, and he fought with Murray. Both were fatally injured.John S. Brewer, ''The Court of King James the First by Godfrey Goodman'', vol. 1 (London, 1839), pp. 404-405. In November 1640, Tufton 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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

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 ...

. He was created a

baronet 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 ...

, of The Mote in the

County of 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 th ...

, on 24 December 1641. He was excluded from parliament under

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 ...

in 1648. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

for 1654. Tufton died at Bobbing Place at the age of 76.

Family

Tufton married Margaret Morley, daughter of Herbert Morley of Glynde Sussex. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, John. The title became extinct upon the death of the second Baronet in 1685. His daughter Olympia married Sir William Wray of Ashby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tufton, Humfrey 1584 births 1659 deaths English MPs 1640–1648 High Sheriffs of Kent People from Maidstone Place of birth missing Baronets in the Baronetage of England