Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586 – 24 February 1667/1668) was the

Lord Mayor of the City of London Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

and a Member of Parliament for the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

from 1654 to 1655 and from 1656 to 1658. Adams was born in 1586, at

Wem Wem may refer to: * HMS ''Wem'' (1919), a WWI Royal Navy minesweeper * Weem, a village in Perthshire, Scotland * Wem, a small town in Shropshire, England * Wem (musician), hip hop musician WEM may stand for: * County Westmeath County Westmeat ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and admitted as a

sizar At Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in retur ...

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1600. He received his BA in 1605–6, and became a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Civic career

In 1640, he was elected as

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, giving up his business, and applying himself to public affairs. He then served as Master of the Drapers' Company, sat as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

on the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

, and was president of

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

, which he probably saved from ruin, by discovering the frauds of a dishonest steward. In 1642 he became Colonel of the Blue Regiment, London Trained Bands. In 1645, he was elected 309th

, showing unusual disinterestedness, declining the financial advantages usually made by the sale of places which become vacant. His loyalty to

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

was so well known that at the start of 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 ...

his house was searched by parliamentary supporters, hoping to find the king there. The next year he was committed to the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, and detained for some time. However, at length he became the oldest alderman upon the bench, and was consequently dignified with the honourable title of father of the city. Sir Thomas sat as an MP for

from 1654 to 1655 and 1656–1658. His affection for the king was such that during the exile of Charles II, he remitted him £10,000.Equivalent to £817,747.40 in 2005 using the retail price index according t
www.measuringworth.com
/ref> On the restoration of the King Sir Thomas, then 74 years of age, was deputed by the city to accompany

General Monck George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (6 December 1608 3 January 1670) was an English military officer and politician who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support ...

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, to accompany the king home. For his services the king knighted him at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

; and soon after the restoration advanced him to the dignity of 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 ...

, on 13 June 1661.

Later life

In his latter years he was afflicted with

kidney stone Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cr ...

s, which hastened his death. After his death a stone was taken from his body, weighing 25 ounces (1.5 lb, or 0.7 kg), which is preserved in a laboratory at Cambridge. He seemed perfectly prepared for death, often saying ''"Solum mihi superest sepulchrum"'' (''"All my business is to fit me for the grave"''). His funeral sermon was preached by Dr. Hardy, at

St Katherine Cree The Guild Church of St Katharine Cree is an Anglican church in the Aldgate ward of the City of London, on the north side of Leadenhall Street near Leadenhall Market. It was founded in 1280. The present building dates from 1628 to 1630. Formerly ...

Church, before his children and many of his relations. He was buried in a barrel vault excavated under the altar of St Mary and St Margaret Church,

Sprowston Sprowston ( or ) is a town and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England. It is bounded by Heartsease to the east, Mousehold Heath and the suburb of New Sprowston to the south, Old Catton to the west, and by the open farmland ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, and a large marble monument was erected above it. His descendants enjoyed the title down to Sir Thomas Adams, the sixth baronet, who died a captain in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1770.

Legacy

Renowned as a public benefactor, in his lifetime Sir Thomas gave his house at Wem as a free-school (

Thomas Adams School Thomas Adams School is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school school and sixth form in Wem, Shropshire, England. It is one of circa 30 UK state boarding schools. The school takes pupils from ages 11–18 and currently has just over 1,3 ...

) to the town, and endowed it; he founded an Arabic professorship at Cambridge in 1643, and paid for the printing of

the Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sense ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, and for sending them into the east. Despite suffering great losses in his estate, he left legacies to the poor of many parishes, to hospitals, and ministers' widows in his will. His title and Sprowston estate passed to his eldest son William (1634–1687). His second son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

is remembered for a collection of verse.

Sources

* Chalmers, Alexander. ''The General Biographical Dictionary: Containing an Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of the most Eminent Persons in Every Nation; Particularly the British and Irish; from the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time''. new ed. rev. and enl. London: Nichols t al. 1812–1817. 32 vols. * Keith Roberts, ''London And Liberty: Ensigns of the London Trained Bands'', Eastwood, Nottinghamshire: Partizan Press, 1987, ISBN 0-946525-16-1.

External links

*
British Civil War Project

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Thomas 1586 births 1660s deaths Year of death uncertain People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sheriffs of the City of London 17th-century lord mayors of London London Trained Bands officers Baronets in the Baronetage of England People from Wem Members of the Parliament of England for the City of London Prisoners in the Tower of London People from Sprowston English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658