Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet, 1585 to 18 September 1644, was an English politician and

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

activist 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 ...

at various times between 1621 and 1644. In the early stages of the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

, he helped establish the

Eastern Association The Eastern Association of counties was an administrative organisation set up by Parliament in the early years of the First English Civil War. Its main function was to finance and support an army which became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian m ...

, one of the most effective elements of the Parliamentarian army.

Family

Thomas Barrington was born in 1585, eldest son of Sir Francis Barrington of

Hatfield Broad Oak Hatfield Broad Oak (also known as Hatfield Regis) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is approximately south-east of Bishop's Stortford. Near the church of St Mary the Virgin is former Benedi ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

(1560-1628) and Joan Cromwell (c.1568-1641), aunt to the future Parliamentarian leaders

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

and

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Roundhead, Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of ...

. One of nine surviving children, he had three brothers;

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

(?-1642), Francis (?-before 1628) and John (?-1631), who died in the Netherlands during the

Eighty Years War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exce ...

. Of his five sisters, Elizabeth was married to Sir William Masham, and Mary to

Sir Gilbert Gerard Sir Gilbert Gerard (died 4 February 1593) was a prominent lawyer, politician, and landowner of the Tudor period. He was returned six times as a member of the English parliament for four different constituencies. He was Attorney-General for more t ...

, Winifred to Sir William Meux. All three of his brothers-in-law were MPs, as were his father and brother Thomas, making the Barrington family part of a network of

activists. In 1611, he married Frances Gobert (died 1623); they had three surviving children, Lucy,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1615-1683) and Gobert (before 1623-c.1695). He married again in 1624, this time to what he considered a good match with Judith Smith (born Lytton). They had no children but it was a happy marriage. His new wife continued to manage her estate from her first marriage and she also took on the management of her second husband's estates even after he inherited further interests in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Wight in 1628. She had a steward but he followed her instructions as she considered herself "the manager of all things". Some say she was bossy. She mitigated the effects of rent on tenants who had financial problems and she demonstrated a good knowledge of trees and especially fruit trees. The

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

began in 1620 and her husband as a member would spend long periods in London. She corresponded with him keeping him abreast of local events and advising him on who might be a good assistant. He died in 1644 and his widow had several disputes with his son, John, long after his death.

Career

Barrington attended

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1601. As legal training was then considered an essential part of education, he studied law at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1602. He was knighted in about 1621, and the same year was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Newtown. He was re-elected for the constituency in 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In 1628, 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 father. Barrington has been identified as part of the so-called "Middle Group" within Parliament, led by Pym until his death in December 1643, then by

Oliver St John Sir Oliver St John (; c. 1598 – 31 December 1673) was an English barrister, judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640-53. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Early life St John was the son o ...

. Unlike the "War" or "Peace" factions, these MPs did not vote consistently, but they were prominent in persuading Parliament to approve the

Solemn League and Covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August ...

, an alliance with the Scots

Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrington, Sir Thomas, 2nd Baronet 1585 births 1644 deaths

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 ...

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

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 Deputy lieutenants of Essex Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Lay members of the Westminster Assembly Roundheads Members of Gray's Inn