Sir Thomas Roberts, 4th Baronet (2 December 1658 – 20 November 1706) 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 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 ...

between 1691 and 1702. Roberts was the son of Sir Howland Roberts, 3rd Baronet of Glassenbury, Kent and his wife Bridget Jocelyn daughter of Sir Robert Jocelyn of Hyde Hall, Sawbridgeworth. He succeeded his father in 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 ...

in infancy on 30 November 1661. He was educated by private tutor Rev. Thomas Brand who was one of the dissenting divines who found refuge at the house of his mother. He then went to

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

. He was sympathetic to Dissenters and was a commissioner of the inquiry into

recusancy Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

fines in 1688. Also in 1688 he became a Deputy Lieutenant and J.P. Roberts was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for

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 ...

on 16 November 1691 and held the seat until 11 November 1695. He was elected MP for

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 east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

on 17 July 1702 but his election was declared void on 8 December 1702. He contested Maidstone unsuccessfully in 1704. Roberts married Jane Beale, daughter of Sir John Beale, 1st Baronet on 31 May 1683.

References

1658 births 1706 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1702–1705 {{1690-England-MP-stub