Sir Thomas Willys, 1st Baronet ( – 17 November 1701) of

Fen Ditton Fen Ditton is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, on the northeast edge of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 760. The parish covers an area of . Fen Ditton lies on the eas ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, was a Member of Parliament for

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. He was also

Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire This is an ''incomplete'' list of sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in England from 1154 until the abolition of the office in 1965. Exceptionally, the two counties shared a single sheriff. Sheriffs had a one-year term of office, bei ...

Early life

Willys was born about 1612 (baptised 6 September that year), History of Parliament Online - Willys, Sir Thomas
/ref> son and heir of barrister Richard Willys, of Fen Ditton and Horningsey, Cambridgeshire, and Jane, daughter and heiress of William Henmarsh, of Balls, in Ware, Hertfordshire. His younger brother, Sir

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 ...

, was an officer in the Royalist Army during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

but was shunned by the court after the Restoration for working as a double agent for

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 ...

during the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

. Willys inherited his father's estates on 16 October 1628.

Career

Willys was created a baronet, of Fen Ditton, by

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 ...

on 15 December 1641. He was M.P. for Cambridgeshire in 1659 and for

in 1660. History of Parliament Online - Willys, Sir Thomas
/ref> From 1665 to 1666 he was

. He was elected as a Bailiff to the board of the

Bedford Level Corporation The Bedford Level Corporation (or alternatively the Corporation of the Bedford Level) was founded in England in 1663 to manage the draining of the Fens of East Central England. It formalised the legal status of the Company of Adventurers previously ...

in 1694, a position he held until his death. In 1660, Willys was proposed as one of the Knights of the Royal Oak, an intended order of knighthood to be bestowed as a reward to supporters of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

; it was decided instead to institute a day of celebration, as it was thought that the establishment of the new order might stir dispute. The list of prospective knights included the valuation of their property; it was estimated that Willys's Fen Ditton estates were worth £1000 a year.A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, enjoying territorial possessions or high official rank, but uninvested with heritable honours, vol. I, John Burke, published for Henry Colburn by R. Bentley (New Burlington Street), 1834, p. 688

Personal life

Around 1633 Willys married Anne first daughter and coheir of Sir John Wyld, of Mystole and of St. Martin's, Canterbury, Kent, by Anne, daughter of Robert Honywood, of Charing, in that county. She, who was born at her maternal grandfather's house, at Markshall, county Essex, died on 20 October 1685, aged 75. His son and heir, Sir John Willys, 2nd Baronet (c. 1635 – 1704), succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1701.

Death

Willys died on 17 November 1701. His will was dated 13 and prorated on 25 November 1701.

Notes

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willys, Thomas, 1st Baronet 1610s births 1701 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England High sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Year of birth uncertain Place of birth missing People from Fen Ditton English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660