Tanfield Vachell (1602–1658) 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 1645 and 1653. Vachell was the son of John Vachell of

Warfield Warfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest district, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. In 2021 it had a population of 11,260. History Warfield was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement and is recorded in the Do ...

and his wife Mary Vincent, daughter of Clement Vincent of

Peckleton Peckleton is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Kirkby Mallory, Peckleton and Stapleton, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

. He was baptised in

Gayton, Northamptonshire Gayton is a rural village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, south-west of Northampton town centre. The village is situated on a hill close to the larger villages of Bugbrooke, Milton Malsor and Blisworth, with a linked Rights ...

on 27 December 1602. He was educated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, taking BA in 1622.David Nash Ford's Royal Berkshire History
/ref> His uncle, Sir Thomas Vachell of

Coley Park Coley Park is a Suburban village to the south of the town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading in the England, English county of Berkshire. It is largely built on the country estate of the same name, surrounding Coley House. It is primarily a resident ...

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

, who had married three times and had no issue, wanted someone of his name and blood to inherit the Vachell estates which had become concentrated upon him. Vachell was therefore persuaded to marry and after the uncle's death in 1638, Vachell inherited the estates. He was

High Sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff#United King ...

in 1641. Vachell was also influenced by his uncle's widow, Lady Letitia (née Knollys) Vachell who married

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 ...

, and supported the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

cause during the Civil War. Lady Vachell carried on living at Coley Park, whilst Tanfield rented the Reading home of her grandfather at Abbey House. On 1 November 1642, the King gave instructions for Vachell to escort him through the county, but as this had previously been an excuse to disband local militia, Vachell refused to obey. In 1645, Vachell was elected Member of Parliament for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in a disputed election to 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 ...

. Vachell was more concerned with arts than politics and built a collection of rare pictures, books and curios. His portrait was painted by

Sir Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 30 November 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. He became a naturalised British subject and was kn ...

. In around 1651, he restored Coley Park.Coley Park and Beyond
/ref> Vachell died at Reading in May 1658 and was buried in St Mary's Church in Reading on 1 June 1658. Vachell married firstly Anne Cox, daughter of Richard Cox, an alderman of London. She died childless in 1651 and was buried in the chancel of St. Mary Woolnoth in London. In 1652, he married Rebecca Leman, daughter of

Sir William Leman, 1st Baronet Sir William Leman, 1st Baronet (died 1667) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1645 and 1660. Leman was the son of William Leman of Beccles and his wife Alice. He was a woollen draper and a member ...

, Parliament's Treasurer of War. She survived him, but he had no issue by either wife. Vachell left his "several paintings and books of print, iscollection of medals in gold, silver and brass; all isware, turnings of ivory and guyacombe with ispresse of bookes and ischest of drawers with the perspective in it, to his wife for life, and failing issue to the son of his kinsman, Thomas." A codicil executed in his last illness, resulted in about fifteen years' litigation between his widow and his heir. After the Lord Chief Justice, the Lord Chief Baron and various civilians became involved, the case was eventually decided in favour of his heir. It is still a leading case — Vachell v. Leman.Great Britain. Court of Chancery ''Causes argued and decreed in the High court of chancery 1600 1697, Volumes 1-3''
/ref> The Coley estate passed, upon his death to Thomas Vatchell, the son of his kinsman Thomas who had refused his uncle's request to marry. The suburb of Coley Park was built largely on the lands of the estate.

References

External links

Portrait of Vachell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vachell, Tanfield 1602 births 1658 deaths Politicians from Reading, Berkshire People from Gayton, Northamptonshire Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Reading Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford High sheriffs of Berkshire Roundheads English MPs 1640–1648