Major General Thomas Savage, 3rd Earl Rivers ( – 14 September 1694) was an English nobleman and soldier. He was the first son of

John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers (25 February 1603 – 10 October 1654) was a wealthy English nobleman, politician and Royalist from Cheshire. Family A member of the Savage family, John was the first son of Thomas Savage, 1st Viscount Savage, and E ...

by his wife Catherine, daughter of

William Parker, 13th Baron Morley William Parker, 13th Baron Morley, 4th Baron Monteagle (15751 July 1622), was an English peer, best known for his role in the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605 Parker was due to attend the opening of Parliament. He was a member of the Hou ...

. His father was closely involved in 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 ...

on the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

side from 1641. Consequently, he lost his castles at Halton and

Rocksavage Rocksavage or Rock Savage was an Elizabethan mansion in Cheshire, England, which served as the primary seat of the Savage family. The house lies in ruins, at in Clifton (now a district of Runcorn). Built in the 1560s for Sir John Savage, Rock ...

and their contents were confiscated. About 1647, he married firstly Elizabeth (b. 1627), illegitimate daughter of

Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton (1 August 1584 – 30 May 1630) was an English nobleman. He was Lord President of the King's Council in the North. Family He was the only child of Thomas Scrope, 10th Baron Sc ...

by his mistress Martha Jeanes. Their children included: Thomas, who married Charlotte, daughter of Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby;

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 ...

, who succeeded as 4th Earl Rivers; Elizabeth; and Annabella. They also had other children who died young. He was widely believed to be a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and during the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...

he was denounced by informers, but the evidence was so flimsy that no charges were ever brought against him. About 1684, he married secondly Arabella, daughter of

Robert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey Robert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey PC FRS (8 November 1630 – 8 May 1701), styled Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1642 to 1666, was an English nobleman. He was the son of Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey and Martha Cokayne. He travelled o ...

. They had no issue. He died at his house in

Great Queen Street Great Queen Street is a street in the West End of central London in England. It is a continuation of Long Acre from Drury Lane to Kingsway. It runs from 1 to 44 along the north side, east to west, and 45 to about 80 along the south side, wes ...

in the Parish of

St Giles in the Fields St Giles in the Fields is the Anglican parish church of the St Giles district of London. The parish stands within the London Borough of Camden and forms part of the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as the c ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. A memorial to him by William Stanton was installed in St Michaels Church, Macclesfield. Documented evidence exists in the form of a pamphlet which details a murder by a Thomas Savage of St Giles in the Fields. It is likely the Thomas in question is the son of the 3rd Earl Rivers, or a family relation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivers, Thomas Savage, 3rd Earl 1620s births 1694 deaths Earls Rivers 17th-century English nobility Savage family