Sir Francis Tanfield (born c. 1565, date of death unknown) was

Proprietary governor Proprietary colonies were a type of colony in English America which existed during the early modern period. In English overseas possessions established from the 17th century onwards, all land in the colonies belonged to the Crown, which held ul ...

of the

South Falkland South Falkland was an English colony in Newfoundland established by Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland, in 1623 on territory in the Avalon Peninsula including the former colony of Renews. Cary appointed Sir Francis Tanfield, his wife's cousin ...

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

(in present-day

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, Canada) of

Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland, KB, PC (c. 1575 – September 1633) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1601 to 1622. He was created Viscount Falkland in the Scottish peerage in 1620. He was Lord D ...

, his cousin's husband. Tanfield was to establish a

at Renews and left

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1623 with an unknown number of colonists. The settlers were harassed by migratory fishermen who used the harbour. He was the leader of the colony of South Falkland from 1623 to 1625. The colony was still in existence in 1626 when it was visited by Sir Richard Whitbourne but the settlers likely returned to England shortly afterwards. By 1630, Tanfield was back in England about to embark to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

on a mission for King Charles I. The most probable identification of Tanfield is that he was the son of Clement Tanfield and his wife, Anne, of

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 ...

, born 1565. He was knighted in July 1603 and, in September, accompanied the new ambassador, Lord Spencer, to the court of the Duke of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

, who was duke over what is now part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

External links

Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1560s births Governors of Newfoundland Colony Year of death missing People from Gayton, Northamptonshire 17th-century English knights 17th-century Canadian politicians People from Renews-Cappahayden Newfoundland Colony people {{newfoundland-bio-stub