Nathaniel Tomkins (baptised 25 October 1584 – 5 July 1643) was an English Member of Parliament. He represented

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. Tomkins was born the son of the rector in Harpole,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

and attended

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. He obtained his BA in 1602 and MA three years later. It was in Oxford where he met Sir John Digby. The latter took notice of him and then appointed him as the tutor of his oldest son. Undoubtedly, it was Digby, who had influence at Court, who provided Tomkins with a pension of £102 per year in 1613. The following year, during his visit to London, Digby arranged for Tomkins' return to Carlisle to defend the

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

's interest. He represented Carlisle in Parliament from 1614 to 1620, when he was replaced by Sir Henry Vane, before being returned for the seat of Christchurch the following year. He briefly represented Ilchester in 1624 before handing the seat over to his brother-in-law,

Edmund Waller Edmund Waller, 3 March 1606 to 21 October 1687, was a poet and politician from Buckinghamshire. He sat as MP for various constituencies between 1624 and 1687, and was one of the longest serving members of the English House of Commons. Althoug ...

and resuming his position in Christchurch. Tomkins was appointed clerk to the duchy of

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( ), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (), is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary ...

in 1625. However, when he returned to the duchy borough of St. Mawes, he chose to sit for Christchurch on 11 July 1625. He continued to represent Christchurch until 1629. In 1628 he served as a clerk to Queen Henrietta Maria’s Council. In 1643, Tomkins was implicated in "Waller's Plot", an attempt to force an armed rising against Parliament during 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 ...

. He was arrested and hanged outside his home on

Fetter Lane Fetter Lane is a street in the ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London, England. It forms part of the A4 road (England), A4 road and runs between Fleet Street at its southern end and Holborn. History The street was originally called F ...

on 5 July 1643, aged 58.

References

1584 births 1643 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 {{1628-England-MP-stub