Sir Thomas Canon (born 1567) was a Welsh antiquarian and 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 ...

from 1625 to 1629. Canon was the son of John Canon of

Kilgetty Kilgetty (; ) is a village immediately north of Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire, Wales, at the junction of the A477 road, A477 between St. Clears and Pembroke Dock and the A478 road, A478 between Tenby and Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan. Communit ...

. He matriculated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

on 5 February 1585, at the age of 17. He was sometime of

Clifford's Inn Clifford's Inn is the name of both a former Inn of Chancery in London and a present mansion block on the same site. It is located between Fetter Lane and Clifford's Inn Passage (which runs between Fleet Street and Chancery Lane) in the City of ...

and became a student of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1593. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Cabell-Chafe', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 228-254. Date accessed: 26 November 2011
/ref> On 13 April 1603, he was appointed J.P. and of the Quorum, Pembrokeshire. He was described as " a great antiquarian, and a man of learning, enterprize, and fortune". In 1619, he was Surveyor General of Crown lands in Wales in and by deed of partnership dated 12 March 1623 was concerned with his father-in-law in an attempt to work a silver mine at St Elwys, Pembrokeshire. He took great interest in preserving the monumental brasses in St David's Cathedral. On 30 June 1623 he received a knighthood. He was appointed Deputy Constable of Haverfordwest Castle by the Constable Thomas Acton.W R Williams ''The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> In 1625, Canon was elected Member of Parliament for

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest ( , ; ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a Community (Wales), community consisting of 12,042 people, making it the secon ...

. He was re-elected MP for Haverfordwest in 1626. In 1628 he was elected MP for

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. Canon married a daughter of John Voyle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canon, Thomas 1567 births Year of death unknown Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn People from Pembrokeshire English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629