Thomas Crouch (1607 – August 1679) was an English academic 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 1660 to 1679. Crouch was the son of Thomas Crouch of Letchworth, Hertfordshire and was baptised in St Bartholomew's Church Layston on 18 October 1607.Layston Church
/ref> He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and was admitted as a scholar to

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

on 26 June 1626. He was awarded BA in 1630 and MA in 1633. He was a Fellow of King's College from 1629 to 1650, when he was ejected. In 1643, he was proctor, and held the post again from 1649 to 1650. He migrated to

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

where he resided as Fellow. In 1660, Crouch was elected Member of Parliament for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in the Convention Parliament. he was re-elected in 1661 for the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

and sat until 1679. History of Parliament Online - Crouch, Thomas
/ref> Crouch died at the age of 71 and was buried on 30 August 1679 in

King's College Chapel King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was bu ...

where there is a monument. This reads in Latin

Aperiet Deus tumulos; et educet
Nos de sepulchris.
Qualis eram, dies isthaec cum
Venerit, scies.

(God will open up the graves, and lead us from our sepulchres. What manner of man I was, you will know, when that day comes)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crouch, Thomas 1607 births 1679 deaths Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England for the University of Cambridge Alumni of King's College, Cambridge People educated at Eton College Fellows of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1660