Sir Thomas Hesketh of Whitehill (1548–15 October 1605) was an English lawyer and politician. Born the second son of Gabriel Hesketh of Aughton and Jane Halsall, Hesketh was educated at Hart Hall,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and the

University of Cambridge 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 ...

, before entering Grays Inn in 1572. As most of his official appointments appear to have been in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, it is assumed that he practiced law in the courts of the

duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...

. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

for Preston in 1586 and 1589, Lancaster in 1597 and 1604, and

in 1601. Hesketh was knighted in 1603. A landowner in both

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, Hesketh purchased Heslington Hall in Yorkshire around the time he was knighted. A number of

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

scholars, including E.K. Chambers and E. A. J. Honigmann, have suggested that the playwright was well acquainted with Hesketh, during time spent in Lancashire under the alias William Shakeshafte, with Chambers even suggesting that Shakespeare was employed by Hesketh for a time. However, this theory has been disputed by others who argue that Shakeshafte an unrelated writer with a coincidental name. Hesketh's older brother Bartholomew was a noted

recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

, who was questioned by the privy council in 1581 for sheltering the Jesuit

Edmund Campion Edmund Campion, SJ (25 January 15401 December 1581) was an English Jesuit priest and martyr. While conducting an underground ministry in officially Anglican England, Campion was arrested by priest hunters. Convicted of high treason, he was ...

. A younger brother Richard was a cloth merchant with connections to

John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...

, Edward Kelly, and William Stanley, who was executed in 1593 for treason, after attempting to incite Ferdinando Stanley to rebel against

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. Stanley would later claim that the Richard's actions were part of a conspiracy by the family against his rule as

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

, including that Thomas Hesketh had used his official powers to oppose him. Although Thomas Heneage recommended Hesketh's character to William Cecil in response to Stanley's attack, Hesketh was later described as 'very partial' in his judiciary. Hesketh died in 1605, and was interred in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, where a memorial in the north choir aisle bears his image. His widow, Juliana would later remarry the judge Ranulph Crewe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesketh, Thomas 1548 births 1605 deaths Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lancashire Politicians from Preston, Lancashire Politicians from York English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1601