Sir Thomas Hewet or Hewett FRS (9 September c. 1656/1658 – 9 April 1726) was an English architect, surveyor and landowner.

Life

Origins and education

Thomas was the son of William Hewet of

Shireoaks Hall Shireoaks Hall is a grade II* listed 17th-century country house in the hamlet of Shireoaks, north-west of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England. The modestly sized house was originally built for Thomas Hewett, probably by John Smythson (son of R ...

, Nottinghamshire, and his wife Mary, second daughter of Sir Richard Prynce the younger (1598–1665) of

Abbey Foregate The Abbey Church of the Holy Cross (commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey) is an ancient foundation in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The Abbey was founded in 1083 as a Benedictine monastery by the Normans, Norman Earl of Shre ...

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

. William, his father, died at about the same time as his grandfather, Sir Thomas Hewett of Shireoaks Hall, who died in 1660. Thomas, therefore, became the heir to his father's estate, including Shireoaks, at four years of age, but had to await his full majority before coming into possession of it. Meanwhile, he was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, matriculating in 1676 and studying for about four years. Next, he became an officer of the

Yeomen of the Guard The King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a Sovereign's Bodyguard, bodyguard of the British monarch. The List of oldest military units and formations in continuous operation, oldest British military corps still in existence, it was ...

to King Charles II, and after a term of service he spent about five years travelling on the continent of Europe, visiting France, Holland, Switzerland, Germany and Italy.

Marriage

In Geneva in 1689 he married Frances, daughter of Richard Betenson (1602–1679) of Scadbury (near

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...

) in Kent by Albinia Wray, daughter and coheir of Sir

Christopher Wray (MP) Sir Christopher Wray (1601 – 6 February 1646) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1646. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Life Wray was the son of Sir Willi ...

and Albinia Cecil, daughter of

Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon (29 February 1572 – 16 November 1638) was an English military commander and a politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1624. Life Cecil was the third son of Thomas Ceci ...

. Frances Wray, aunt of Mrs Hewett, was the widow of Sir

Henry Vane the Younger Sir Henry Vane (baptised 26 March 161314 June 1662), often referred to as Harry Vane and Henry Vane the Younger to distinguish him from his father, Henry Vane the Elder, was an England, English politician, statesman, and colonial governor. He ...

. Thomas Hewett returned to England with her, having developed eccentricities including a taste for

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

, to become master of his estates. A collection of letters written to Frances Hewett by Mary Pierrepoint (afterwards

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (née Pierrepont; 15 May 168921 August 1762) was an English aristocrat, medical pioneer, writer, and poet. Born in 1689, Lady Mary spent her early life in England. In 1712, Lady Mary married Edward Wortley Montagu, ...

) around 1710–1717 survives.

Offices and works

He became an architect and won some valuable clients. He built a library in Piccadilly for

Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, KG, PC (23 April 167519 April 1722), known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was a British statesman from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1714–1717), Lord Privy Seal ( ...

and advised

Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, (23 July 1666 – 28 April 1732) was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1710. He was Lord Chief Justice from 1710 to 1718 and acted briefly as one of the regents be ...

on the restoration of

Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed building, Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire, Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remode ...

, Oxfordshire. He was appointed Surveyor-General of Woods in 1701 and 1714. A correspondence of 1708–1711 with the Duke of Newcastle survives. In 1719, the year in which he was knighted, Sunderland recommended him for the position of

Surveyor of the King's Works The Office of Works was an organisation responsible for structures and exterior spaces, first established as part of the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it be ...

based at the Tower of London. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1721.

The Shireoaks estate

At his family seat,

, he carried out major renovations and improvements, remodelling the front, adding a wing and creating avenues and a water garden. The work was not entirely complete at his death in 1726, but he willed funds for its completion. "Whereas I have begun the building of the house in the wood called Scratoe and also have designed to make severall Cutts and other ornaments in and about the said Wood according to a draught and design I have made and drawn thereof", he, therefore, empowers his trustees to draw rents from his estate sufficient to complete the work in case he should die before it is finished. To this he immediately adds that if he dies near Worksop he wishes to be buried in the chancel of the church at Wales, Yorkshire, "in such manner as I shall direct by a note in writing". There he has a monument with an informative inscription.

Legacy

He left Shireoaks to be occupied by Dame Frances for her lifetime, with an annuity of £405, all held by trustees who were to ensure that she maintained a rigid discipline of maintenance for the estate including the keeping of 200 deer in the park, or else to forfeit her lifetime right if she failed to keep these terms closely, or in any detail challenged them. The estate was to descend to his godson, John Thornhaugh, of Osberton, reputedly because his only daughter had run off with a fortune-teller. Dame Frances long overlived Sir Thomas, returning to her birthplace of London where she died on 31 January 1756, aged 88. At her own request, she was buried beside her husband in the church at Wales. An old tale that he had been buried near his banqueting-house in the woodsHolland, ''History of Worksop''
pp. 176-177
(Google). is almost certainly apocryphal.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hewet, Thomas 1650s births 1726 deaths 17th-century English architects 18th-century English architects Fellows of the Royal Society English surveyors People from Worksop Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Knights Bachelor Architects from Nottinghamshire