Sir Thomas Jervoise (11 June 1587 – 20 October 1654) was an English 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 ...

variously between 1621 and 1653. He was a staunch supporter of the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

side 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 ...

. Jervoise was a member of the Jervoise family of Britford, Wiltshire. He received his knighthood from James I at Sarum on 20 August 1607. In 1621 Jervoise was elected Member of Parliament for Whitchurch and held the seat until 1625. He was re-elected in 1628 and sat until 1629, when King Charles decided to rule without parliament. Jervoise was re-elected MP for Whitchurch in April 1640 for the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

, and again in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

. He was a puritan and a strong supporter of the parliamentary cause. On the outbreak of the Civil War Jervoise was

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of one of the regiments of Hampshire Trained Bands and four companies of his regiment served alongside Sir William Waller's Parliamentarian Southern Association Army at the Siege of Portsmouth. He survived

Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...

and was a member of the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament describes the members of the Long Parliament who remained in session after Colonel Thomas Pride, on 6 December 1648, commanded his soldiers to Pride's Purge, purge the House of Commons of those Members of Parliament, members ...

until 1653. Blair Worden ''The Rump Parliament 1648-53''
/ref> In July 1601, aged 14, Jervoise married Lucy Powlet, daughter of Sir Richard Powlet of Herriard and Freefolk, Hampshire, and thereby acquired the Herriard estate and influence in Hampshire, to add to his family's substantial estates in Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. Lucy died in 1641, and within two years Jervoise married Frances, daughter of Thomas Jay of Foscott, Buckinghamshire. He had four sons (one predeceased) and two daughters by his first wife, and two sons by his second. His son Richard Jervoise was MP with him at Whitchurch, and his eldest son Thomas Jervoise was later MP for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. Jervoise died at the age of 67.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jervoise, Thomas 1587 births 1654 deaths English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1648–1653 17th-century English Puritans Hampshire and Isle of Wight Militia officers