Sir Thomas Soame (1584 – 1 January 1671) 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 ...

from 1640 to 1648.

Life

Soame was the son of Sir Stephen Soame and his wife Anne Stone daughter of William Stone, haberdasher of London and his wife Mercy Gray daughter of John Gray of Barley, Hertfordshire. His father was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

.'Salmon - Sykes', The Rulers of London 1660-1689: A biographical record of the Aldermen and Common Councilment of the City of London (1966), pp. 143-159. Date accessed: 13 April 2011
/ref> He was baptised at St.Mary Colechurch in London on 4 February 1584. Soame was alderman of

Farringdon Without __NOTOC__ Farringdon Without is the most westerly Wards of the City of London, ward of the City of London, England. Its suffix ''Without'' reflects its origin as lying beyond the London Wall, City's former defensive walls. It was first establis ...

ward from 28 July 1635 to 29 January 1639 and in 1635 became

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

. He was Merchant Commissioner of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

from 1640 to 1643. In April 1640, Soame was elected Member of Parliament for

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

in 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 ...

. He was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

in May 1640 with three other aldermen - Nicholas Rainton, John Gayre and Thomas Atkins - for refusing to list the inhabitants of his ward who were able to contribute £50 or more to a loan for King Charles. 'Notes on the aldermen, 1502-1700', The Aldermen of the City of London: Temp. Henry III - 1912 (1908), pp. 168-195. Date accessed: 15 July 2011
/ref> He was re-elected in MP for the City of London 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 knighted in at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

on 3 December 1641. He sat in parliament until he was excluded under

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 ...

in 1648. He became alderman for

Vintry Vintry is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London, wards of the City of London. Located within it is the City end of Southwark Bridge and, adjacent to that, the hall of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, the Livery Company, City livery compan ...

ward on 29 September 1644 and later moved to Cheap ward where he was discharged by order of House of Commons on 1 Jun 1649. He was restored to his position as Alderman on 25 Sep 1660 and held the position until 22 January 1667 when he was discharged "on account of his great infirmity". Soame lived at

Throcking Throcking is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Cottered, in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is approximately 1.5 miles west-northwest of Buntingford and 7 miles east-northeast of ...

and in 1660 rebuilt the upper portion of the church tower.Throcking Holy Trinity Church
/ref> He died in 1671 and was buried with an inscription in Throcking Church.

Family

Soame was married in 1621 to Joan Freeman, widow of William Freeman of St Michael Cornhill and Aspenden, Hertfordshire. His daughter Anne married Sir Thomas Abdy, 1st Baronet.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Soame, Thomas 1584 births 1671 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for the City of London English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Sheriffs of the City of London Prisoners in the Tower of London