Sir Thomas Tomkins JP ( – 31 December 1674) 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 ...

at various times between 1640 and 1674. He supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause in 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 ...

Early life

Tomkins was the fifth but second surviving son of Anne ( Boyle) Tomkins and James Tomkins of

Monnington on Wye Monnington on Wye is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brobury with Monnington-on-Wye, in western Herefordshire, England, located between Hereford and Hay-on-Wye. In 1961 the parish had a population of 64. On 1 April 1987 ...

, Herefordshire, and of Garnestone south of Weobley.Timothy Lathrop Miller ''History of Hereford cattle, proven conclusively the oldest of improved breeds''
/ref> His ancestors had been gentry in

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

since the 15th century, but were of minor importance before the Tudor period, and his father, who was responsible for the re-enfranchisement of Weobley in 1628, was the first of the family to sit in Parliament.

Career

In April 1640, Tomkins was elected Member of Parliament for

Weobley Weobley ( ) is an ancient settlement and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Herefordshire, England. Formerly a market town, the market is long defunct and the settlement is today promoted as one of the county's black and white village ...

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 re-elected MP for Weobley 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 ...

in November 1640. He supported the king and was disabled form sitting in parliament on 22 January 1644. He succeeded to the family estates, including Garnstone Manor,

, upon his elder brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

's death in 1640, and was knighted in 1663. Tomkins was elected MP for Weobley for the Convention Parliament in August 1660 after the previous election was declared void. He was re-elected MP for Weobley 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 ...

in 1661 and sat until his death in 1674.

Personal life

On 22 September 1633, Tomkins was married to Mary Pye (b. 1618), a daughter of Sir Walter Pye. Together, they were the parents of one son, who died young, and three daughters, including: * Anne Tomkins, who married her cousin, Roger Vaughan, MP for

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, in 1657; Garnstone Manor was transferred to Vaughan as Anne's dowry. After his first wife's death, he married Lucy Uvedale, a daughter of Sir

William Uvedale Sir William Uvedale (c. 15811652) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1645. He supported the Royalist cause in the Civil War. Career Uvedale was the son of William Uvedale of Wickham and h ...

, of Wickham and widow of Thomas Neale of Warnford, on 21 February 1648. From her first marriage, she was mother to

Thomas Neale Thomas Neale (1641–1699) was an English project-manager and politician who was also the first person to hold a position equivalent to postmaster-general of the North American colonies. Neale was a Member of Parliament for thirty years, Mas ...

, a longtime MP. Together, they were the parents of: * Uvedale Tomkins (1649–1692), who married Mary Capell. Tomkins died on 31 December 1674.

References

, - 1600s births 1674 deaths Cavaliers People from Weobley Politicians from Herefordshire English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 {{1661-England-MP-stub