Sir Thomas White (25 March 1507 – 2 November 1566) was an English politician.

Family

He was the eldest son of Robert White junr. of

South Warnborough South Warnborough () is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. In the 2001 census, the population was 407. In the 2016 census, the population was estimated to be 509. South Warnborough is approximately south of ...

, Hampshire (son of Robert White and Margaret Gaynesford), and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Englefield the elder. He was almost 14 years old when his father died in 1521, and he became the ward of John Morys (Morris), who soon afterwards became Keeper of an episcopal park in

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, Surrey. Thomas White married Agnes, the daughter of Robert White of Farnham. They had 14 sons and 6 daughters, but some of them died in childhood. His sister Sybill married (as his first wife) Sir John White of Aldershot, Alderman and

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 ...

, brother of John White, the Marian

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

(1554–1556) and

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

(1556–1559).

Career

Having studied law at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, he was treasurer of the bishopric of Winchester from 1538 to his death, and Keeper of

Farnham Castle Farnham Castle is a 12th-century castle in Farnham, Surrey, England. It was formerly the residence of the Bishop of Winchester, Bishops of Winchester. History Built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William I of En ...

, Surrey from 1540 to death. He was elected

Knight of the Shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

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, ...

seven times between 1547 and 1559. A strong Catholic, he was knighted at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

by the

Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and it is used (along with the earldom of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title ...

on 2 October 1553, the day after the coronation of Queen

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

, and served as a Master of Requests during Mary's reign from 1553 to 1558. According to the inscription on their stone altar-tomb at South Warnborough, he died in London in 1566 and Dame Agnes died in Canterbury in January 1570–71.W. Page (ed.), 'South Warnborough', in ''A History of the County of Hampshire'' Vol. 3 (London, 1908)
pp. 378-82.
(British History online accessed 12 October 2016).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Thomas 1507 births 1566 deaths Members of the Inner Temple English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1553 (Mary I) English MPs 1554 English MPs 1554–1555 English MPs 1555 English MPs 1558 English MPs 1559