Thomas Wise (c. 1605 – 18 March 1641) of

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

in Devon, was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

at various times between 1625 and 1641.

Biography

Wise was the son of Sir Thomas Wise by his wife Margaret Stafford, daughter of Robert Stafford of

Stowford Stowford is a village and civil parish in the district of West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated to the west of Dartmoor. Stowford is about 1 mile west of the village of Lewdown and about 11 miles south-west of Okehampton in ...

, Devon. His father had been an MP and had built houses at Mount Wise at

Stoke Damerel Stoke, also referred to by its earlier name of Stoke Damerel, is an inner suburb of the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. In 1844, Stoke Damerel was described as a parish in Roborough hundred, adjoining the borough of Plymouth, and including ...

and at Sydenham.John Burke
A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain
' In 1625 Wise was nominated by Robert Rolle (died 1633) of

Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe Heanton Satchville was a historic Manorialism, manor in the parish of Petrockstowe, North Devon, England. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then ...

, Devon, as a Member of Parliament for his

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act of 1832, which had a very small electo ...

Callington Callington () is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had increased to 5,78 ...

, which manor had been acquired by him in 1601. Thus in 1625 he served in the Useless Parliament. He was then elected MP for Bere Alston in the parliaments of

King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, S ...

of 1625, 1626 and 1628 to 1629. Wise inherited the family estates on the death of his father in 1629. He was

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1638. In April 1640, Wise was elected Member of Parliament for

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

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 ...

. He was re-elected 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 ...

but died in 1641. He was succeed as MP for Devon by his brother in law Sir Samuel Rolle. Wise married Lady Mary Chichester, daughter of

Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester Edward Chichester, 1st Viscount Chichester (1568 – 8 July 1648), was an English peer. Origins He was the third son of Sir John Chichester (died 1569), John Chichester (died 1569), knight, lord of the manor of Raleigh, Pilton, Raleigh, in the ...

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

in Ireland, of Eggesford in Devon, by whom he had two children: * Edward Wise (1632–1675), of Sydenham, three times MP for

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

, 1659, 1660 and 1661–1675. *Margery Wise, who married

Sir John Molesworth, 2nd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

(1635–1716) of Pencarrow in Cornwall.

References

, - 1641 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Callington High sheriffs of Devon English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain Members of the Parliament of England for Bere Alston Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon {{1640-England-MP-stub