Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet

Sir
Thomas Barrington
JP
Barrington Hall, Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex
Member of Parliament
for Colchester
In office
November 1640 – September 1644
Member of Parliament
for Essex
In office
April 1640 – April 1640
Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex
In office
1629–1643
Member of Parliament
for Newtown
In office
January 1621 – March 1629
Personal details
Born1585
Barrington Hall, Essex
Died18 September 1644(1644-09-18) (aged 59)
London
Resting placeSt Mary the Virgin, Hatfield Broad Oak
NationalityEnglish
Spouse(s)Frances Gobert (1611-1623)
Judith Smith (born Lytton), (1624-his death)
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge
OccupationLandowner, politician and Puritan activist

Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet, 1585 to 18 September 1644, was an English politician and Puritan activist who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1644. In the early stages of the First English Civil War, he helped establish the Eastern Association, one of the most effective elements of the Parliamentarian army.

Family

Thomas Barrington was born in 1585, eldest son of Sir Francis Barrington of Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex (1560-1628) and Joan Cromwell (c.1568-1641), aunt to the future Parliamentarian leaders Oliver Cromwell and John Hampden.[1][2] One of nine surviving children, he had three brothers; Robert (?-1642), Francis (?-before 1628) [3] and John (?-1631), who died in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years War.[4]

Of his five sisters, Elizabeth was married to Sir William Masham, and Mary to Sir Gilbert Gerard, Winifred to Sir William Meux.[5] All three of his brothers-in-law were MPs, as were his father and brother Thomas, making the Barrington family part of a network of Puritan activists.[6]

In 1611, he married Frances Gobert (died 1623); they had three surviving children, Lucy, John (1615-1683) and Gobert (before 1623-c.1695). He married again in 1624, this time to what he considered a good match with Judith Smith (born Lytton). They had no children but it was a happy marriage.[7]

His new wife continued to manage her estate from her first marriage and she also took on the management of her second husband's estates even after he inherited further interests in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Wight in 1628. She had a steward but he followed her instructions as she considered herself "the manager of all things". Some say she was bossy. She mitigated the effects of rent on tenants who had financial problems and she demonstrated a good knowledge of trees and especially fruit trees.[8]

The Long Parliament began in 1620 and her husband as a member would spend long periods in London. She corresponded with him keeping him abreast of local events and advising him on who might be a good assistant. He died in 1644 and his widow had several disputes with his son, John, long after his death.[8]

Career

Barrington attended Trinity College, Cambridge in 1601. As legal training was then considered an essential part of education, he studied law at Gray's Inn in 1602. He was knighted in about 1621, and the same year was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Newtown. He was re-elected for the constituency in 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.[9] In 1628, he succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father. Barrington has been identified as part of the so-called "Middle Group" within Parliament, led by Pym until his death in December 1643, then by Oliver St John. Unlike the "War" or "Peace" factions, these MPs did not vote consistently, but they were prominent in persuading Parliament to approve the Solemn League and Covenant, an alliance with the Scots Covenanters.[10]

References

  1. ^ Courthope 1835, p. 16.
  2. ^ Kelsey, Sean (23 September 2004). "Barrington [née Williams or Cromwell], Joan, Lady Barrington (c. 1558–1641), godly matriarch and patron of clergy". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/65888. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ Seale 1983, p. 205.
  4. ^ Seale 1983, p. 253.
  5. ^ Collins 1741, p. 71.
  6. ^ Kyle 2009.
  7. ^ Collins 1741, p. 72.
  8. ^ a b Bowden, Caroline M. K. (23 September 2004). "Barrington [née Lytton], Judith, Lady Barrington (d. 1657), gentlewoman". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/46469. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  9. ^ Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. pp. 229–239.
  10. ^ Palmer 1982, pp. 23–25.

Sources

Parliament of England
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Newtown
1621–1629
With: Sir William Harington 1621–1622
George Garrard 1624–1625
Thomas Malet 1625–1626
Robert Barrington 1628–1629 		Parliament suspended until 1640
Parliament suspended since 1629 Member of Parliament for Essex
1640
With: Sir Harbottle Grimston 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Colchester
1640–1644
With: Sir Harbottle Grimston 		Succeeded by
Baronetage of England
Preceded by Baronet
(of Barrington Hall)
1628–1644 		Succeeded by