Sir Thomas Chicheley was a politician in England in the seventeenth century who fell from favour in the reign of James II

James II of England

James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...

. His name is sometimes spelt as Chichele.

Chicheley, who came from Wimpole

Wimpole

Wimpole is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, about 8½ miles southwest of Cambridge. It is sometimes sub-divided into "Old Wimpole" and "New Wimpole". People from Wimpole include the Independent minister John Conder...

 in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

, was related to the founder of All Souls College, Oxford. He was High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire

High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire

This is a list of people who have served as High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire.-Before 1154:*Tempore Regis Eduardi: Aluric Godricson, Orgar, Blacuin*1066: Elfric* 1128: Fulk*1070–c.1090: Picot of Cambridge *Michaelmas 1129: Richard Basset with Aubrey de Vere...

 in 1637, and in 1640 was elected to the Long Parliament

Long Parliament

The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

 as one of the MPs for Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Cambridgeshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. It was represented by two Knights...

; however, being a strong Royalist, he was "disabled from sitting" (in other words expelled) soon after the outbreak of the Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

. After the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

, he was elected once more for Cambridgeshire in the Parliament of 1661–1679, and subsequently sat for the city of Cambridge

Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)

Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....

 until his retirement in 1689.

In 1670 he was knighted, made a member of the Privy Council

Privy Council of England

The Privy Council of England, also known as His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England...

 and appointed Master-General of the Ordnance

Master-General of the Ordnance

The Master-General of the Ordnance was a very senior British military position before 1855, when the Board of Ordnance was abolished.-Responsibilities:...

. He held that office until 1674, when he was succeeded by his son. In 1679 he became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...

, but was ejected from office and expelled from the Privy Council on 2 March 1687.

According to Pepys

Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...

, Chicheley lived extravagantly in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and this was probably the reason that he sold his estate at Wimpole thirteen years before his death.