Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Encyclopedia
Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1560 – 2 May 1640) was an English
soldier, diplomat and politician, his title being in the Peerage of Scotland
.
, near York
. As a young man he saw military service in the Low Countries
, where be commanded a company of foot under Sir Francis Vere. Before and after the death of Mary, Queen of Scots, he was employed by Elizabeth on several diplomatic communications with James VI of Scotland. James offered him a title, which he declined. In 1586 he offered his services to James to suppress a rebellion under Lord Maxwell; and on the death of Elizabeth he was, with six of his nearest kindred, one of the first Englishmen who went to Scotland to swear fealty to the new king. He had served in France under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
and was knighted by him before Rouen
in 1591. He also sat as a Member of Parliament
for Lincoln
in 1586, for Aldborough
in 1588 and for Yorkshire
in 1601.
After the accession of James I to the throne, he settled down on his estate at Denton Hall
. He bred horses, and wrote about horsemanship. On the accession of Charles I, Fairfax was again knight of the shire (MP) for Yorkshire in the parliament of 1625. He drew up a statement of his services, and on 4 May 1627 was created Baron Fairfax of Cameron in the Peerage of Scotland; the grant was facilitated by a payment of £1,500.
Fairfax died 1 May 1640. He was buried, by the side of his wife, who had died in 1620, in the south transept of Otley Church, where a large altar-tomb, surmounted with their effigies, still commemorates their virtues. The legend was written by Edward Fairfax
the poet, his half-brother.
, Yorkshire. As a member of the council of the north
he was brought into connection with Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
, its president. His eldest son Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
, married Sheffield's daughter, Mary, in 1607. In 1620 Fairfax's younger sons, William and John, were with the English army in the Low Countries. A letter from William states that his 'white-haired father' had come over to join them, bought horses and arms, and been received with the respect due to his former services. In 1631 he heard from their general that both his sons had been killed at the siege of Frankenthal
. Two other sons are stated by Thoresby to have died a violent death in the same year: Peregrine at La Rochelle
and Thomas in Turkey. Henry Fairfax
(fourth son) and Charles Fairfax
were other sons.
Fairfax had two daughters: Dorothy, married to Sir William Constable, and Anne, wife of Sir George Wentworth of Woolley.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
soldier, diplomat and politician, his title being in the Peerage of Scotland
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
.
Life
Fairfax was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Fairfax of Denton, Yorkshire and Dorothy Gale, and was born at BilbroughBilbrough
Bilbrough is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, six miles south-west of York, and just outside the York city boundary. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 319....
, near York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. As a young man he saw military service in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, where be commanded a company of foot under Sir Francis Vere. Before and after the death of Mary, Queen of Scots, he was employed by Elizabeth on several diplomatic communications with James VI of Scotland. James offered him a title, which he declined. In 1586 he offered his services to James to suppress a rebellion under Lord Maxwell; and on the death of Elizabeth he was, with six of his nearest kindred, one of the first Englishmen who went to Scotland to swear fealty to the new king. He had served in France under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
and was knighted by him before Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
in 1591. He also sat as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Lincoln
Lincoln (UK Parliament constituency)
Lincoln is a borough 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 system of election....
in 1586, for Aldborough
Aldborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Aldborough was a parliamentary borough located in the West Riding of Yorkshire, abolished in the Great Reform Act of 1832. Aldborough returned two Members of Parliament from 1558 until 1832....
in 1588 and for Yorkshire
Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Yorkshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
in 1601.
After the accession of James I to the throne, he settled down on his estate at Denton Hall
Denton Hall, Wharfedale
Denton Hall is an English country house located to the north of the River Wharfe, at Denton between Otley and Ilkley in North Yorkshire, England, and set within a larger Denton estate of about , including a village, church, and landscaped gardens....
. He bred horses, and wrote about horsemanship. On the accession of Charles I, Fairfax was again knight of the shire (MP) for Yorkshire in the parliament of 1625. He drew up a statement of his services, and on 4 May 1627 was created Baron Fairfax of Cameron in the Peerage of Scotland; the grant was facilitated by a payment of £1,500.
Fairfax died 1 May 1640. He was buried, by the side of his wife, who had died in 1620, in the south transept of Otley Church, where a large altar-tomb, surmounted with their effigies, still commemorates their virtues. The legend was written by Edward Fairfax
Edward Fairfax
Edward Fairfax was a translator, the natural son of Sir Thomas Fairfax the elder, of Denton in Yorkshire, and thus a half-brother of Sir Thomas Fairfax.Fairfax lived at New Hall, Fewston...
the poet, his half-brother.
Works
Fairfax is said in Analecta Fairfaxiana to have written a number of works: a discourse, containing 150 pages, entitled 'Dangers Diverted, or the Highway to Heidelbergh'; 'Conjectures about Horsemanship'; 'The Malitia of Yorkshire'; a tract on the Yorkshire cavalry and against horse racing; 'The Malitia of Durham'; 'Orders for the House,' &c. The last of these, The Order for the Government of the House of Denton, lays down in great detail the duties of every servant in his household.Family
In 1582 he married Ellen, daughter of Robert Aske of AughtonAughton, East Riding of Yorkshire
Aughton is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north west of the market town of Howden and south west of the market town of Pocklington.It lies west of the B1228 road and east of the River Derwent....
, Yorkshire. As a member of the council of the north
Council of the North
The Council of the North was an administrative body originally set up in 1484 by king Richard III of England, the third and last Yorkist monarch to hold the Crown of England; its intention was to improve government control and economic prosperity, to benefit the entire area of Northern England...
he was brought into connection with Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave KG was a British peer and Member of Parliament, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire from 1603 to 1619 and Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire from 1604 to 1646...
, its president. His eldest son Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron , English parliamentary general.-Early life:He was born in Yorkshire the eldest son of Thomas Fairfax, whom Charles I in 1627 created Lord Fairfax of Cameron in the Peerage of Scotland and received a military education in the Netherlands. Two of his...
, married Sheffield's daughter, Mary, in 1607. In 1620 Fairfax's younger sons, William and John, were with the English army in the Low Countries. A letter from William states that his 'white-haired father' had come over to join them, bought horses and arms, and been received with the respect due to his former services. In 1631 he heard from their general that both his sons had been killed at the siege of Frankenthal
Frankenthal
Frankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
. Two other sons are stated by Thoresby to have died a violent death in the same year: Peregrine at La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
and Thomas in Turkey. Henry Fairfax
Henry Fairfax (academic)
-Early life:He was born in 1588 at Denton, Yorkshire, the fourth son of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron. Two of his brothers were Ferdinando Fairfax and Charles Fairfax. His uncle, Edward Fairfax, who, says Brian Fairfax, was very serviceable to his brother, the first lord Fairfax, in...
(fourth son) and Charles Fairfax
Charles Fairfax (antiquary)
-Early life:Fairfax was born at Denton, Yorkshire on 5 March 1597, and was the seventh and third surviving son of Sir Thomas Fairfax. His two surviving brothers were Ferdinando and Henry. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge on 5 October 1611, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn on 9...
were other sons.
Fairfax had two daughters: Dorothy, married to Sir William Constable, and Anne, wife of Sir George Wentworth of Woolley.