Thomas Thynne (landowner)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Thynne was an English
landowner of the family that is now headed by the Marquess of Bath
and politician who sat in the House of Commons
from 1670 to 1682. He went by the nickname "Tom of Ten Thousand" due to his great wealth. He was a friend of the Duke of Monmouth
, a relationship referred to in John Dryden
's satirical work Absalom and Achitophel
where Thynne is described as "Issachar, his wealthy western friend".
Thynne was the son of Sir Thomas Thynne
, and his wife Stuarta Balquanquill, daughter of Dr. Walter Balquanquill. His father was a younger son of Sir Thomas Thynne
of Longleat
, Wiltshire
. In 1670 Thynne succeeded to the family estates at Longleat on the death of his uncle Sir James Thynne
without issue. He also succeeded his uncle as Member of Parliament
for Wiltshire
, and sat until his death in 1682.
On 15 November 1681 Thynne married the wealthy Lady Elizabeth Percy
, only child of Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland
.
Thynne was murdered on 12 February 1682 after the Swedish
Count Karl Johann von Königsmark began to pursue his wife. He was shot while riding in his coach in Pall Mall
, London
, by Königsmark and his three accomplices Christopher Vratz, John Stern and Charles George Borosky. The four were soon arrested; however Königsmark was acquitted of the murder (due to the corruption of the jury according to diarist John Evelyn
) but Vratz, Stern and Borosky were hanged on 10 March 1682.
Count Karl von Königsmark was the brother of Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
who disappeared under mysterious cirucumstances in the state of Hanover in Germany in 1694, possibly murdered by order of the future British monarch George I
.
After Thynne's death his widow, Lady Elizabeth, married Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset
.
Thynne's remains were interred in a marble tomb in Westminster Abbey
. The tomb is decorated in part with a representation of the murder of Thynne in 1682. A popular ballad summed up the episode in form of a mock epitaph:
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...
landowner of the family that is now headed by the Marquess of Bath
Marquess of Bath
Marquess of Bath is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. The Thynne family descends from the soldier and courtier Sir John Thynne , who constructed Longleat House between 1567 and 1579...
and politician who sat in the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
from 1670 to 1682. He went by the nickname "Tom of Ten Thousand" due to his great wealth. He was a friend of the Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC , was an English nobleman. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter...
, a relationship referred to in John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
's satirical work Absalom and Achitophel
Absalom and Achitophel
Absalom and Achitophel is a landmark poetic political satire by John Dryden. The poem exists in two parts. The first part, of 1681, is undoubtedly by Dryden...
where Thynne is described as "Issachar, his wealthy western friend".
Thynne was the son of Sir Thomas Thynne
Thomas Thynne (died 1669)
Sir Thomas Thynne was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660.Thynne was the second surviving son of Sir Thomas Thynne and his first wife Maria Tuchet, daughter of Lord Audley. He matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford on 28 June 1620, aged 10. He entered Middle Temple in...
, and his wife Stuarta Balquanquill, daughter of Dr. Walter Balquanquill. His father was a younger son of Sir Thomas Thynne
Thomas Thynne (died 1639)
Sir Thomas Thynne , of Longleat, Wiltshire, was an English landowner and member of parliament.Thynne was the son and heir of Sir John Thynne of Longleat, a knight of the shire, by his marriage to Joan Hayward, daughter of Sir Rowland Hayward, a Lord Mayor of London.Thynne first made his mark in May...
of Longleat
Longleat
Longleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. In 1670 Thynne succeeded to the family estates at Longleat on the death of his uncle Sir James Thynne
James Thynne
Sir James Thynne was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1640 and 1670....
without issue. He also succeeded his uncle as 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 Wiltshire
Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Wiltshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of England from 1290 to 1707, of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote...
, and sat until his death in 1682.
On 15 November 1681 Thynne married the wealthy Lady Elizabeth Percy
Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset
Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Somerset , major heiress, was born Lady Elizabeth Percy, the only surviving child of the 11th Earl of Northumberland and deemed Baroness Percy in her own right. She carried the earldom of Northumberland to her son Algernon...
, only child of Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland
Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland
Josceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland, 5th Baron Percy was an English peer.Percy was the eldest son of Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland and his second wife, Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk...
.
Thynne was murdered on 12 February 1682 after the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Count Karl Johann von Königsmark began to pursue his wife. He was shot while riding in his coach in Pall Mall
Pall Mall, London
Pall Mall is a street in the City of Westminster, London, and parallel to The Mall, from St. James's Street across Waterloo Place to the Haymarket; while Pall Mall East continues into Trafalgar Square. The street is a major thoroughfare in the St James's area of London, and a section of the...
, 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...
, by Königsmark and his three accomplices Christopher Vratz, John Stern and Charles George Borosky. The four were soon arrested; however Königsmark was acquitted of the murder (due to the corruption of the jury according to diarist John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
) but Vratz, Stern and Borosky were hanged on 10 March 1682.
Count Karl von Königsmark was the brother of Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck or Philipp Christoph Königsmarck, was a Swedish count of Brandenburgian extraction and a soldier...
who disappeared under mysterious cirucumstances in the state of Hanover in Germany in 1694, possibly murdered by order of the future British monarch George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
.
After Thynne's death his widow, Lady Elizabeth, married Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset
Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset
Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset , sometimes referred to as the "Proud Duke". The son of Charles Seymour, 2nd Baron Seymour of Trowbridge, and Elizabeth Alington , he succeeded his brother Francis Seymour, 5th Duke of Somerset, to the dukedom when the latter was shot in 1678...
.
Thynne's remains were interred in a marble tomb in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
. The tomb is decorated in part with a representation of the murder of Thynne in 1682. A popular ballad summed up the episode in form of a mock epitaph: