Thomas Parry (son)

Sir Thomas Parry (* 1544 ; † 24/30 or 31 May 1616 ) was an English parliamentarian and diplomat. He was elected three times for the House of Commons , but had to leave his seat as well as other offices for a few months because of his involvement in a political affair.

Origin and early years

Parry was born in 1544 as the eldest son of the father of the same name, Sir Thomas Parry . For his mother, Lady Anne Parry, it was the fifth child in their third marriage. She was previously married in her second marriage to Sir Adrian Fortescue , a later blessed of the Roman Catholic Church , he was beheaded in 1539 in the Tower of London. Parry attended Winchester College from the age of 14 , but also traveled to Antwerp in 1560 . When his father died on December 15, 1560, he was in Italy and did not inherit Hampstead Marshall in Berkshire until the spring of 1561.

First offices and election

Parry was first appointed sheriff for Berkshire, first in 1576 and again from 1588. His first election to the House of Commons for Berkshire was on October 10, 1586. In 1596 he was appointed deputy lieutenant for Berkshire. Parry was with from Bristol originating Dorothy Brooke married a maid of honor Queen I. Elizabeth , the couple remained childless. Lady Dorothy Parry outlived her husband by eight years and died in 1624.

Ambassador to France

Elizabeth I appointed Parry as the new ambassador to France in 1601 as the successor to Sir Henry Neville , the grandfather of the later author Henry Neville , she also proposed him to the Knight Bachelor . Parry does not seem to have been particularly happy with the appointment, he delayed his departure for France and obtaining the prior instructions until May 1602, which caused anger for the Queen. Some of the correspondence during his ambassadorial activity at the French court has survived. Parry did not return to England until 1605, after King James I had confirmed him in his office after the queen's death in 1603.

Other offices

Parry was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 1607 in gratitude for his work as ambassador and was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancashire to succeed his half-brother Sir John Fortescues . He was re-elected to the House of Commons in 1610, this time for St Albans . Also from 1610 he was supposed to supervise the captivity of Lady Arabella Stuart , but the king was informed that Parry was treating her more as a guest than a prisoner and withdrew from Parry in March 1611 for a sum of 300 pounds for his expenses. From 1612 Parry was still a member of a commission that controlled the king's income.

Stockbridge election

Because of his involvement in the proceedings surrounding the so-called Stockbridge election in 1614, Parry lost his seat in the House of Commons for a few months after a decision by his parliamentary colleagues. The somewhat complicated matter was essentially about the question of how the members of the House of Commons were to be found in those electoral districts that belonged to the so-called Rotten boroughs . Parry, in his capacity as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancashire, insisted that he appoint the two new Members of Parliament and named them. The actual voters in Stockbridge ignored his nominations and elected two MPs of their own. Parry intervened in response with threatening letters and had one of the electors arrested and imprisoned. Then the matter was brought before the House of Commons, which decided against Parry, the meeting took place on May 10, 1614. As a result, Parry not only lost his parliamentary seat by 1615, his membership in the Privy Council was suspended. His chancellorship for Lancaster was also affected, and he was appointed another chancellor. The proceedings surrounding the Stockbridge election were, ultimately to this day, an important step towards securing the prerogatives and privileges of the House of Commons against holders of royal offices.

Parry died without leaving a will on the 24./30. or May 31, 1616, the details on this vary. Like his father, he was buried in Westminster Abbey .

literature

• Gordon Goodwin: Parry, Thomas (d.1616) in Dictionary of National Biography , Volume 43, London 1885–1900, en: Wikisource
• PW Hasler: The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603 , Boydell & Brewer Inc, London 1981 online

Web links

• Proceedings in Parliament, House of Commons 1614, minutes of the hearing in the House of Commons dated May 10, 1614
• Personal data on www.berkshirehistory.com (English)