The Right Honourable
The Earl of Thanet
PC
Member of the English Parliament
for Appleby
In office
1668–1679
Serving with John Dalston
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born(1644-08-30)30 August 1644
Died30 July 1729(1729-07-30) (aged 84)
Political partyTory
Children
Parents

Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet, 18th Baron de Clifford PC (30 August 1644 – 30 July 1729)[1] was an English nobleman and politician.[2]

He was the fourth son of John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet and his wife Lady Margaret Sackville, Baroness Clifford and inherited the title on the death in 1684 of his elder brother Richard Tufton, 5th Earl of Thanet.[1] Through his maternal grandmother, he was heir to the Barony de Clifford and to vast estates in Cumberland and Westmorland.[1] He served as hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland from 1684 to 1729.[1]

He gained the rank of captain in the service of the Troop of Horse.[3] He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Appleby between 1668 and 1679.[3] He succeeded to the title of 6th Earl of the Isle of Thanet, co. Kent [E., 1628] on 27 April 1680.[3] He gained the rank of colonel in 1685 in the service of the Regiment of Horse (5th Horse).[3] He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Westmorland between 1685 and 1687.[3] He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Cumberland between 1685 and 1687.[3] He succeeded to the title of 18th Lord Clifford [E., 1299] on 12 December 1691, resolved by the House of Lords.[1] He was invested as a Privy Counsellor (P.C.) from 1703 to 1707 and 1711 to 1714.[3] He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Cumberland between 1712 and 1714.[3]

On 14 August 1684, he married Lady Catharine Cavendish (d. 1712), daughter of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle.[3] They had eight children, five of whom reached adulthood:

In 1703, he was sworn a Privy Counsellor. A country gentleman and a Tory, he was noted by Swift for his "piety and charity".

On his death, his title passed to his nephew Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet, son of his younger brother Sackville. The barony of Clifford again fell into abeyance until 1734.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume III, pp. 297–298.
  2. ^ Record for Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet on thepeerage.com'
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Charles Mosley, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1064-1065
  4. ^ Barbara McGovern (1992). Anne Finch and Her Poetry: A Critical Biography. University of Georgia Press. pp. 111–. ISBN 978-0-8203-1410-5.
Parliament of England Preceded byJohn Lowther John Dalston Member of Parliament for Appleby 1668–1679 With: John Dalston Succeeded byRichard Tufton Anthony Lowther Honorary titles Preceded byThe Earl of Thanet High Sheriff of Westmorland 1684–1729 Succeeded byThe Earl of Thanet Preceded byThe Earl of Carlisle Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland and Westmorland 1685–1687 Succeeded byThe Viscount Preston Custos Rotulorum of Cumberland 1685–1689 Succeeded bySir John Lowther, Bt Preceded byThe Lord Wharton Custos Rotulorum of Westmorland 1702–1706 Succeeded byThe Earl of Wharton Preceded byThe Earl of Wharton Custos Rotulorum of Westmorland 1714 Succeeded byThe Earl of Wharton Preceded byThe Earl of Carlisle Custos Rotulorum of Cumberland 1714–1715 Succeeded byThe Earl of Carlisle Peerage of England Preceded byRichard Tufton Earl of Thanet 1684–1729 Succeeded bySackville Tufton Baron de Clifford 1684–1729 VacantTitle next held byMargaret Coke
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