Sir Thomas Hele,1st Baronet (c. 1595 to 7 November 1670) was a landowner from Devon and MP on various occasions from 1626 to 1670. A Royalist during the 1642 to 1646 First English Civil War,he raised a regiment of cavalry which served in the West Country and sat in the Oxford Parliament.
Thomas Hele was the second surviving son of Thomas Hele (1568-1624) and Bridget Champernowne,4th daughter of Sir Henry Champernowne (1538–1570) of Modbury in Devon. He became heir when his father disinherited his eldest son Samwell (1590-1661).[1]
In 1629,he married Penelope Jackson (?-1630),who died in childbirth the next year,leaving him a son Thomas Hele (1630–1665).[2] Elizabeth Elwes (?-1646)became his second wife in 1632 and they had nine children,only four of whom survived into adulthood;Samuel (1634-1672),Henry (1636-1677),Elizabeth (1638-1691) and Honor (1639-1710).[3]
Career
Arms of Hele:Argent,five fusils in pale gules on the middle one a leopard's face or
Following the death of the previous incumbent,he was appointed Sheriff of Devon in January 1636,making him responsible for collecting Ship Money. He was elected for Plympton to the Short Parliament in April 1640,then the Long Parliament in November.[4]
Hele was buried in All Saints' Church,Holbeton,on 16 November 1670. His elaborate monument survives in the Fleet Chapel,at the east end of the north aisle of the church.[5][a]
Notes
↑The monument has four tiers, populated by effigies of 22 people, all members of the Hele family. On the lowest tier kneel Sir Thomas's two sons, facing each other over a prie-dieu. On the tier above lies the semi-recumbent figure of Sir Thomas Hele, dressed in full armour, excepting helm which rests by his shoulder. His two daughters kneel watching him in prayer, one at his head, the other at his feet. On the tier above him kneel a man and his wife, either side of a prie-dieu, the man on the left, his wife on the right. Behind the man are his five sons kneeling, behind the woman three daughters. On the top tier the arrangement is repeated, with two sons behind the man and four daughters behind the wife. The two uppermost tiers are thought to represent the family of sir Thomas's father and grandfather. On top of the monument is an escutcheon showing the arms of Hele (very worn). There is no inscription on the monument, but it is probable that the effigies represent Thomas Hele of Exeter, Thomas Hele of Fleet (his son), and his son Sir Thomas Hele who was the first baronet of the family. There is the Red hand of Ulster badge of a baronet in the arms which probably applies to Sir Thomas, the first baronet, but the style is earlier.
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