Thomas Gape (died 1678) was an English lawyer, administrator and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660.
Gape was the son of Hugh Gape, a weaver, of Dorchester, Dorset. He became servant to the Marquis of Hertford in 1646. He entered Middle Temple in 1648 and by 1660 he was steward of the manorial court of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire. He was instructed by his employer to stand as Member of Parliament for Great Bedwyn in April 1660 and was blamed for the "hot contest" and double return that followed. He was allowed to sit in the Convention Parliament on the merits of the return. He was commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire from August 1660 to 1661, and clerk of the peace for Somerset from August 1660 to about 1673. [1]
When the Duke of Somerset died in October 1660, Gape became servant to the dowager duchess. He was commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire from 1664 to 1669. He claimed penury from service to the Seymours. In 1666 he wrote that he did not dare to leave his employer's house in London for fear of a debtors' prison, and on 18 January 1667 he wrote "In above twenty years, I have not been able to make any considerable provision for my wife and children, notwithstanding my diligent performances in this noble family". He was called to the bar in 1667 and remained in the service of the duchess until 1674. She owed him £1,250 when she died and in 1677 he spent £3,750 on the purchase of land in Wiltshire.
When he died at Porton, Wiltshire in 1678, he left £1,000 portions to his two unmarried daughters, and his coach and horses to his wife. [1] He had married Anne Backhouse, daughter of William Backhouse of London and had two sons (of whom one died young and the other was lunatic) and four daughters. His wife died on 29 April 1686. [1]
Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, known by the epithet "The Proud Duke", was an English peer. He rebuilt Petworth House in Sussex, the ancient Percy seat inherited from his wife, in the palatial form which survives today. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, he was a remarkably handsome man, and inordinately fond of taking a conspicuous part in court ceremonial; his vanity, which earned him the sobriquet of "the proud duke", was a byword among his contemporaries and was the subject of numerous anecdotes; Macaulay described him as "a man in whom the pride of birth and rank amounted almost to a disease".
William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War.
Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Baron Beauchamp, KG, of Wulfhall and Totnam Lodge in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset, of Netley Abbey, Hampshire, and of Hertford House, Cannon Row in Westminster, is most noted for incurring the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth I by taking part in more than one clandestine marriage.
Sir John Ernle was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1695. He was one of the longest-serving Chancellors of the Exchequer, a position he held from 2 May 1676 to 9 April 1689.
Thomas White was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659 and 1660.
Sir John Thynne was the steward to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and a member of parliament. He was the builder of Longleat House, and his descendants became Marquesses of Bath.
Francis Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Trowbridge, of Marlborough Castle and Savernake Park in Wiltshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1641 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Seymour of Trowbridge. He supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
Thomas Reynell of East Ogwell, Devon, was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1689.
Samuel Ashe was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659 and from 1679 to 1681.
Robert Phelips was a Royalist officer during the English Civil War. After the Restoration he was a Member of Parliament, and from 25 May 1687 until 21 March 1689 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
George Pitt was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1679.
Michael Malet was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1679. He was a zealous Protestant and opponent of the court and appears to have lost his reason.
Sir John Malet (1623–1686) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1666 and 1685.
Francis Swanton was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1661.
Henry Whithed was an English soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1660 and 1680.
Bullen Reymes was an English courtier, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1672. He fought in the Royalist army in the English Civil War.
Sir William Tyringham (1618–1685) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1679. He fought in the Royalist army in the English Civil War.
Sir John Shaw, 1st Baronet of Eltham Lodge, Kent was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1679.
John Lowe (1628–1667) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1667.
Humphrey Weld, DL, JP was an English lawyer, member of the Royal household, public official, landowner and property administrator who was elected to the House of Commons for Christchurch in Hampshire in 1661. Weld was a crypto-recusant who kept his religious allegiance secret in order to stay in public office during a turbulent political period in English history. He was appointed Cup-bearer to the Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria 1639-44 and later as Gentleman of the Privy Chamber 1668-85 under her son, Charles II. He served as a magistrate and in numerous other public roles in London, Middlesex, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire and in Dorset, where he was governor of Portland Castle. In 1641 he bought the Lulworth Estate in Dorset where he started the "Lulworth" line of the (recusant) Weld family which has continued for over 350 years.