Thomas Weldon (c.1500-1567) of Cookham, Berkshire, was an English Member of Parliament and member of the Royal household during the Tudor period. [1]
Cookham is a historic village and civil parish on the River Thames in the north-easternmost corner of Berkshire in England. It is notable as the home of the artist Stanley Spencer. It is 2.9 miles (5 km) north-north-east of Maidenhead on the county boundary with Buckinghamshire and sits opposite the neighbouring village of Bourne End. Cookham forms the southernmost, and most rural part of the High Wycombe Urban Area. Cookham, and its adjoining villages of Cookham Rise and Cookham Dean have a combined population of 5,519 increasing to 5,779 at the 2011 Census. In 2011 The Daily Telegraph deemed Cookham Britain's second richest village.
Berkshire is a county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by the Queen as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. The county town is Reading.
The English people are a nation and an ethnic group native to England who speak the English language. The English identity is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Angelcynn. Their ethnonym is derived from the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who migrated to Great Britain around the 5th century AD. England is one of the countries of the United Kingdom, and the majority of people living there are British citizens.
Thomas was the son of Hugh Weldon, Sewer to King Henry VIII. [2] He lived at Cannon Court at Cookham in Berkshire. He married twice and had seven children. He was the uncle of Edward Weldon, MP. Thomas was the Member of Parliament for Berkshire in 1542–1544, and also for Windsor in 1559. He was also the Cofferer of the Royal Household for Edward VI and Elizabeth I. He was a patron of one of the Protestant Windsor Martyrs, Anthony Pearson, for which he spent some time in the Fleet Prison. [3]
Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. He was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father Henry VII. Henry is best known for his six marriages, in particular his efforts to have his first marriage annulled. His disagreement with the Pope on the question of such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated. Henry is also known as "the father of the Royal Navy"; he invested heavily in the Navy, increasing its size greatly from a few to more than 50 ships.
Berkshire was a parliamentary constituency in England, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885. The county returned two knights of the shire until 1832 and three between 1832 and 1885.
Windsor /ˈwɪnzə/ is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Adam Afriyie of the Conservative Party.
