Sir Thomas Culpeper of Hollingbourne, the Elder
Male, #8879, (before 8 Dec 1575 - before 27 Jan 1661)
| Parent* | Francis Culpeper of Greenway Court, co. Kent (1538 - 31 May 1591) | |
| Parent* | Joan Pordage (1538 - 23 Mar 1598) | |
Sir Thomas Culpeper of Hollingbourne, the Elder|b. before 8 Dec 1575\nd. before 27 Jan 1661|p8879.htm|Francis Culpeper of Greenway Court, co. Kent|b. 1538\nd. 31 May 1591|p8818.htm|Joan Pordage|b. 1538\nd. 23 Mar 1598|p8468.htm|William Culpeper of Hunton and Wigsell|b. 1509\nd. 6 Dec 1559|p8388.htm|Cicely D. Barrett|b. 1512\nd. before 6 Dec 1559|p8390.htm|John Pordage of Rodmersham, co. Kent|b. 1493\nd. 14 May 1589|p8862.htm|||| | ||
| Name Variation | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Hollingbourne, the Elder was also known as Colepeper of Hollingbourne, the Elder. | |
| Name Variation | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Hollingbourne, the Elder was also known as Culpepper of Hollingbourne, the Elder. | |
| Birth* | before 8 Dec 1575 | Thomas was born before 8 Dec 1575. |
| Baptism | 8 Dec 1575 | He was baptized at Harrietsham, co. Kent, England, on 8 Dec 1575. |
| He was the son of Francis Culpeper of Greenway Court, co. Kent and Joan Pordage. | ||
| Marriage* | say 1600 | He married Elizabeth Cheney say 1600. |
| Burial* | 27 Jan 1661 | His body was interred on 27 Jan 1661 at Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England. |
| Death* | before 27 Jan 1661 | He died before 27 Jan 1661. |
| Biography* | He was baptized in Harrietsham, December 8, 1575, as 'Thomas, filius Francisci Culpep'. On October 15, 1591, he matriculated at Hart Hall, Oxford, 'aged 16' (Foster) ; and on May 15, 1594, was entered at the Middle Temple as 'Mr. Thomas, third son of Francis Culpeper, late of Hollingbourne, Kent, esq., deceased' (Hopwood, i, 343). He commenced parliamentman soon after he came of age, and is shown by the Official Returns of M. P.s 1878 to have been successively burgess for Rye (1597), Winchelsea (1601), Chippenham, co. Wilts (1614), and Tewkesbury, co. Glouc. (1628). He was knighted by James I, September 19, 1619 (Nichols, Progresses of James I, iii, 568). In 1621 he presented to parliament, and subsequently published, a Tract against the high rate of Usurie in which be argued for a reduction of the legal rate of interest from 10% to 7% (D. N. B. re-issue, v,:287; Wood, Athenae Oxon, iii, 533, where his parliamentary activities are confused with those of the first Lord Culpeper). This tract, supplemented by a similar argument by Francis Bacon in 1625, resulted in the act of 21 Jac. I, c. 17, reducing the rate of interest to 8%: but he kept up the fight for 6% and reprinted his tract in 1642 (It was subsequently reprinted also in 1668, both by his son and as an appendix to Sir Josiah Child's well known Discourse on Trade; and in 1754 was translated into French). For these public services Cambridge University created him M.,A. in March, 1635/6 (Venn, i, 431). . Having by his marriage greatly enhanced his paternal estate, in 1623 he purchased from his cousin Sir John, later first Lord Culpeper, the ancestral seat of Wigsell and settled it upon his eldest son, Cheney; and in 1632 purchased Leeds Castle also, and settled it upon his two surviving sons in tail male. . During the Troubles he 'stood for his King' and while 'never in arms' was deemed by the Parliament a malignant; and, despite the interest of his eldest son, was required to compound for his estate, paying on April 30, 1646, the large fine of £1318 (Cal. Committee for Compounding, ii, 1235, 1289). The last record of him is a petition to the Crown immediately after the Restoration for a lease of the profits of a sinecure post 'to him and his youngest son, to repair the ruin of his family by their loyalty' (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1665-66, p. 143, where this petition, being undated, is doubtfully attributed to 1665. The reference to the 'youngest son' is evidence that the petitioner was Sir Thomas 'the elder' and so the petition must have been made before his death in January, 1661/2). . After his wife's death he rebuilt and dedicated to his family an ancient chapel at, the east end of the north aisle of Hollingbourne Church, which he embellished with monuments. There he was buried January 27, 1661/2 (recorded in the parish register as 'Sir Thomas Culpeper, Knight') but although he had composed MI.'s for all his family, there was none to perform that office for him. (See Culpepper Connections Archives for his will). . Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck." |
Family | Elizabeth Cheney (say 1582 - 27 Oct 1638) | |
| Children |
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