Thomas Dunk
Sir Thomas Dunk was an English ironmonger and benefactor. He was appointed Sheriff of London in 1711, and served under Mayor of London Sir Richard Hoare.
Dunk lived at Tongs in Hawkhurst, Kent, England and was from a family of 'great clothiers'. In his will he endowed for Hawkhurst six almshouses, a school for twenty boys, and a house for a school master.
In 1704 Thomas married Cornelia née Palmer, the daughter of Ralph Palmer and Alice née White and sister-in-law to John Verney, 1st Viscount Fermanagh. There were no surviving children from the marriage.
In his will Thomas named William Richards, presumed to be an illegitimate son, as his executor; he left William his estate in Chieveley, Berkshire, on condition that William and his heirs took the name and arms of Dunk.
William's daughter Anne née Richards - by his wife Ann née Davis, eldest daughter of John and Elizabeth Davis of Hawkhurst, Kent - married, in 1741, George Montagu, 2nd Earl of Halifax who took the name Dunk and became George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax.
