Thomas Jermyn (died 1645)


Sir Thomas Jermyn was an English politician, courtier and Royalist who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1604 and 1640.

Early life

Jermyn was the son of Sir Robert Jermyn of Rushbrooke, Suffolk. He was admitted at Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1585. He was knighted at Rouen, France in 1591 and became Knight of the Bath in 1603.

Career

In 1604, Jermyn was elected Member of Parliament for Andover and held the seat until 1611. In 1614, he was elected MP for Suffolk. He was elected for Bury St Edmunds in the elections in 1621, 1623, 1625, 1626 and 1628. In 1629 King Charles decided to rule for eleven years without parliament.
In April 1640, Jermyn was re-elected MP for Bury St Edmunds in the Short Parliament. He became Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk in 1640, and also served as Comptroller of the Household between 1639 and 1641. He fought as a Royalist during the English Civil War and became disabled through injury in 1644. He died a year later at the age of 72.

Marriage and children

Jermyn married Catherine Killigrew a daughter of Sir William Killigrew of Hanworth, Middlesex, a courtier to Queen Elizabeth I and to King James I, whom he served as Groom of the Privy Chamber. Her portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger survives in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA. By his wife he had children including their eldest surviving son, Thomas Jermyn, also MP for Bury St Edmunds; and Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans.