Sir Thomas Drury, 1st Baronet

Sir Thomas Drury, 1st Baronet FRS (1712 – 19 January 1759) of Wickham Hall near Maldon, Essex, and Overstone, Northamptonshire^[1] was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1741 and 1747.

Family

Drury was born in London and baptised on 12 November 1712 at St Andrew's Church, Holborn. He was the son of Richard Drury of Colne, Hunts. by Joyce, daughter of Thomas Beacon of Great Ilford, Essex. He was educated at Merton College, Oxford and was a barrister at law of the Inner Temple, London. He married Martha, daughter of Sir John Tyrrell, 3rd Bt., of Heron, Essex and Mary Dolliffe on 11 October 1737 at Somerset House Chapel, The Strand, London.^[2][3]

In 1737, as co-heir with his cousin Thomas Beacon Townsend (d.1737), Drury inherited a fortune estimated at £230,000, including an estate near Maldon, from his maternal uncle, Thomas Beacon, a brewer in Shoreditch, London.^[4] His cousin died later that year and left Drury his share of the estate. Fellow MP Joseph Townsend, who was the half-brother of Thomas Beacon Townsend, also benefited from the will.^[5][6]

Career

He was elected Member of Parliament for Maldon in 1741. He was created 1st Baronet Drury, of Overstone, co. Northampton on 16 February 1739 and was invested as a Knight.^[7] He served as High Sheriff of Essex from 1740-1^[8] and High Sheriff of Northamptonshire from 1748-9.^[9] He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1758.^[10]

References

1. "An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Northamptonshire, Volume 2, Archaeological Sites in Central Northamptonshire". British History Online. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
2. "A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe". The Peerage. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
3. Burke, John & Bernard (1841). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England. Scott, Webster & Geary. p. 171. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
4. "DRURY, Sir Thomas, 1st Bt. (1712-59), of Wickham Hall, nr. Maldon, Essex, and Overstone, Northants.". History of Parliament online. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
5. "Drury, Sir Thomas". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
6. "Townsend, Joseph". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
7. "A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe". The Peerage. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
8. "The Gazette". The Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
9. "Sir Thomas Drury". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
10. "List of Fellows of the Royal Society 1660 – 2007" (PDF). Royal Society. Retrieved 12 November 2015.