PARAMOUR, Thomas (c.1585-1636), of St. Nicholas at Wade, Kent and Clerkenwell, Mdx.

Paramour’s grandfather owned a considerable estate in the Isle of Thanet, and was granted arms in 1585. His father, however, was a younger son who apparently held little property except a leased seat at St. Nicholas at Wade. He fell into debt, and possibly died in the Fleet prison in London, since he was buried nearby in St. Bride’s church. Certainly Paramour was obliged to lease out his lands at a peppercorn rent to his father’s creditors as late as 1626. Grantees of Arms ed. W.H. Rylands (Harl. Soc. lxiv), 189; Lewis, 44; C78/284/6; GL, St. Bride, Fleet Street par. reg.; Cent. Kent. Stud. PRC32/51, ff. 156-8. Through his first marriage he enjoyed connections with both Dorset and the Exchequer; his sister-in-law, Anne Willoughby, married Sir George Morton*, while the latter’s sister married one of the tellers, Edward Pitt*. Vis. Notts. (Harl. Soc. iv), 102.

It is not known precisely when Paramour entered the service of lord treasurer Marlborough, but his employment probably commenced before 1625, as it provides the most likely explanation for his election to Parliament in that year. Marlborough and Sir John Drake* married sisters, the nieces of the duke of Buckingham, and it was almost certainly on the Drake interest that Paramour was returned three times for Lyme Regis, though Morton may also have helped by commending him to the high steward, Sir John Strangways*. R. Lockyer, Buckingham, 74-5; J.K. Gruenfelder, ‘Dorsetshire Elections’, Albion, x. 5-6. Paramour was presumably a Court supporter, though he left no trace on the records of the 1625 Parliament, and attracted just one appointment in 1626, to scrutinize a bill to confirm a Chancery decree about a Norfolk manor (6 May). Procs. 1626, iii. 180. In 1626 he was appointed to receive Forced Loan payments, on a commission of 6d. in the pound, the money being delivered to him at Pitt’s office in Westminster. APC, 1626, pp. 381, 390; 1627, p. 116.

Paramour’s only recorded speech in the Commons came during the 1628 session, when Members investigated the confiscation of currants from the Levant Company merchants in a dispute over the non-payment of impositions. On 24 May he intervened briefly to confirm that the lord treasurer had now authorized the release of this merchandise. CD 1628, iii. 601. After the dissolution of this Parliament in the following March, it becomes more difficult to distinguish Paramour from three namesakes: his uncle Thomas Paramour of Monkton, a Kent magistrate; his own son, who was admitted to Gray’s Inn in 1636; and Capt. Thomas Paramour of Leicestershire who, after naval service, was employed by the earl of Ancram (Sir Robert Kerr*) under his patent for the salvage of gold and silver. Cent. Kent. Stud. PRC32/52, ff. 143-51; C231/4, ff. 172, 202; GI Admiss.; Som. and Dorset N and Q, iii. 334; CSP Dom. 1635-6, p. 133; 1637, p. 388. Paramour drew up his will on 1 Apr. 1636, with the assistance of his ‘old acquaintance’ Robert Lewis*, who was both witness and overseer. He gave directions for his burial ‘near his dear and virtuous wives’ in the north chapel of St. Nicholas. Concerned that his personal estate might not suffice to cover his debts, he made only small bequests. The will was proved on 9 Dec. by his son Thomas, who became comptroller to lord keeper Littleton (Edward Littleton II*) and a collector of subsidies in 1640. He took up arms for the king, and was promised a tellership by Charles II in exile, but apparently died before he could claim it. No other member of the family entered Parliament. Cent. Kent. Stud. PRC32/51, ff. 156-8; CSP Dom. 1640-1, p. 507; 1658-9, p. 13; CCAM, 589.