COVENTRY, Sir Thomas (1578-1640), of Croome d’Abitot, Worcs., the Inner Temple, London and Durham House, The Strand, Westminster

Family and Education

b. 1578, 1st s. of Thomas Coventry of Croome d’Abitot, j.c.p. and Margaret, da. and h. of William Jefferies of Croome d’Abitot. Soc. Antiq., Prattinton Collection, Top. viii, Croome d’Abitot, 13-17. educ. Balliol, Oxf. 1592 aged 14; I. Temple 1595, called 1603.Al. Ox.; CITR, i. 405; ii. 1. m. (1) bef. 1606, Sarah, da. of John Sebright of Blacks Hall, Wolverley, Worcs. 1s. 1da.; (2) 20 Apr. 1610, Elizabeth (bur. 25 May 1653), da. of John Aldersey of London, Haberdasher, wid. of William Pichford of London, grocer/apothecary, 4s. 4da.Vis. Cheshire (Harl. Soc. lix), 5; Vis. Warws. (Harl. Soc. lxii), 13; Vis. Worcs, (Harl. Soc. xxvii), 126; Regs. St. Helen’s Bishopsgate (Harl. Soc. Reg. xxxi), 123; E.A.B. Barnard, ‘Coventry’s of Croome’, Trans. Worcs. Arch. Soc. n.s. xx. 34; PROB 11/128, f. 176v; CP. Bramston mistakenly identified Elizabeth Pichford’s maiden-name as Hoskins: Autobiog. of Sir John Bramston ed. P. Braybrooke (Cam. Soc. xxxii), 251. suc. fa. 1606; Kntd. 16 Mar. 1617; cr. Bar. Coventry of Aylesborough, 10 Apr. 1628.Shaw, Knights of Eng. ii. 161; CP. d. 14 Jan. 1640. sig. Thomas Coventrye.

Offices Held

Commr. gaol delivery, Worcs. 1603–5,C181/1, ff. 46v, 106v. London 1614, Newgate, London 1616, assurance, London 1615, sewers, London 1615,C181/2, ff. 218, 237v, 243v, 253. Westminster 1634;C181/4, f. 191. j.p. Surr. 1616, Mdx. 1616, Westminster 1619;C231/4, f. 34; 181/2, f. 331v. custos rot. Worcs. 1624;C231/4, f. 172. commr. oyer and terminer, Mdx. 1614, London 1615, the Verge 1617,Ibid. ff. 214, 238, 287. riot at Spanish amb.’s house 1618,Ibid. f. 319. Oxford circ. 1625,C181/3, f. 179. tolls in markets and fairs, Wales 1620,CD 1621, vii. 462. subsidy, London 1621;T. Birch, Ct. and Times of Jas. I, ii. 246. gov. Charterhouse hosp., London 1621–d.;G.S. Davies, Charterhouse in London, 852; LMA, ACC/1876/G/02/02, f. 21. commr. buildings, London and Westminster 1625;T. Rymer, Foedera, viii. pt. 1, p. 70. high steward, Cambridge, Cambs. 1626–d.,C.H. Cooper, Annals of Cambridge, iii. 185, 295. St. Albans, Herts. ?1633,A.E. Gibbs, Corp. Recs. of St. Albans, 6, 297. Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorks. 1634-at least 1637,Hull RO, Bench Bk. 5, ff. 166, 215. Evesham, Worcs. at d.; Evesham Bor. Recs. of the Seventeenth Century 1605–87 ed. S.K. Roberts (Worcs. Hist. Soc. n.s. xiv), 41. freeman, Droitwich, Worcs. C7/305/4.

Auditor (jt.), I. Temple 1609, 1610, 1612, bencher 1614, reader 1616, treas. 1617–25;CITR, ii. 44, 52, 69, 88, 92, 95, 104, 110, 115, 126, 134, 140, 145. jnr. counsel, Skinners’ Co. London 1604-at least 1608;GL, ms 30727/5, unfol. 1604–8 accts. reader, Lyon’s Inn, London 1609;Readings and Moots at Inns of Ct. II ed. S.E. Thorne and J.H. Baker (Selden Soc. cv), p. cvi. judge, Sheriff’s Ct., London 1614–16,W.R. Prest, Rise of the Barristers, 357; CLRO, Remembrancia viii. no. 18. Oxf. circ. bef. 1616;Liber Famelicus of Sir J. Whitelocke ed. J. Bruce (Cam. Soc. lxx), 54. recorder, London 1616 – 17, Coventry, Warws. 1634 – d.; fee’d counsel, corporation of London 1617, CLRO, Reps. 33, ff. 5r-v, 72r-v; VCH Warws. viii. 249. Worcester, Worcs. 1616–d.,Chamber Bk. of Worc. (Worcs. Hist Soc. n.s. viii), 141. Merchant Taylors’ Co. London 1617–20,GL, ms Merchant Taylors’ accts. vols. 11 and 12, unfol. ?Camb. Univ. 1617-at least 1625;D.M. Owens, Cambridge Univ. Archives: A classified list, 45; Life of the Renowned Dr. Preston ed. E.W. Harcourt, 117. Worcester 1624–d.;Chamber Bk. of Worcester, 29. solicitor gen. 1617–21;C231/4, f. 37. acting att. gen. 1620–1,APC, 1619–21, p. 268. att. gen. 1621–5;CSP Dom. 1623–5, p. 558. ld. kpr. 1625–d.Rymer, viii. pt. 1, p. 157.

Cttee. Virg. Co. c.1610-at least 1622;A. Brown, Genesis of US, ii. 866; Recs. Virg. Co. ed. S.R. Kingsbury, iii. 65. member, Hon. Art. Co. London 1614;Ancient Vellum Bk. ed. G.A. Raikes, 22. freeman, Grocers’ Co. London 1627.GL, ms 11592A, unfol.

Commr. gold and silver thread 1618, enforcement of gold and silver thread patent 1618, right of free warren 1618, markets and fairs 1620,CD 1621, vii. 366–7, 411, 466–7. abuses in silk-dyeing 1620;HMC Rutland i. 458. member, High Commission, Canterbury prov. 1620;R.G. Usher, Rise and Fall of High Commission, 348. commr. composition, illegal wine casks 1619,CD 1621, vii. 471. trade 1625, defective titles 1625;Rymer, viii. pt. 1, pp. 33, 59, 70. Following his appointment as ld. kpr. in Nov. 1625, Coventry was an ex officio member of numerous commissions which, for the sake of brevity, are omitted here. PC 1625–d.APC, 1625–6, p. 223.

Parlimentarian

COVENTRY, Sir Thomas (1578-1640), of Croome d’Abitot, Worcs., the Inner Temple, London and Durham House, The Strand, Westminster

Main residences: Croome d'Abitot, Worcs.; the Inner Temple, London; Durham House, The Strand, Westminster.

Author

G.R.

A.D.T.

Volume

Commons 1604-1629

Web Title

COVENTRY, Sir Thomas (1578-1640)

Will

Estates

Oxford 1644

Addresses

Religion

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