THOMPSON, Sir Peter (1698-1770), of Mill St., Bermondsey and Market St., Poole, Dorset.

Peter Thompson was an eminent merchant in Bermondsey, engaged in the Hamburg and Newfoundland trade.Hutchins, Dorset, i. 49, 66-67. When sheriff of Surrey during the Forty-five, he was knighted on presenting a loyal address to the King. In 1747 he was brought into Parliament at St. Albans as a government supporter by his friend James West, the newly appointed recorder of Poole, of which Thompson was a freeman.West to Newcastle, 26 June 1747, Add. 32711, f.546. Though he did not stand again, he developed a considerable political influence in his native town, where he normally resided. In 1751 he supported opposition in the Poole corporation to Joseph Gulston.John Masters to Gulston, 21 Oct. 1751, Newcastle (Clumber) mss. Nine years later he reminded Gulston

of his great neglect of the Poole turnpike bill in June 1757, and desired his reasons for so doing which I expected ere I would promise him my vote and interest ... In my humble opinion when Members of Parliament don’t attend the business of their boroughs in Parliament, they ought to be reminded in decent language or decent scribble.Thompson to West, 20 Dec. 1760, West mss at Alscott.

In 1764 he was described by Thomas Erle Drax as ‘the person who has most personal weight’ in the borough.Letter dated 26 Mar. 1764, Grenville mss. (JM). A well-known antiquary and collector, fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries, he formed a valuable library and museum in his house at Poole. He died 31 Oct. 1770.