View source for Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet

{{Short description|English politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox politician
|honorific-prefix   = 
|name               = Sir Thomas Grosvenor
|honorific-suffix   = [[Baronet|Bt]]
|image              = Grosvenor, Thomas, 3rd Baronet.jpg
|imagesize          = 
|alt                = 
|caption            = Grosvenor in 1678 by [[Peter Lely]]
|birth_date         = {{birth date|1656|11|20|df=y}}
|birth_place        = [[Eaton Hall, Cheshire|Eaton Hall]], [[Cheshire]], [[England]]
|death_date         = {{death date and age|1700|7|2|1656|11|20|df=y}}
|death_place        = 
|restingplace       = [[St Mary's Church, Eccleston]], [[Cheshire]], [[England]]
|restingplacecoordinates = 
|birthname          = 
|nationality        = English
|party              = [[Tory (British political party)|Tory]]
|spouse             = {{marriage|Mary Davies|1677}}
|children           = 8, including: {{plainlist|
* [[Sir Richard Grosvenor, 4th Baronet]]
* [[Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 5th Baronet]]
* [[Sir Robert Grosvenor, 6th Baronet]]
}}
|relations          = 
|residence          = 
|occupation         = 
|profession         = 
|religion           = 
}}
[[File:Grosvenor, Mary.jpg|thumb|Mary, Lady Grosvenor, by [[Michael Dahl]]]]
'''Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet''' (20 November 1656 – 2 July 1700) was an [[England|English]] [[Member of Parliament]], and an ancestor of the modern day [[Duke of Westminster|Dukes of Westminster]].  He was the first member of the family to build a substantial house on the present site of [[Eaton Hall, Cheshire|Eaton Hall]] in [[Cheshire]].

==Early life and education==
Grosvenor was born at [[Eaton Hall, Cheshire|Eaton Hall]], [[Cheshire]], the son of Roger Grosvenor by his wife, Christian (or Christine), daughter of Thomas Myddleton of [[Chirk Castle]], [[Denbighshire]].<ref name=newton>{{cite book|last=Newton|first=Diana|last2=Lumby|first2=Jonathan|year=2002|title=The Grosvenors of Eaton|place=[[Eccleston, Cheshire]]|publisher=Jennet Publications|pages=8–12|isbn=0-9543379-0-5}}</ref> He was less than five years old when his father, Roger, was killed in a duel with his cousin, Hugh Roberts, on 22 August 1661. Roger had been the son and heir of [[Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Baronet]], and therefore, Thomas succeeded to the [[baronet]]cy upon the death of his grandfather on 31&nbsp;January 1665. He was eight years old at that time.<ref name=newton/>

Grosvenor was educated by a [[private tutor]], who also accompanied him when he undertook the [[Grand Tour]], in his case, a three-year educational tour of France, Italy and the [[Levant]], starting in 1670.<ref name=dnb>Handley, Stuart (2004) (online edition 2008) '[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/11674 Grosvenor, Sir Thomas, third baronet (1655–1700)]', ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[Oxford University Press]], Retrieved on 6&nbsp;April 2010. {{ODNBsub}}</ref>  On his return, he set about building a new house at [[Eaton, west Cheshire|Eaton]].  At that time, the family house was a [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[moat]]ed house.  The new house was the first substantial one to be built, and it was constructed to the north of the older house.  Grosvenor appointed the architect [[William Samwell (architect)|William Samwell]] to design it, and building started in 1675.  By 1683, over £1,000 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|1000|1683|2015|r=-3}}}} {{as of|2015|lc=y}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}} had been spent on the hall.<ref>{{cite book|year=2002|title=Eaton Halls|publisher=Eaton Estate|page=2}}</ref>  The money for this venture came partly from the estates, and also from [[Coal mining|coal]] and [[lead]] [[Mining|mines]], and from stone quarries in north [[Wales]], that were owned by the family.<ref name=newton/>

==Public life==
Grosvenor played his part in public life.  In 1677, he was granted the [[Freedom of the City#United Kingdom|freedom]] of [[Chester]], and later the same year, he became an [[alderman]].  Two years later, he was returned as a [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[City of Chester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester]] for the first time, in what became known as the [[Habeas Corpus Parliament]]; in all, he was to serve in six parliaments.  In 1685, he became [[Mayor#English-Saxon mayors and counterparts|Mayor]] of Chester, and later that year, raised a [[troop]] of horses to support [[James II of England|James&nbsp;II]] in the [[Monmouth Rebellion]].  Grosvenor served as [[High Sheriff of Cheshire|Sheriff of Cheshire]] in 1688–89.<ref name=dnb/>

==Family==
Grosvenor married in 1677; he was aged 21, and his wife, Mary Davies, was only 12 years old.<ref name=newton/> The marriage proved to be harmonious and conventional. Mary was the daughter of Alexander Davies, a [[scrivener]] (scribe), and she had [[Inheritance|inherited]] substantial land to the west of [[London]] from her great-uncle [[Hugh Audley]]. This was part of the Manor of [[Eia|Ebury]] (previously Eia), and Mary's portion consisted of 'swampy meads' ([[marsh]]land).<ref name=newton/> The area was later to become the [[Mayfair]], [[Park Lane (road)|Park Lane]], and [[Belgravia]] areas of London; the most valuable parts of the [[Grosvenor Estate]].

The couple had three daughters and five sons. Two of the sons, Thomas and Roger, died young; the other three sons all succeeded in turn to the baronetcy, [[Sir Richard Grosvenor, 4th Baronet|Richard]] became the 4th Baronet, [[Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 5th Baronet|Thomas]] the 5th, and [[Sir Robert Grosvenor, 6th Baronet|Robert]] the 6th.<ref name=dnb/> Two of the daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, also died young. Grosvenor died when Mary was eight months pregnant; she gave birth to a daughter, Ann, within a month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://londonhistorians.wordpress.com/2021/04/26/inheritance/|title=''Inheritance: the Long History of Mary Davies'' by Leo Hollis|date=26 April 2021|last=Renier|first=Hannah|website=londonhistorians.wordpress.com|access-date=10 January 2022}}</ref>

Mary, Lady Grosvenor, had converted to [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] shortly after coming of age.<ref name=newton/> Because of this, and because Eaton Hall was used as a meeting place for Catholics, Grosvenor's loyalty to the king was questioned.<ref name=dnb/>  However, he continued openly as an [[Church of England|Anglican]] until his death in 1700, and he was buried in [[St Mary's Church, Eccleston|Eccleston church]]. Grosvenor's surviving sons were all [[Minor (law)#United Kingdom|under age]] at the time of his death; [[Sir Richard Myddelton, 3rd Baronet]], and Thomas and Francis Cholmondeley were appointed as their [[Legal guardian|guardians]].<ref name=newton/>

Mary was buried in the churchyard of [[St. Margaret's Church, Westminster]], where in 1892, her tomb was the only one to be seen there, close to the north porch of the church.<ref>Smith, J.E., ''St John the Evangelist, Westminster: Parochial Memorials'', Westminster, 1892, pp.355–362 [https://archive.org/stream/stjohnevangelist00smit/stjohnevangelist00smit_djvu.txt]</ref>

<gallery>
File:Arms of Grosvenor baronets.svg|[[Coat of arms]] of the Grosvenor Baronets, of Eaton (1622)
File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, Old Churchyard - old Grovenor family gravesite1.JPG|[[St Mary's Church, Eccleston]] – the enclosure which marks the site of the Grosvenor family vault within the  demolished old church
File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, Old Churchyard - old Grovenor family gravesite - plaque.JPG|[[St Mary's Church, Eccleston]] – the tablet in the enclosure marking the site of the Grosvenor family vault within the old church
File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, north aisle - Grosvenors buried in the old church.JPG|[[St Mary's Church, Eccleston]] – the tablet in the new church which lists the Grosvenors buried in the demolished old church
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Cite DNB|wstitle=Grosvenor, Thomas (1656-1700)|display=Grosvenor, Thomas (1656–1700)|last=Tedder|first=Henry Richard|authorlink= |volume=23 |short=x}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|en}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Robert Werden]]<br>[[Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of Gray's Inn|William Williams]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament]]<br>for [[City of Chester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester]]|years=1679–1681|with=[[Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of Gray's Inn|William Williams]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of Gray's Inn|William Williams]]<br>[[Roger Whitley]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of Gray's Inn|William Williams]]<br>[[Roger Whitley]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br>for [[City of Chester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester]]|years=1685–1689|with=[[Robert Werden]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Roger Whitley]]<br>[[George Mainwaring (MP, died 1695)|George Mainwaring]]}}

{{s-bef|before=[[Roger Whitley]]<br>[[George Mainwaring (MP, died 1695)|George Mainwaring]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br>for [[City of Chester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester]]|years=1690–1700|with=[[Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet|Sir Richard Levinge]] 1690–1695|with2=[[Roger Whitley]] 1695–1698|with3=[[Thomas Cowper (MP)|Thomas Cowper]] 1698|with4=[[Peter Shakerley]] 1698–1700}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peter Shakerley]]<br>[[Sir Henry Bunbury, 3rd Baronet|Sir Henry Bunbury, Bt]]}}

{{s-reg|en-bt}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Baronet|Richard Grosvenor]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Westminster|Baronet]]<br /> '''(of Eaton)'''|years=1665–1700}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sir Richard Grosvenor, 4th Baronet|Richard Grosvenor]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Dukes of Westminster}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosvenor, Thomas, 3rd Baronet}}
[[Category:1656 births]]
[[Category:1700 deaths]]
[[Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of England]]
[[Category:Tory MPs (pre-1834)]]
[[Category:High sheriffs of Cheshire]]
[[Category:Grosvenor family|Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet]]
[[Category:English MPs 1679]]
[[Category:English MPs 1680–1681]]
[[Category:English MPs 1685–1687]]
[[Category:English MPs 1690–1695]]
[[Category:English MPs 1695–1698]]
[[Category:English MPs 1698–1700]]
[[Category:Mayors of Chester]]