Thomas Charlton (speaker)

Thomas Charlton (1417?–1465) was a speaker for House of Commons of England in 1454.^[1]

He was the son and heir of Sir Thomas Charlton of Hillingdon (d. 1445), land owner and MP.

By 1441 Thomas Jr. had entered Henry VI's household as one of the esquires of the hall and chamber. In 1442 he was elected to the first of six parliaments in which he served as knight of the shire for Middlesex. He inherited extensive estates from his parents in over five counties and again represented Middlesex in the Parliaments of 1447 and 1449. He was knighted around 1453. In 1453 he once again sat in parliament for Middlesex, when Richard, Duke of York made his claim to the throne during Henry VI's illness. The speaker for the House of Commons, Thomas Thorpe, was arrested on York's orders and on 16th of February, 1454. Charlton was elected in his place until April of 1454.

In 1455, Thomas Charlton was appointed Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. In 1459, he returned to Parliament. After the Yorkist invasion of 1460, he committed to the Yorkist cause and was one of the judges who tried the Lancastrian defenders of the Tower of London, was again elected to Parliament and was made Comptroller of the Household. As Comptroller, he accompanied Henry VI to the second battle of St. Albans in 1461, where he was taken as prisoner, regaining his freedom after Edward IV's victory at Towton in the following month.

He died in 1465. He married Benedicta Vernon (Charlton), daughter of the former speaker of the Commons Sir Richard Vernon. They had two sons and three daughters.

References

↑ http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/notes/snpc-04637.pdf

Kleineke, Hannes. "Charlton,Sir Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/92982. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Political offices
Preceded by Thomas Thorpe	Speaker of the House of Commons 1454	Succeeded by John Wenlock

Speakers of the House of Commons

House of Commons
of England

14th century	Hungerford De la Mare Pickering Guildesborough Waldegrave Pickering Bussy Cheney Doreward Savage Redford

15th century	Esturmy Tiptoft Chaucer Stourton Hungerford Chaucer Redman Beauchamp Flower Hunt Chaucer Baynard Russell Walton Vernon Tyrell Alington Bowes Burley Tresham Say Popham Oldhall Thorpe Charlton Wenlock Tresham Green Strangeways Wood Catesby Lovell Mordaunt Fitzwilliam Empson Drury Englefield

16th century	Dudley Sheffield Nevill More Audley Wingfield Rich Hare Moyle Baker Dyer Pollard Broke Higham Cordell Gargrave Williams Onslow Wray Bell Popham Puckering Snagge Coke Yelverton

17th century	Croke Phelips Crewe Richardson Crewe Finch Finch Glanville Lenthall Pelham Rous (Barebones Parliament) Widdrington (2nd Protectorate Parliament) Chute (3rd Protectorate Parliament) Long (3rd Protectorate Parliament) Bampfield (3rd Protectorate Parliament) Grimston Turnour Charlton Seymour Sawyer Gregory Williams Trevor Powle Foley Littleton

18th century	Harley Smith

House of Commons
of Great Britain

18th century	Smith R. Onslow Bromley Hanmer Compton A. Onslow Cust Norton Cornwall Grenville Addington

House of Commons
of the United Kingdom

19th century	Addington Mitford Abbot Manners-Sutton Abercromby Shaw-Lefevre Denison Brand Peel Gully

20th century	Lowther Whitley FitzRoy Brown Morrison Hylton-Foster King Lloyd Thomas Weatherill Boothroyd

21st century	Martin Bercow

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