Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter

"Thomas Cecil" redirects here. For other uses, see Thomas Cecil (disambiguation).

Thomas Cecil.

File:Dorothy Latimer, wife of Thomas Cecil by British artist, active between 1537 - 1599.jpg

Dorothy, first wife of Thomas Cecil (1549–1608)

File:Coat of arms of Sir Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG.png

Arms of Sir Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG - Barry of ten argent and azure over all six escutcheons sable, three, two, and one, each charged with a lion rampant of the first.

Sir Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, KG (5 May 1542 – 8 February 1623), known as Lord Burghley from 1598 to 1605, was an English politician and soldier.

Family

Thomas Cecil was the elder son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, by his first wife, Mary Cheke (died February 1543). He was the half-brother of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, Anne Cecil, and Elizabeth Cecil.

His father, although fond of both his sons, recognised that only Robert had inherited his political gifts: Thomas, he said sadly, was hardly fit to govern a tennis court. He did however inherit Burghley House.

Career

Cecil was educated privately and at Trinity College, Cambridge.

He served in government under Elizabeth I of England, first serving in the House of Commons in 1563 and representing various constituencies for most of the time from then until 1593. He was knighted in 1575 and appointed High Sheriff of Northamptonshire for 1578. He accompanied the Earl of Leicester to the Dutch Republic, where he was distinguished for his bravery. In 1585 he served as governor of Brielle. He did not have good relations with Leicester, but he was very loyal to Sir John Norreys. In 1584 and 1586 he was Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire, and once more in 1592 for Northamptonshire. His father's death in 1598 brought him a seat in the House of Lords, the 2nd Lord Burghley, as he then was, served from 1599 to 1603 as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire and Lord President of the Council of the North. It was during this period that Queen Elizabeth made him a Knight of the Garter in 1601. He was created Earl of Exeter on 4 May 1605, the same day his half-brother Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cranborne, was created 1st Earl of Salisbury. Unlike his brother, however, he did not become a government minister under James I, which may suggest that James shared their father's low opinion of Thomas's political skills.

The Cecil family fostered arts; they supported musicians such as William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Robinson. The latter, in his youth, was in the service of Thomas Cecil.

Marriages and issue

Thomas Cecil married, firstly, Dorothy Neville, the daughter of John Neville, 4th Baron Latimer, by his wife, Lucy Somerset, daughter of Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester; and, secondly, Frances Brydges, the daughter of William Brydges, 4th Baron Chandos, of Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire, and widow of the Master of Requests, Thomas Smith, of Abingdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), and Parson's Green, Middlesex.

By his first wife, Thomas Cecil had eleven children:

• William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter.
• Catherine Cecil.
• Lucy Cecil, who married William Paulet, 4th Marquess of Winchester.
• Mildred Cecil.
• Sir Richard Cecil of Wakerley.
• Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon.
• Mary Cecil, who married Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich.
• Dorothy Cecil, who married Sir Giles Alington.
• Elizabeth Cecil, who married firstly Sir William Newport alias Hatton, and secondly, Sir Edward Coke.
• Thomas Cecil, esquire.
• Frances Cecil, who married Nicholas Tufton, 1st Earl of Thanet.

Lord Exeter is buried in the chapel of St John the Baptist, Westminster Abbey.

Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Burghley	Custos Rotulorum of Lincolnshire bef. 1594 – aft. 1608	Succeeded by Lord Burghley
Preceded by Kenelm Digby	Custos Rotulorum of Rutland bef. 1594–1623	Succeeded by The Marquess of Buckingham
Vacant Title last held by The Earl of Huntingdon	Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire 1599–1603	Succeeded by The Lord Sheffield
Vacant Title last held by Sir Christopher Hatton	Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire 1603–1623	Succeeded by The Earl of Exeter
Peerage of England
New creation	Earl of Exeter 1605–1623	Succeeded by William Cecil
Preceded by William Cecil	Baron Burghley 1598–1623

See Also

Wimbledon Palace - The house Sir Thomas Cecil built