Thomas Crewe

Sir Thomas Crewe.

Sir Thomas Crewe (or Crew) (1565 – 31 January 1634), of Stene in Northamptonshire, was an English Member of Parliament and lawyer, and served as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1623 to 1625.

Crewe was a member of Gray's Inn, and a serjeant-at-law. He entered Parliament in 1604 as Member for Lichfield, and was later MP for Northampton (1621-2), Aylesbury (1623-5) and Gatton (1625). In 1621 he drew attention to himself by defying the King, declaring the liberties of Parliament to be "matters of inheritance". In 1623 he was knighted, and in the Parliament summoned that year (which first assembled in February 1624) he was elected Speaker; he served in that capacity in the two Parliaments known to history as the Happy Parliament and the Useless Parliament. In 1633, he was appointed a member of the ecclesiastical commission. He died the following year.

Crewe's son, John, followed him into Parliament, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Crew in 1661 for his role in bringing about the Restoration.

Sir Thomas Crew married Temperance Bray, daughter of Reynold Bray and Hon. Anne Vaux. He lived at Stene, Northamptonshire, and died on 31 January 1633.

References

• Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930)
• Burke's Extinct Peerage (London: Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1831)
• Mark Noble, Memoirs of several persons and families... allied to or descended from... the Protectorate-House of Cromwell (Birmingham: Pearson & Rollason, 1784)

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 Savage 15th century Esturmy Tiptoft Chaucer Stourton Doreward Hungerford Chaucer Redman Beauchamp Flower Hunt Chaucer Baynard Flower Russell Walton Vernon Tyrell Alington, Sr. Tyrell Russell Hunt Bowes Tyrell Burley W. Tresham Burley W. Tresham Say Popham I W. Tresham Oldhall Thorpe Charlton Wenlock T. Tresham Green Strangeways Say Alington Jr. Wood Catesby Lovell Mordaunt Fitzwilliam Empson Drury Englefield 16th century Dudley Englefield Sheffield Nevill More Audley Wingfield Rich Hare Moyle Baker Dyer Pollard Broke Higham Cordell Gargrave T. Williams Onslow Wray Bell Popham II Puckering Snagge Coke Yelverton 17th century Croke Phelips R. Crewe Richardson T. Crewe H. Finch J. Finch Glanville Lenthall Pelham Lenthall Rous (Barebones Parliament) Lenthall Widdrington (2nd Protectorate Parliament) Chute, Long & Bampfield (3rd Protectorate Parliament) Lenthall Grimston Turnour Charlton Seymour Sawyer Seymour Gregory W. Williams Trevor Powle Trevor 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