Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton

Origins

He was the only surviving son of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (1573–1624) by his wife Elizabeth Vernon (1572–1655), daughter of John Vernon (died 1592) of Hodnet, Shropshire.

Career

He succeeded to the earldom following his father's death in 1624, after which event he attended St. John's College, Cambridge. At first, he sided with the Parliament supporters upon the controversies leading to the English Civil War, but upon his realisation of their propensity to violence, he became a loyal supporter of King Charles I. While remaining very loyal to the deposed monarch, he still worked for peace and represented the king at the peace conferences in 1643 and one at Uxbridge in 1645. He was allowed to remain in England, having paid fines to the Committee for Compounding with Delinquents of more than £6,000.

Several months after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, Lord Southampton was appointed Lord High Treasurer (8 September 1660), a position he occupied until his death. Samuel Pepys admired Southampton's integrity and the stoicism with which he endured his painful last illness, but clearly had doubts about his competence as Treasurer; in particular he recorded Southampton's despairing words to him, having been asked to raise more funds at a Council meeting in April 1665: "Why, what means all this, Mr. Pepys? This is true, you say, but what would you have me do? I have given all I can for my life. Why will not people lend their money?" However Pepys admitted that Sir William Coventry, the colleague he most admired, was himself an admirer of Southampton, whom he described as "a great statesman". Coventry recalled that other ministers would joke that regardless of his complaints that it was "impossible" to find money, Southampton always succeeded in the end. Southampton however once grimly remarked that "Impossible will be found impossible at the last", an accurate prophecy of the crisis of 1672 which led to the Stop of the Exchequer.

Lord Southampton's name lives on in London as both Southampton Row and Southampton Street in Holborn are named after him.

Marriages and children

He married three times and had three daughters:

1. to Rachel de Massue (1603- 16 February 1640), a French Huguenot and an aunt of Henri de Massue, Marquis de Ruvigny, 1st Viscount Galway. By Rachel he had children two daughters and co-heiresses:
   1. Elizabeth Wriothesley, Viscountess Campden, wife of Edward Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough
   2. Rachel Wriothesley, wife of William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683), the third son of William Russell, 5th Earl of Bedford, later created Duke of Bedford. The eventual heir to all the estates of her father Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, was her only son Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford (1680–1711).
2. to Lady Elizabeth Leigh, daughter of Francis Leigh, 1st Earl of Chichester from whom he inherited the title Earl of Chichester. By Elizabeth Leigh he had a further daughter:
   1. Lady Elizabeth Wriothesley (1646–1690) who married twice, firstly to Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland (1644–1670), whom she bore an only surviving child, heiress to the vast Percy estates, Lady Elizabeth Percy (1667–1722) who married Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (1662–1748). She secondly married Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu.
3. Lady Frances Seymour (equally her third marriage), daughter of William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset (1587–1660) by his second wife Lady Frances Devereux. They had no children.