| Sir Thomas Myddelton | |
| Office: | Member of Parliament for London |
| Term Start: | 1624 |
| Term End: | 1628 |
| Predecessor: | Sir Thomas Lowe Robert Heath Robert Bateman William Towerson |
| Alongside: | Sir Heneage Finch, Robert Bateman, Martin Bond, Sir Maurice Abbot |
| Successor: | Thomas Moulson Christopher Clitherow Henry Waller James Bunce |
| Office1: | Lord Mayor of London |
| Term Start1: | 1613 |
| Term End1: | 1613 |
| Predecessor1: | Sir John Swynnerton |
| Successor1: | Thomas Hayes |
| Birth Date: | 1550 |
| Residence: | Chirk Castle |
| Parents: | Richard Myddelton Jane Dryhurst |
| Spouse: | |
| Relations: | Sir Hugh Myddelton, 1st Baronet (brother) Robert Myddelton (brother) Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet (grandson) Sir Thomas Salusbury, 2nd Baronet (grandson) |
Sir Thomas Myddelton (1550 – 12 August 1631[1]) was a Welsh merchant who was Lord Mayor of London before becoming a Member of Parliament for London.
He was the fourth son of Richard Myddelton, Governor of Denbigh Castle, and Jane Dryhurst.[2] Among his siblings were William Myddelton, a poet and seaman,[3] Sir Hugh Myddelton, 1st Baronet, a merchant and clothmaker,[4] and Robert Myddelton, MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis and the City of London.[5]
As a youth, he was apprenticed to a grocer in London, and made his fortune in trade. He divided his time between London and Wales, and purchased Chirk Castle in 1595 for £5,000.
He was a member of the Grocers' Company, a Member of Parliament for the City of London and a founder member of the East India Company, Sheriff of London in 1604 and Lord Mayor of London in 1613. His brother, Sir Hugh Myddleton, was instrumental in the creation of the New River which supplied London with fresh water from 1613.[6] He was knighted in July 1603.[2]
Along with Rowland Heylyn, Myddelton financed the publication of a Welsh language Bible suitable for everyday use.[7]
Myddelton was married four times. His first marriage was on 18 February 1584 to Hester Saltonstall (1555–1587), a daughter of Sir Richard Saltonstall, also a Lord Mayor of London who served as MP for London and as Sheriff of the City of London. Her sister, Eleanor Saltonstall, married Myddelton's brother Robert, in 1612. Before her death in July 1587, they were the parents of two sons:[2]
After her death, he married Elizabeth Olmstead, widow of John Olmstead of Ingatestone, Essex, by 25 March 1588. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters:[2]
His third marriage was in 1604 to Elizabeth (Brooke) Thorpe Hobart (d. 1619/20), a daughter of Richard Brooke, a goldsmith of London. She was twice a widow, having been married to Richard Thorpe (d. 1591), a vintner of London and Miles Hobart (d. 1604), a clothworker of London. By his third marriage he gained a stepson, Miles Hobart.[2] She died in 1619.
His fourth marriage was to Anna (Vanaker) Wittewronge, a daughter of Garrard Vanaker of Antwerp, widow of Jacob Wittewronge, a brewer of London.[2] By his fourth marriage, he gained another stepson, John Wittewrong,
Myddelton died on 12 August 1631. His younger son, Timothy, inherited his estates in Essex.[12]
Through his eldest son Thomas, he was a grandfather of Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet, who was created a baronet in 1660, and Ann Myddelton, wife of Edward Herbert, 3rd Baron Herbert of Chirbury.[13]
Through his daughter Hester, he was a grandfather of Sir Thomas Salusbury, 2nd Baronet, MP for Denbighshire in the Short Parliament and served on Charles I’s council of war at the Battle of Edgehill.[14]