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Sir Thomas Bendysh | |
|---|---|
| British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire | |
| In office 1647–1655 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Sackville Crowe |
| Succeeded by | Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1607 |
| Died | 1674 Bower Hall, Steeple Bumpstead, Essex, England |
Sir Thomas Bendysh, 2nd Baronet (c. 1607 – 1674) served as the English ambassador to the Ottoman sultanate in the mid-17th century.[1]
Life
Son of Sir Thomas Bendish, 1st Baronet of Bower Hall, Steeple Bumpstead, Essex, Bendish the younger enrolled in Middle Temple in 1626, after earlier studying at St John's College, Cambridge.[1] Later in life, he donated fifty books to St John's, of which forty are still kept today.[2]
Sir Thomas succeeded to the Baronetcy in 1636.[1] A decade later he was banned from Essex, had his estates seized, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London after siding with King Charles I during the English Civil War. He was released on 28 September 1644, after paying a 1,000 pound fine, although he remained banned from coming within 20 miles of Essex.[3]
Bendysh was appointed on 8 January 1647. On 29 January 1647 the House of Lords confirmed that Sir Thomas was named as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.[4] A Royal Commission set up by parliament followed on 1 February. Bendysh received articles with the Levant Company from 18 March, set sail and arrived in Constantinople by 26 September. Upon his entrance to Constantinople (now Istanbul) he was confronted by the previous ambassador, who refused to relinquish his post, and had to be forcibly removed from office.[2]
While in office, it is known that Sir Thomas personally saw to Isaac Barrow.[5] He was imprisoned by the Ottomans at one point due to a commercial dispute with clerics.
Bendysh was recalled from his post some time before 1655 but he continued to offer his services without commission.[6] He was recalled by Cromwell's Protectorate at the Restoration on 25 June 1660. However, in light of the changing political situation, he delayed his departure until 11 March 1661.
He died at his home in Bower Hall in 1674. He was succeeded by son and heir Sir John Bendish, 3rd Baronet (1630–1707).[7]
Family
Sir Thomas's wife Anne, the daughter of Henry Baker, died before 1661 in Constantinople and was buried at Steeple Bumstead.[1][7]
See also
- List of baronetcies in the Baronetage of England: Bendish of Steeple Bumpstead, created 1611, extinct 1717.
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Bendish, Thomas (BNDS624T)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b Sir Thomas Bendish's bookplate
- ^ House of Lords Journal Volume 6 - 28 September 1644, British History Online
- ^ House of Lords Journal Volume 8 - 29 January 1647, British History Online
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 440.
- ^ Daniel Goffman, Britons in the Ottoman Empire, 1642-1660 (Seattle & London, 1998), pp. 194-6
- ^ a b Cokayne, G. E.; Gibbs, Vicary; Doubleday, H. A.; White, Geoffrey H.; Warrand, Duncan; Scott-Ellis, Thomas, eds. (2000), The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, vol. I (new (reprint) ed.), Stroud: Alan Sutton Publishing, p. 64, ISBN 978-0-904387-82-7 (Cited at thePeerage.com, which accessed 18 July 2020)
References
- Anderson, James. Memorable women of the Puritan times, Volume 2, Blackie and son, 1862.
Further reading
- Oliver Cromwell's letter to Sultan Han, mention of Bendish
- Goffman, Daniel (1998). Britons in the Ottoman Empire, 1642-1660. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97668-3.
3 Annotations
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
Sir Thomas Bendish of Bower Hall, Steeple Bumpstead, Essex, 2nd baronet (1607-1674), was the son of Sir Thomas Bendish, 1st baronet (c.1568-1636) and Dorothy, daughter of Richard Cutts of Arkesden.
Bendish Jr. enrolled in Middle Temple in 1626, after earlier studying at St. John's College, Cambridge.
Sir Thomas Bendish Jr. succeeded to the Baronetcy in 1636.
In 1637 Sir Thomas married Anne, daughter of Henry Baker of North Shoebury, Essex.
Bendish was appointed to the commission of the peace for Essex in May 1638.
He was a committed royalist during the civil wars and reputedly sent King Charles £3,000, for which he was was banned from Essex, had his estates seized, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London and fined £1,500 in August 1644.
Sir Thomas was released on 28 September 1644, after paying £1,000, although he remained banned from coming within 20 miles of Essex.
At some point he must have gone to Oxford, as Sir Thomas Bendish was appointed the Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire by King Charles on 8 Jan., 1647 and on 29 Jan,, 1647 the House of Lords confirmed the appointment.
A Royal Commission was set up by parliament on 1 Feb. Sir Thomas Bendish received articles with the Levant Company from 18 March, before setting sail and arriving in Constantinople by 26 Sept., 1647.
During 1647 Sir Thomas apparently had another interest:
During the first Civil War, Jane Ryder Whorwood stayed in the Oxford area with her children while her husband, the abusive Brome Whorwood, was away on the continent.
By 1647 she had the courtier Sir Thomas Bendish as her lover.
Anthony Wood describes Jane as “the most loyal person to King Charles in his miseries as any woman in England”, and she is now believed to have been the King's mistress while he was imprisoned at Carisbrooke Castle. For many years Jane lived apart from her husband.
Jane stayed in Oxford where she fund-raised for the King, and Lady Anne Baker and Amb. Sir Thomas Bendish went to Constantinople.
Upon his entrance to Constantinople, Amb. Bendish was confronted by the previous ambassador, who refused to relinquish his post, and had to be forcibly removed from office.
As Ambassador, Bendish spent time dealing with factionalism and corruption in the Levant Co., purchasing and freeing English slaves, as well as using gunboats to extract capitulations or trading privileges from the Sultan.
He survived several attempts to replace him, the drowning of a son at sea, and imprisonment by the Ottomans when he clashed with one of the clerical hierarchy over a commercial matter.
San Diego Sarah • Link
PART 2
It is also known Amb. Sir Thomas Bendish, 2nd Bart., met Isaac Barrow (1630 – 1677) who went on to be a Christian theologian and mathematician who is credited for his role in the early development of infinitesimal calculus. Barrow received an MA from Cambridge in 1652; resided for a few years in college, and became candidate for the Greek Professorship at Cambridge, but in 1655 -- having refused to sign the Engagement to uphold the Commonwealth -- he was given travel grants to go abroad.
[Barrow spent 4 years travelling across France, Italy, Smyrna and Constantinople, and after many adventures returned to England in 1659. On one occasion he saved the ship by his prowess from capture by pirates. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isa… ]
Amb. Sir Thomas Bendish was recalled from his post by Parliament before 1655, but he continued to service without commission.
[Working for the Levant Co. in Constantinople must have been profitable for men to be so dedicated to staying there, don't you think? - SDS]
Lady Anne Baker Bendish died of the plague before 1661 in Constantinople, and was buried at Steeple Bumstead, Essex.
Amb. Bendish's tenure was ended by Charles II on 25 June, 1660. He was replaced by Heneage Finch, 2nd/3rd Earl of Winchilsea. Because of changing political situation, he delayed his departure until 11 March, 1661.
Amb. Bendish returned home and spent the last years of his life in a dispute over expenses with the Levant Co.
Sir Thomas Bendish died at Bower Hall in 1674. He was succeeded by son and heir Sir John Bendish, 3rd Bart (1630–1707).
We know Amb. Bendish had another son, Thomas, because Pepys records being introduced to him by Thomas "the Turner" Pepys.
Notres taken from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tho…
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ben…
https://headington.org.uk/history…
https://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/library…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M: Sir Thomas Bendish, until 1660 ambassador at Constantinople; his aunt had married Pepys' great-uncle, John Pepys of Cottenham. He had 5 sons.
In 2007, Lisa Lillie told us that Thomas Bendish kept a journal which she believed is housed in the Essex Record Office (ERO).
Other substantial documents pertaining to the Bendish family are kept at the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota.
https://www.essexrecordofficeblog…
I was unsuccessful searching for BENDISH, so if you have more luck, please post info about what you find.
However, it looks like a rich site for general information which might belong in this Pepys blog.