Thomas Fisher (MP)

Thomas Fisher or Hawkins (died 1577), was an English politician.

He was of obscure origin and was usually known by the name of Fisher, because his father was a fishmonger in Warwick. His ability recommended him to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, then to Viscount Lisle, who took him into his service, and on 4 May, 34 Hen. VIII, constituted him high steward and bailiff of his manor of Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire. For his exercise of that office during life Fisher had an annuity granted to him, which was confirmed in the reign of Mary I. He became one of the two Members of Parliament for Warwick.

He contrived to accumulate a vast estate in monastery and church lands. In 38 Hen. VIII he obtained the site of St Sepulchre's Priory, Warwick, with the lands adjacent, and proceeded to pull the monastery to the ground, raising in the place of it a house Hawkyns-nest, or Hawks-nest, also the 'Priory'; now the estate is Priory Park. In 1 Edward VI, Bishop's Itchington, Warwickshire, being alienated to him from the see of Coventry and Lichfield, he made an 'absolute depopulation' of that part called Nether Itchington, and demolished the church for the purpose of building a large manor-house on its site. He also changed the name of the village to Fisher's Itchington.

Fisher, who was now the chief citizen of Warwick, was secretary to the Duke of Somerset, protector of England. There is a tradition that he was colonel of a regiment in the English army at the battle of Pinkie, on 10 September 1547.

Towards the end of June 1548 he was commissioned by Somerset to travel north to Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury and William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton, with instructions for the defence of Haddington, and for the other manoeuvres of the army in Scotland. He was also to go to Sir John Luttrell at Broughty, and with him and Patrick Gray, 4th Lord Gray of Scotland to devise a means of communicating with Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll for negotiations. He was told to take the assured Scots Alexander Crichton of Brunstane and John Cockburn of Ormiston into his confidence, and reward the Scottish Lord Gray with a gold chain and money. Fisher reported what he had accomplished to Somerset and William Cecil from Berwick upon Tweed on 30 July.

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