Thomas Waite

Thomas Waite [Also known as in contemporary sources as Thomas Wayte see " [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=14215#s10 House of Lords Journal Volume 11] 7 February 1662] was an English Member of Parliament and one of the regicides of King Charles I.

He was born in Leicestershire and was trained as a lawyer at Gray's Inn before siding with Parliament on the outbreak of the Civil War. He served as a captain under Lord Grey of Groby. After fighting successfully against Royalists in Northamptonshire, Waite was commissioned colonel of horse and governor of Rutland in 1644. Despite a long-running dispute with Lord Grey over his governorship, Waite was elected Member of Parliament for Rutland in July 1646.

He served under Lord Grey again during the Second Civil War when he was involved in the suppression of Royalist insurgents in the Midlands. In August 1648, Waite participated in the capture of the Duke of Hamilton at Uttoxeter. He was a witness at Hamilton's trial in February 1649, where Hugh Peter accused him of lying in stating that Hamilton surrendered to Lord Grey rather than to Major-General Lambert. Although he retained his seat in Parliament, Waite did not approve of Pride's Purge in December 1648, and was one of the MPs who withdrew from the House of Commons in protest.

In January 1649, as a commissioner of the High Court of Justice at the trial of King Charles. He attended only three sessions of the King's trial, but was a signatory of the death warrant, 56th of the 59 signatories.

Waite withdrew from public life after the establishment of the Protectorate in 1653. He purchased lands formerly belonging to the Duke of Buckingham in Rutland; in March 1654, his tenants petitioned the Council of State complaining of his harsh treatment of them.

Brought to trial as a regicide at the Restoration, Waite pleaded that he had been forced by Cromwell and Ireton to sit on the High Court of Justice. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. His wife, Jane, unsuccessfully petitioned for his release for the sake of their five children. Waite was last heard of in February 1668 when he was imprisoned in . The date of his death is not known.

References

This article incorporates text under a Creative Commons License by David Plant, the British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/waite.htm

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