Thomas Lunsford

Sir Thomas Lunsford (c. 1610 – c. 1653) was a Royalist colonel in the English Civil War who in 1649 was exiled to the Virginia Colony, where he held offices, acquired land and died.

Early and family life Lunsford was son of Thomas Lunsford of Wilegh, Sussex. His mother, Katherine, was daughter of Thomas Fludd, treasurer of war to Queen Elizabeth, and sister of Robert Fludd the Rosicrucian. Lunsford was the third son and heir, with a twin, Herbert.

Early career and French exile Lunsford had a wild temperament from an early age. On 27 June 1632, he was charged with killing deer on the grounds of his relative, Sir Thomas Pelham. His third wife was Elizabeth, the daughter of Virginia emigrant Christopher Wormeley and granddaughter of Henry Wormeley of Riccall, Yorkshire, and the widow of Richard Kemp, member of the Governor's Council and former colonial secretary; with whom he had one daughter.

Royalist officer

On 22 December 1641, the king appointed Lunsford as Lieutenant of the Tower of London. The next day, the common council of London presented a petition to the House of Commons against his appointment. Bowing to pressure, the king removed Lunsford from the post on 26 December. The following day, Lunsford was called before the Commons for examination. On leaving the house, he was engaged in a free-for-all in Westminster Hall.

The king knighted Lunsford on 28 December and appointed him commander of an unofficial royal guard at the Palace of Whitehall. On 4 January 1642, Sir Thomas accompanied the king on his ill-fated attempt to arrest Five Members of the House of Commons. Regardless, Lunsford was released in June, and participated in several military engagements over the next few months. Shortly after his arrival in the colony, Lunsford patented more than 3,400 acres bordering Portobago Bay on the Rappahannock River opposite to the Native American settlement called Nanzattico, which was home to the Portobago and Nanzattico Native Americans and that later became part of Caroline County. Normally, such patents were based on the number of people (including himself) for whose emigration to Virginia the patentee had paid, and he was also required to improve and cultivate the land. Lunsford also owned land near Potomac Creek in Northumberland County. Upon the death of the colony's secretary, Richard Kemp, Lunsford married Kemp's widow, the former Elizabeth Wormeley, and resided at Kemp's former Rich Neck Plantation. Lunsford held the rank of lieutenant-general in the Virginia militia. or c. 1656.

Lunsford was portrayed by Patrick Holt in the 1970 film Cromwell.