Thomas Brudenell, 1st Earl of Cardigan

Thomas Brudenell, 1st Earl of Cardigan (c. 1583 – 16 September 1663), known as Sir Thomas Brudenell, Bt, between 1611 and 1628 and as The Lord Brudenell between 1628 and 1661, was an English peer and Royalist soldier.

Brudenell was the son of Robert Brudenell, of Doddington, Huntingdonshire, and Deene, Northamptonshire, by Catherine Taylarde, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Taylarde. He was the grandson of Sir Thomas Brudenell, High Sheriff of Rutland, and the great-grandson of Sir Robert Brudenell, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He succeeded to the Deene estates in 1606 on the death of his paternal uncle. In 1611 he was created a Baronet, of Deene in the County of Northampton. In 1628 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Brudenell, of Stonton in the County of Leicester. He fought on the Royalist side in the Civil War and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Following the Restoration, he was created Earl of Cardigan in 1661.^[1]

Lord Cardigan married Mary Tresham, daughter of Sir Thomas Tresham, of Rushton, Northamptonshire. He died in 1663 and was succeeded in the earldom by his son, Robert. The Countess of Cardigan died in October 1664.^[1]

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