Thomas Reynell was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

  at various times between 1654 and 1689.

Reynell was the eldest son of Sir Richard Reynell of East Ogwell, Devon and his wife Mary Reynell, daughter of Richard Reynell of Creedy Widger. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College, Oxford

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...

 in 1640 and entered Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

 in 1641. In 1647 he was J.P.

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 He succeeded to the family estates on the death of his father in 1648. In 1649 he was called to the bar.

Reynell was JP for Devon again and was commissioner for assessment for Devon in 1652. He was JP for Devon again in 1653 and remained in post until 1660. In 1654, he was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Devon

Devon (UK Parliament constituency)

Devon was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Devon in England. It was represented by two Knights of the Shire, in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from...

 for the First Protectorate Parliament

First Protectorate Parliament

The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....

. He was re-elected MP for Devon in 1656 for the Second Protectorate Parliament

Second Protectorate Parliament

The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...

. He was commissioner for assessment in 1657 and commissioner for militia in 1659. In 1659 he was elected MP for Ashburton

Ashburton (UK Parliament constituency)

Ashburton was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament at Westminster, for one Parliament in 1298 and regularly from 1640 until it was abolished for the 1868 general election. It was one of three Devon borough constituencies newly enfranchised in the Long...

 in the Third Protectorate Parliament

Third Protectorate Parliament

The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons...

.

Reynell was commissioner for assessment from January 1660 to 1663 and commissioner for militia in March 1660. He did not stand for parliament after the Restoration when he was described as "an arrant Presbyterian and a very dangerous Commonwealthman". He became JP for Devon again in August 1660 until 1676. In 1667 he was commissioner for inquiry into the Newfoundland government. He was commissioner for assessment from 1673 to 1680 and commissioner for recusants for Devon in 1675. From 1677 to 1678 he was High Sheriff of Devon

High Sheriff of Devon

The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, he holds his office over the duration of a year. He has judicial, ceremonial and administrative functions and executes High Court...

. He was elected MP for Ashburton again for the two parliaments of 1679 and in 1681. In May 1685, he was taken into custody prior to the Duke of Monmouth’s invasion. He was JP for Devon again from 1687 until his death. In March 1688 he was commissioner for inquiry into recusancy fines for Devon, Dorset and Cornwall and from May to October 1688 he was Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

. He was alderman for Totnes from April to October 1688. In 1689 he was elected MP for Ashnurton again. He was commissioner for assessment from 1689 to 1690.

Reynell died at the age of 73 and was buried at East Ogwell on 1 March 1698.

Reynell married firstly Mary Bennet, daughter of John Bennet of London and had a son and four daughters. He married secondly by licence dated 25 July 1673, Elizabeth Gould, widow of William Vincent, merchant of Exeter, and daughter of James Gould, merchant of London. They had three sons and two daughters and wassucceeded by his eldest son by the second marriage, who was MP for Ashburton between 1702 and 1734.