Sir Thomas Strickland of Sizergh PC, MP (1621 - 1691)

attributed to Jacob Huysmans (Antwerp c.1630 – London 1696). Oil painting on canvas, Sir Thomas Strickland of Sizergh (1621 - 1691), attributed to Jacob Huysmans (Antwerp c.1630 – London 1696), late 17th century. A shoulder-length portrait in a sculptured oval. Sir Thomas was an unlucky figure. On the losing side in the Civil War, his efforts to recover his fortunes after it, via a salt tax, only led to deeper trouble, and to the sale of Thornton Bridge to his cousin.The Test Act (1673) resulted in his forfeiting any office, as a Catholic; and the brief reign of the Catholic King James II ended with his following him into exile at Saint-Germain. In 1692 ill-health caused him to retire to an English convent in Rouen, where he died. Twice married, to Jane Mosely, Lady Dawney, in 1646, and to Winifred Trentham in 1674, he had two surviving daughters by the former, and four surviving sons by the latter. Sizergh Castle, Cumbria