Thomas Scott

Sir Thomas Scott (1535 – 30 December 1594), of Scot's Hall in Kent, was an English Member of Parliament (MP). Family Thomas Scott was the eldest son of Sir Reginald Scott, a member of one of the leading families in Kent, by his first wife, Emeline Kempe, the daughter of Sir William Kempe of Ollantigh and Eleanor Browne, daughter of Sir Robert Browne. Career Scott quickly became prominent in public affairs. He was knighted in 1571, served as MP for Kent in the parliaments of 1571 and 1586–7, and was High Sheriff in 1576. He was also a Deputy Lieutenant, a commissioner for draining and improving Romney Marsh, and was in charge of the improvement of Dover harbour. In Parliament, Scott seems to have been a consistent scourge of the Roman Catholics. In his first Parliament, he was appointed to a joint committee with the House of Lords to confer with the Royal lawyers on how to deal with Mary, Queen of Scots. On 15 May 1572, in the debate following the committee's report to the Commons, he regaled the House with his conclusion, that the Scots Queen was not the root of the mischief: "Rather, as a good physician before prescribing medicine, he would seek out the causes. Papistry was the principal." The second cause was the uncertainty of the succession, and the medicine he prescribed was threefold - taking away Mary's title to the succession, establishing an alternative heir and, as these two alone would be insufficient, cutting off the heads of the Scots Queen and the Duke of Alva. Scott's drastic advice was echoed by many others in the debate, but was not adopted by the government.