Thomas Luttrell (died 1571)
politician

Thomas Luttrell (died 1571), of Dunster Castle in Somerset, feudal baron of Dunster, was a Member of Parliament for his family's newly enfranchised pocket borough of Minehead (two miles north-east of Dunster Castle), from 1563 to 1567 . He was Sheriff of Somerset in 1570–1.
Origins
He was the second son and eventual heir of Sir Andrew Luttrell (1484–1538), feudal baron of Dunster, Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset in 1528, whose monument exists in East Quantoxhead Church, by his wife Margaret Wyndham (d.1580), a daughter of Sir Thomas Wyndham (d.1521) of Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk. Thomas inherited the family estates on the death of his elder brother Sir John Luttrell (d.1551), a soldier who died without male progeny.
Career
He sold the Devon and Somerset estates, excepting Dunster Castle, apparently to meet debts. These were however "amply replaced" by the large estate inherited from his wife.
Marriage
He married Margaret Hadley on 27 Aug 1560, daughter and eventual sole heiress of Christopher Hadley (1517-1540), lord of the manor of Withycombe Hadley in Somerset. The former manor house of the Hadleys survives as Court Place in the village of Withycombe. Thomas Luttrell and Margaret Hadley were related spiritually as well as by blood, as Margaret was the god-daughter of Thomas's mother, making them in the eyes of the church spiritually related as brother and sister; and both were descended from Elizabeth Courtenay (d.1493), daughter of Sir Philip Courtenay (1404–1463) of Powderham. Margaret's great-grandfather Richard Hadley had married Philippa Audley, a daughter of Sir Humphrey Audley (alias Touchet) (c.1434-1471) (a younger son of James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet (c.
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