Colonel Thomas Birch | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Castle_Liverpool_plaque.jpg) Plaque marking Liverpool Castle; Birch was Governor 1644 to 1655 | |
| MP for Liverpool | |
| In office September 1656 (not allowed to take his seat) – February 1658 | |
| Governor of Liverpool | |
| In office 1644–1655 | |
| Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire | |
| In office June 1642 – July 1650 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 June 1608 Birch Hall, Rusholme |
| Died | 5 August 1678 (aged 70) Liverpool |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse | Alice Brooke (died 1697) |
| Relations | Colonel John Birch (1615–1691) |
| Children | Five sons, five daughters |
| Parent(s) | George and Ann Birch |
| Occupation | Puritan radical, soldier, landowner |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  England 1642–1649  England 1649-1660 |
| Years of service | 1642 to 1660 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars |
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Thomas Birch, c. 5 June 1608 to 5 August 1678, was an English landowner, soldier and radical Puritan who fought for Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1649 and 1658.
Part of a large Puritan family, many of whom also served in the Parliamentarian army, Birch helped secure Lancashire for Parliament during the First English Civil War. He was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire in 1642 and Governor of Liverpool in 1644. Unlike many of his colleagues, who were moderate Presbyterians, Birch was associated with the religious Independents who included Oliver Cromwell.
As a result, when the Commonwealth of England was established after the Execution of Charles I in January 1649, Birch became the leading political figure in Lancashire. However, he gradually came to oppose Cromwell, and was removed as Governor in 1655, as well as being excluded from the Second Protectorate Parliament. Following the 1660 Stuart Restoration, he retired from public life and lived quietly in Liverpool, where he died on 5 August 1678.