Thomas Knyvett, 5th Baron Berners

He inherited and kept an extensive library, which several antiquarians utilized over the years, including William Le Neve and John Spelman.

He referred to all of his children with nicknames - Buss for Elizabeth, Muss for Muriel, Tom for Thomas, and Jack for John.

Thomas wrote most of his letters while in London or Norwich on business, and he often expressed a longing for his wife, along with affectionate titles, closings and playful teasing.

During the interlude between the Bishops' Wars, Thomas stated that he went "to Church now to learn the old way to heaven," as opposed to the more radical preaching heard by "Parliament men.

"[11] A few weeks later, Thomas was required by Parliament, as a Justice of the Peace, to present the names of people who refused to receive Communion, then known as recusants.

Parliament ordered that the recusants be charged and prosecuted for their recusantry at the next Assizes, and Thomas dutifully complied in January 1641.

[12] Parliament's order was an extension of the Ecclesiastical Canons issued in 1640 by Archbishop Laud and the Convocation of Canterbury that stated that every Bishop send out writs de excommunicato capiendo once a year.

Sometime after presenting his list of recusants for Norfolk, Thomas and a fellow JP Henry Cogan, petitioned Archbishop Laud, asking for forgiveness for proceeding in the writs before their commissions had been properly issued.

[14] After the outbreak of open warfare between Charles and Parliament, Thomas was a known Royalist sympathizer, and refused a Captain's commission to serve in the Parliamentary forces.

Thomas succeeded in postponing his hearing while he enlisted the help of friends, and eventually gained a recommendation from the Earl of Manchester, a prominent Parliamentarian General.

[21] The decimation tax was reintroduced in 1655 when Parliament renewed efforts to sequester property from Royalists, and Thomas was again a target in Norfolk.