Thomas Treffry (died 1564)

[1][2] Born about 1490, he was the first son of Thomas Treffrey (died before 1510), of Place, and his wife Janet, daughter and heiress of William Dawe, who lived at Plymouth.

In that year he was made a justice of the peace for Cornwall and Collector of Customs for Plymouth and Fowey, giving up the latter post in 1541.

[1] The south Cornish coast being vulnerable to attack from the sea, the government started building the artillery fort called St Mawes Castle, where he was named as Captain in 1541 and supervised the completion of the works.

Not only did he have to meet part of the cost himself but for the war against France in 1544 had also to finance both a contingent of soldiers for the army and the equipping of a ship, the Falcon Lisle, for the navy.

[1] It is possible he was one of the MPs elected for Cornwall in November 1554 but it may alternatively have been another Thomas Treffry, not a legitimate son of his, who had sat for Bodmin in 1545.