Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt

Thomas Tyrwhitt (1762-1833) was an MP, an official of the Duchy of Cornwall and private secretary to the Prince of Wales, later George IV. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, sat for Okehampton (1796-1802), Portarlington (1802-06) and Plymouth (1806-12), and was Auditor of the Duchy of Cornwall and Lord Warden of the Stannaries. He was knighted in 1812 on becoming Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, and died on 24 February 1833. His exact birth date is uncertain.

On the moor he built Tor Royal (1785-93) and bought over 2,000 acres around it. Flax was his most successful crop. Prince Albert stayed at the house in August 1846.

He promoted roads across the moor and the settlement of Princetown, named after the Prince of Wales as Duke of Cornwall. He is often said to have founded Princetown and Dartmoor Prison, but the sources support less than that. He instigated them. The prison, built by the government for prisoners of war, was completed in 1809 (Dartmoor Prison Museum), and he was behind the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway of 1823.

Image: Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt. Source: Christ Church, University of Oxford.