,
Kent Peyton was the son of Sir Samuel Peyton, 1st Baronet, of Knowlton, and his wife Mary Aston, daughter of Sir
Roger Aston. He inherited the
baronetcy and Knowlton Court on the death of his father in 1623. In November 1640, Peyton was elected
Member of Parliament for
Sandwich in the
Long Parliament. He was disabled from sitting in 1644 for supporting the king and was subsequently a member of The Action Party, a group of radicals dedicated to bringing down the Protectorate government. At some point around 1655, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London; on 7 August that year, Oliver Cromwell ordered John Barkstead, Lieutenant of the Tower of London, to allow Sir Thomas 'a prisoner in the Tower' leave 'for thirty-six days to take the waters at Tunbridge Wells'. (Beloe Papers catalogue, MS3273, Lambeth Palace Library, accessed via National Archives website, 4 May 2021.) After the Restoration, Peyton was elected MP for
Kent from 1661 to 1679 in the
Cavalier Parliament. Peyton died aged 70 in financial difficulty. Peyton had married three times; firstly a daughter of Sir Peter Osborne, secondly Cecilia Swan, widow of Sir William Swan, and thirdly Jane Monins, daughter of Sir William Monins. He left four daughters, who sold Knowlton Court to
Admiral Sir John Narborough. ==References==