Thomas Lascelles (1624 to 1697), also spelt Lassells, was an English radical politician and businessman of the second half of the 17th century. He is now best known for the construction of Mount Grace Manor House, one of the few extant examples of architecture from the 1649 to 1660 Commonwealth or Protectorate. Life The Lascelles were part of a network of mercantile interests in London, Yorkshire, Ireland, New England and Barbados. While unconnected to the aristocratic family of the same name, various branches were spread across Yorkshire, including Northallerton, Durham, Whitby, York, Harewood House and Terrington. The family tended to use the same names (Thomas, Francis, Robert, Henry etc), which often causes confusion. Thomas Lascelles was born in August 1624, fourth and youngest son of William Lascelles (died November 1624) and Elizabeth Wade; he had three brothers, Francis (1612-1667), Robert (1617-?) and Peregrine (1619-1658). Career Like many of his friends and relations, Thomas supported Parliament during the 1639-1652 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In the late 1640s, he served in the New Model Army in England and Ireland and established businesses first in Dromore, County Down, then later in Lisburn. The 1641 Irish Rebellion led to military interventions by the Scots and English Parliament, which were financed by the March 1642 Adventurers Act. One of the last pieces of legislation approved before the English Civil War began, this raised loans to be repaid by the sale of lands held by the Irish rebels; enforcing it was one of the primary objectives of Cromwell's war in Ireland. A number of different subscriptions for the Adventurers loans were opened between 1642 to 1647 and although the Lascelles family are not listed by name, many subscribed by forming syndicates and sold their interests prior to lands being allocated by the 1652 Act of Settlement. It seems likely Thomas was involved, since both he and his brother Francis had business interests in Ulster, while another branch of the family was established in Killough, County Down. He invested his profits in purchasing the manor of Northallerton from the Bishop of Durham in 1649, followed in 1653 by Mount Grace Priory, a former Carthusian monastery suppressed in 1539. He converted parts of the remaining buildings into what is now a rare example of architecture from the 1649 to 1660 Commonwealth. In 1660, Charles II was restored as monarch and in April, Thomas and Francis were elected