Background
Baptised at Saint Dunstan"s-in-the-West, London, on 13 April 1618, he was a younger son of Sir Adam Newton of Charlton, Kent, by Katharine, daughter of Lord-keeper Sir John Puckering.
Baptised at Saint Dunstan"s-in-the-West, London, on 13 April 1618, he was a younger son of Sir Adam Newton of Charlton, Kent, by Katharine, daughter of Lord-keeper Sir John Puckering.
He was admitted at the Inner Temple in 1631, and received an Master of Arts from Cambridge on the King"s visit there in early 1632. At the outbreak of the First English Civil War he raised a troop of horse for the king, and was present at the battle of Edgehill. After the king"s defeat at the battle of Naseby, however he sought to make terms with the parliament, and in 1646 his fine was fixed (at £1,273).
The Commons on 13 July 1647 ordered his fine to be accepted, and pardoned his delinquency.
He was about to join the king"s forces in Essex in June 1648, when he was seized by order of the parliament, and only released on promising to live quietly in the country. He then assumed the surname of Puckering, and moved to Sir Thomas"s residence, the Priory, Warwick, where in August he received a visit from John Evelyn.
At the Restoration Puckering was appointed paymaster-general of the forces. He held that seat throughout the Cavalier Parliament, and on 6 February 1679 he was elected as an Member of Parliament for the borough of Warwick.
His activity as a justice of the peace, together with his leniency towards the Roman Catholics, made him unpopular.
In 1691 he gave the bulk of his library to Trinity College, Cambridge, and afterwards for a period was in residence there. This donation included the Milton manuscripts now in Trinity College Library. He died intestate on 22 January 1701, and was buried in the choir of Saint Mary, Warwick.
After Lady Puckering"s death, Puckering forgave Lady Halkett all her debts to him.
Thomas Fuller dedicated a section of his Church History to Henry, eldest son of Puckering, who died before his father.
Cavalier Parliament. Habeas Corpus Parliament]
In 1661 he was elected as a Member of Parliament Member of Parliament for Warwickshire.