Sir John Thynne (21 September 1555 – 21 November 1604) of Longleat House, Wiltshire, was an English landowner and Member of Parliament.He was elected a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Heytesbury in 1584, 1586, 1593, 1597 and 1601, and for Wiltshire in 1589 and 1604.His wife's father gave her Caus Castle in Shropshire, but its ownership was disputed.[1] The secret marriage is said to have contributed to the inspiration for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.[2] The dispute over the marriage was resolved in 1601, and when her husband John died in 1604, Longleat passed into the hands of her enemy Maria Thynne.
