Philip Thicknesse, the famous author of numerous books and pamphlets, purchased the Lieutenant-Governorship of Landguard Fort, Suffolk, in February 1753, and held the appointment until 1766. He was born on 10 August 1719, the seventh son of John Thicknesse, Rector of Farthinghoe, Northants, and his wife Joyce Blencowe. In 1754 he met Thomas Gainsborough, and became the artist's patron for the next twenty years. He died on a journey to Paris on 19 November 1792, and is buried at Boulogne.