Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (or 12th Baron) (1577-1618) was a politician and merchant who became governor of the colony of Virginia (c1609). He made his mark on the New World through the state, Native American people, bay and river of Delaware, which were all named after him.

There are monuments to the De La Warr family in various parts of Sussex. Thomas’s [great-great-uncle], Thomas West, 9th Baron De La Warr (1475-1554) owned the old Halnaker House in Boxgrove through his marriage to Elizabeth Bonville in 1495.

He was responsible for significant rebuilding and development of the estate in the early 16th century, as well as the building of the De La Warr Chantry Chapel in the nearby Boxgrove Priory. Following the Dissolution of the monasteries [in 1538], De La Warr was forced by Henry VIII to cede Halnaker House to the Crown, in exchange for Wherwell Abbey in Hampshire.