Anthony Irby (1547 – 6 October 1625) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lawyer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

at various times between 1589 and 1622.

Background

Irby was the only son of Thomas Irby of Whaplode and his wife Isabel Serjeant, daughter of Thomas Serjeant. He matriculated from

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

in 1559 and was called to the bar by

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1569. His uncle was Leonard Irby. He was commissioner for sewers in Lincolnshire in 1564. History of Parliament Online - Anthony Irby
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Career

Irby became

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

and town clerk of

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a town and civil parish in the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber-framed ...

. In 1588 some of the burgesses of Stamford terminated his appointment as recorder and possibly as a result, when he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) that year, it was for

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. After making enquiries in January 1589, the Privy Council ordered in March that Irby, "a gentleman of good discretion, credit and learning", should be reinstated as recorder of Stamford, although this only happened after the burgesses were given two warnings. He became a bencher of his Inn in 1591 and

Autumn Reader A reader in one of the Inns of Court in London was originally a senior barrister of the Inn who was elected to deliver a lecture or series of lectures on a particular legal topic. Two readers (known as Lent and Autumn Readers) would be elected annu ...

a year later. He was re-elected MP for Boston in 1592, and again in 1597 and 1601 during the rule of

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

. He was re-elected MP for Boston in 1604 after

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...

had become King. He was appointed recorder of Boston in 1613, a post he held until his death in 1625. In 1614 he was elected MP for Boston again in the

Addled Parliament The Parliament of 1614 was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James VI and I, which sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614. Lasting only two months and two days, it saw no bills pass and was not even regarded as a Parliament by its c ...

and was re-elected in 1621. He became a

Master in Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

in about 1621.

Family

On 22 December 1575, he married the widow Alice Tash, daughter of Thomas Welbye. They had five sons and two daughters. Irby was buried at Whapload.

Anthony (1577–1610)

His oldest surviving son Anthony (1577–1610) sat also in the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

. Irby was knighted by

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

on 23 July 1603. Anthony was also an investor in the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Main ...

. Some sources state he was a Member of Parliament for

in 1604, but that was probably his father. In February 1603, he married Elizabeth Peyton, third daughter of

Sir John Peyton, 1st Baronet Sir John Peyton, 1st Baronet (1561 – December 1616) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1593 and 1611. Biography Peyton was the eldest surviving son of Robert Peyton of Isleham and his wife, Eliz ...

. They had three sons and two daughters. His oldest son

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...

was Sheriff of Lincolnshire and represented Boston in the

. According to ''Collins'', Anthony died aged 32 in 1610, and is buried in Whaplode Church, where he has a 10-poster tomb. The inscription on the tomb reads: "Heere lieth buried Sr Anthonie Irby Knight sonne of Anthonie Irby esquire and Alice his wife daughter of Thomas Welbie esquire which Sr Anthonie tooke to wife, Elizabeth daughter of Sr John Peyton of Iselham in the countie of Cambridge knight and baronet of the noble race of the Uffordes sometimes Earls of Suffolk by whome he had issue Sr Anthonie Irby knight Edward Thomas Alice and Elizabeth who died an infant; Sr Anthonie the eldest married his first wife Fraunces daughter of Sir William Wray knight and baronet and Fraunces bis wife daughter and coheire to Sir William Drury of Halsted in Suffolk; his second Margaret daughter of Sr Richard Smith of the countie of Kent knight."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irby, Anthony 1547 births 1625 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622