Sir Alexander Denton (1596 – 1 January 1645) was an English 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. ...

variously between 1625 and 1644. He supported the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. He also has a house at a grammar school in Buckinghamshire (Royal Latin School)

Early life

Denton was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Denton of

Hillesden Hillesden is a village and civil parish in north-west Buckinghamshire, England, about south of Buckingham. The village name is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and means 'Hild's hill'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village was recorded as ''Ilesdo ...

and his wife Susan Temple, daughter of John Temple of Stowe.

Browne Willis Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708. Early life Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Wil ...

''The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred, and Deanry of Buckingham''
/ref> He entered

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1612, was knighted in 1617 and inherited Hillesden manor when he succeeded his father in 1633.

Political career

He entered Parliament in 1624 as the

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) for

Wendover Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...

. In the two parliaments of 1625 Denton was MP for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

. He was re-elected MP for Buckingham in April 1640 for the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...

and in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. High Sheriff, Sheriff is the olde ...

for 1637–38. Denton was a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

and his house at Hillesden became a focal point during the

. He was disabled from sitting in Parliament on 22 January 1644. In January 1644 Parliamentary forces occupied Hillesden House but they were ejected. In early February Colonel William Smith garrisoned Hillesden House with about 260 men to support the King at Oxford. The house was occupied at the time by many of the Denton family and some of the Verney family and Sir Alexander also arrived at the house by chance. A force of over 2000 men under

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

and

Samuel Luke Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

laid siege to the house at the beginning of March. After the surrender Smith and Denton were taken prisoner and moved to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, while the house was destroyed and the family beggared. Denton died a prisoner on New Years Day 1645. He was buried at Hillesden on 5 January 1645.

Personal life

Denton had married Mary Hampden, daughter of Edmund Hampden of Hertwell, and a cousin of

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of th ...

on 3 September 1617. They had five sons and eight daughters. At one time

John Kersey the elder John Kersey the elder (1616–1677) was an English mathematician, as well as a textbook writer. Life He was son of Anthony Carsaye or Kersey and Alice Fenimore, and was baptised at Bodicote, near Banbury, Oxfordshire, on 23 November 1616. He ...

was tutor to the sons. The eldest son John Denton was killed at the Battle of Abingdon in 1644. Only Denton's second son, Edmund, had issue. Edmund's oldest son Alexander was a

(MP) representing

, from 1690 to 1698. Alexander (the grandson) had two sons, Sir Edmund and

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

who also represented

. In addition, this Alexander's eldest daughter Elizabeth was the mother of George Chamberlayne Denton, who also represented

as a

(MP), from 1727 to 1734. George Chamberlayne Denton was the maternal grandfather of Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester.E.K. Vyhmeister, "Lord Sherborne" 2013 p. 161

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Denton, Alexander 1596 births 1645 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Cavaliers English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Prisoners in the Tower of London High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire