Christopher Harris (1590–November 1623) of Lanrest in the parish of

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

in Cornwall, was a

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 ...

for

West Looe West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

in Cornwall (1621). He should not be confused with his great-uncle Christopher Harris (c.1553-1625) of Radford in the parish of

Plymstock Plymstock is a commuter suburb of Plymouth and former civil parish in the English county of Devon. Geography Situated on the east bank of the River Plym, Plymstock is geographically and historically part of the South Hams. It comprises the vil ...

in Devon, MP for Plymouth in 1584, whose

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

he was.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of John Harris (1564- June 1623) of Lanrest, Recorder of the Borough of

in Cornwall and MP for

in Cornwall in 1614, by his wife Joane Harte, daughter and sole heiress of Robert Harte of Plimston in the parish of

Stoke Climsland Stoke Climsland is a village in the valley of the River Tamar, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom within the civil parish of Stokeclimsland. The population of the parish including Luckett at the 2011 census was 1,703. An electoral ward of the s ...

in Cornwall.

Career

He matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

on 15 November 1605, aged 15 and was awarded BA on 7 July 1608 and MA on 2 July 1611. He was a law student at

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 1611. In 1621 he was elected

for

'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Harmar-Hawtayne', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 652-678. Date accessed: 19 November 2011
/ref> in Cornwall.

Marriage

He married Gertrude Grenville, a daughter of Sir

Bernard Grenville Sir Bernard Grenville (1567 – 1636) was an English politician. Origins He was the eldest surviving son of Richard Grenville (d. 1591), lord of the manors of Bideford in Devon and of Stowe in the parish of Kilkhampton, Cornwall and of Buck ...

(1567-1636), MP,

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

s of

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

in Devon and of

Stowe Stowe may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village **Stowe House **Stowe School * Stowe, Cornwall, in Kilkhampton parish * Stowe, Herefordshire, in the List of places in Herefordshire * Stowe, Linc ...

in the parish of

Kilkhampton Kilkhampton ( kw, Kylgh) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 road#Atlantic Highway, A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude. Kilk ...

, Cornwall. The marriage was without progeny.

Death, burial & succession

Harris died at the age of 33 and was buried at Plymstock on 27 November 1623. He was succeeded by his younger brother John Harris (c.1596-1648), four times elected MP for Liskeard, who also inherited the estates of their great-uncle Sir Christopher Harris (c.1553-1625), MP for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in 1584, of Radford in the parish of

in Devon.Vivian, p.448

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Christopher 1590 births 1623 deaths Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Place of birth missing English MPs 1621–1622