Sir Clement Edmondes (c. 1568–1622) was an

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government official and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1609 and 1622.

Background and education

Edmondes was son of Sir Thomas Edmondes of Shrawardine,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. His father was comptroller of Queen Elizabeth's Household.W R Williams ''The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> In 1585, he became a clerk or chorister at

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. After graduation, he became a Fellow of All Souls in 1589. He was later was living in a park at Castle Hedingham, and may therefore have been in the service of the Earl of Oxford or another of his family. In 1600, he published ''Observations, upon the Five First Bookes of Caesar's Commentaries'', followed the next year by a similar work on the Sixth and Seventh books. This was dedicated to his 'honourable friend' Sir Francis Vere. He was present at the battle of Nieuwpoort and referred in his works to the sieges of

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(1601–4) and

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, in

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(1602).

Career

In 1601, Edmondes obtained the post of Assistant Remembrancer of the

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, and succeeded as Remembrancer on the resignation of Dr

Giles Fletcher Giles Fletcher (also known as Giles Fletcher, The Younger) (1586? – Alderton, Suffolk, 1623) was an English cleric and poet chiefly known for his long allegorical poem ''Christ's Victory and Triumph'' (1610). Life Fletcher was the younge ...

, with a salary of £100. In 1608, he was involved in the negotiations for a loan from the city to

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. He was appointed a Clerk of the Privy Council on 13 August 1609. When he resigned as Remembrancer, the City gave him 40 angels to buy a cloak. In November 1609 Edmondes 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 ...

for Carnarvon in a by-election. He was appointed Muster Master General in 1613. In 1615 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to the

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to investigate coordinating

and Dutch East India trade. He then wrote a wide-ranging account of the country (unpublished). He was knighted on 29 September 1617. In 1618, Edmondes was dispatched to the fens to report on the conflicts over draining them. He spent time surveying the rivers and recommended that the

Commissioners of Sewers A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

should enforce their decrees and should begin by clearing the outfalls of the rivers River Nene and

River Welland The River Welland is a lowland river in the east of England, some long. It drains part of the Midlands eastwards to The Wash. The river rises in the Hothorpe Hills, at Sibbertoft in Northamptonshire, then flows generally northeast to Market ...

. In 1621 Edmondes was elected

for

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, but took little part in the debates. He was appointed a Secretary of State, but died (of apoplexy) before taking office. He was buried at

Preston Deanery Preston Deanery is a hamlet in the civil parish of Hackleton in West Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire, England. It is south of Northampton town centre and by road to the M1 motorway, M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 15. It lie ...

, near

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, where he had acquired the manor in 1620.

Family

Edmondes married Mary Clerk, daughter of Robert Clerk of Grafton, Northamptonshire in 1598. She was an attendant upon Lady Stafford.

References

*Stephen Porter, ‘Edmondes, Sir Clement (1567/8?–1622)’, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200

accessed 24 Dec 2009. *Alexander Marr, "Curious and Useful Buildings: The Mathematical Model of Sir Clement Edmondes", Bodleian Library Record, vol. 18, no. 2 (2004), pp. 108–150 {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmondes, Clement 1568 births 1622 deaths Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford English civil servants Clerks of the Privy Council Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England for the University of Oxford Politicians from Shropshire People from West Northamptonshire District Alumni of All Souls College, Oxford 16th-century English writers English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1621–1622 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales Members of Parliament for Caernarfon