Edward Bagshaw (or Bagshawe) the elder (ca. 1589 – 1662) was an English writer 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. ...

from 1640 to 1644. He supported the

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cause in 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 ...

. Bagshaw was the son of Edward Bagshaw, of the

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. He matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

on 22 February 1605, aged 15 and was awarded BA on 7 July 1608. His tutor was Robert Bolton, a puritan writer, whose life was subsequently written by Bagshaw. He was called to the bar at

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in 1615 and was Lent reader in 1640. As Reader, he delivered two discourses to the effect that 'a parliament may be held without bishops,' and that 'bishops may not meddle in civil affairs.' The lectures attracted the notice of

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 1640 ...

, and Bagshaw was prohibited from continuing them. These proceedings gained Bagshaw some popularity and in November 1640 he was elected

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for

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in 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 ...

. On the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined the King's party at Oxford and sat in the King's parliament there. As a result, he was disabled from sitting in the Parliament at Westminster on 22 January 1644. He was taken prisoner by the Parliamentary forces and was sent to the King's Bench prison at Southwark on 29 June 1644. While imprisoned, he composed the greater number of his works. He was released in 1646. He became a bencher of his inn and in 1660 became treasurer of

. Bagshaw died in 1662 on 12 September or October, and was buried in the church at

Moreton Pinkney Moreton Pinkney is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, about north of Brackley. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 371. The villages name means 'Moor farm/settlement'. It was held by the family of Pinchengi ...

, in

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, near where his property lay.

Writings

His writings include: *''Life and Death of Mr. Robert Bolton'' London, 1633. *Editions of three of Bolton's works, 1633-35-37. *Several speeches in parliament, viz. (1) on 9 Nov. 1640, (2) on 9 Feb. 1640 (1641); ''Concerning Episcopacy,'' 18 Feb. 1640 (1641); 12 Jan. 1641 (1642), ''The Trial of the Twelve Bishops.'' *Two arguments in parliament, viz. (1) ''Concerning the Canons,'' (2) ''Concerning the Præmunire on these Canons.'' *''Treatise defending the Revenues of the Church,'' London, 1646. *''Treatise maintaining the Doctrine, Liturgy, and Discipline of the Church of England,'' 1646. *''Short Answer to the Book of W. Prynne entitled University of Oxford's Plea refuted'' (1848, printed). *''De Monarchia Absoluta,'' 1659. *''Just Vindication of the questioned part of the reading in Middle Temple Hall, 20 Feb. 1639,'' London, 1660; with ''A Narrative of the Cause of their Silencing by the Archbishop of Canterbury'' (printed together apud Rushworth). *''Short Defence of the Reformation of the Church by K. Edward and Q. Elizabeth'' (not printed).

Notes

References

* * ;Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagshaw, Edward 1580s births 1662 deaths English MPs 1640–1648 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford