Francis Clerke (c. 1665–1691) 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 ...

politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1690 to 1691. Clerke was the son of Sir Francis Clerke of

Ulcombe Ulcombe is a village near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The name is recorded in the Domesday Book and is thought to derive from 'Owl-coomb': 'coomb' (pronounced 'coo-m') meaning 'a deep little wooded valley; a hollow in a hill side' (Cha ...

and Rochester and his second wife Elizabeth Hastings, widow of John Hastings of Woodlands Dorset and daughter of John Cage of Brightwell Court Buckinghamshire. His father and grandfather were lawyers. He was educated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, and entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1683. However he interrupted his studies to volunteer against the Duke of Monmouth as a cornet of horse. He was called to the bar at

in 1688. After the death of his father in 1686 and his half brother John in 1687, he inherited Ulcome and was able to maintain the family political interest in Rochester. Clerke 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) for Rochester in 1690 until his death in 1691. Clerke lived at Ulcombe, and on his death in 1691, without issue the estate went by devise to Gilbert Clarke, second son of Gilbert Clarke of Chilcot, in Derbyshire.''Parishes: Ulcombe'', The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 5 (1798), pp. 385-396
Date accessed: 11 November 2010.

References

English MPs 1690–1695 Year of birth missing 1660s births 1691 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple English barristers 17th-century English lawyers People from Ulcombe {{17thC-England-MP-stub