Francis Downes (1606–1648) 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. ...

in 1624 and 1625. Downes was the second son of

Roger Downes Roger Downes (died 1638) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601 and from 1621 to 1622. Downes was the son Roger Downes of Shrigley, Cheshire. He was a student of Staple Inn and then of Gray's Inn in 1589 a ...

Wardley Hall Wardley may refer to: Organisations *Wardley (company), a fish food manufacturer *Wardley, a former merchant banking division of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonl ...

, and his second wife Anne Calvert, daughter of John Calvert of Cockeram. His mother was a Catholic and Downes also adopted the Catholic faith. History of Parliament Online – Roger Downes
/ref> 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 5 December 1623, aged 17 and was a student of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1623. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714: Disbrowe-Dyve', Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714 (1891), pp. 406–439. Date accessed: 8 May 2012
/ref> In 1624, he 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

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

. He was re-elected MP for Wigan in 1625.William Duncombe Pink, Alfred B. Beaven ''The parliamentary representation of Lancashire, (county and borough), 1258–1885, with biographical and genealogical notices of the members, &c.'' (1889)
/ref>

References

1606 births 1648 deaths English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 {{17thC-England-MP-stub