Sir Francis Leigh (1579 – 1625) was an English barrister 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. ...

between 1597 and 1622. Leigh was the eldest surviving son of Sir William Leigh of Newnham Regis and his wife Frances Harington, daughter of Sir James Harington of Exton.''HMC 6th Report: Leconfield'' (London, 1877), p. 312. He 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 1597 and in the same year 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 Weymouth and Melcombe Regis. By 1600 he was a member of the

Antiquarian Society An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...

. In 1601 he was elected MP for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He was knighted with the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1603 and was a gentleman of the privy chamber to James I. He was re-elected MP for Oxford in 1604. In 1614 he became master of requests and in the same year, he was elected MP for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He was

High Sheriff of Warwickshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Warwickshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

from 1618 to 1619 and by 1621 was a J.P. for Warwickshire. In 1621 he was elected MP for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. History of Parliament Online - Francis Leigh
/ref> Leigh died between 7 February 1625 when he made his will and 6 January 1626 when it was proved. Leigh married Mary Egerton, daughter of

Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley, (1540 – 15 March 1617), known as 1st Baron Ellesmere from 1603 to 1616, was an English nobleman, judge and statesman from the Egerton family who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor for twenty-o ...

before 1601 and had two sons and three daughters. His son

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

became

Earl of Chichester Earl of Chichester is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The current title was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1801 for Thomas Pelham, 2nd Ba ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Francis 1579 births 1625 deaths Politicians from Oxford Members of the Middle Temple High Sheriffs of Warwickshire English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 Sheriffs of Warwickshire