SirFrancisPopham 1607 WellingtonChurch Somerset

SirFrancisPopham AndWife 1607 WellingtonChurch Somerset

Sir Francis Popham (1573–1644) of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, Somerset and Littlecote, Berkshire (now Wiltshire), was an English soldier and landowner who was elected a

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 ...

nine times, namely for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

(1597),

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

(1604),

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

(1614), Great Bedwin (1621),

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

1624, 1625, 1626, 1628–29), and for

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

(1640–1644).

Origins

Popham was the only son of Sir John Popham (1531–1607), of

, Somerset and Littlecote, Berkshire (now Wiltshire),

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and

Lord Chief Justice of England Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

, by his wife Amy Adams, daughter of Hugh Adams of Castleton,

St Athan St Athan ( cy, Sain Tathan) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier church was dated to t ...

, Glamorgan.

Career

He matriculated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, on 17 May 1588 at the age of 15, and entered the

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 1589. As a soldier he served under

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

(1566–1601) in Spain and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

by him at Cadiz in June 1596. In 1597 Popham was elected

for

. He was a JP for

from 1597 and for

by 1602. He was also Deputy Lieutenant for both counties. In 1603 he was made

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

. He was elected MP for

in 1604. In 1607 he succeeded to the estates of Littlecote on the death of his father. He became constable of

Taunton Castle Taunton Castle is a castle built to defend the town of Taunton, Somerset, England. It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of ...

in 1613. In 1614 he was elected MP for

and in 1621, MP for Great Bedwin. He was elected MP for

at a by-election in 1624 and was re-elected for the same seat in 1625, 1626 and 1628. He sat until 1629 when King Charles dispensed with parliament for eleven years. In November 1640, due to the influence of his son-in-law Thomas Luttrell (1583–1644) of

Dunster Castle Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After ...

, Somerset, Popham was elected MP for the Luttrell

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

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 ...

and sat until his death. Popham was considered to have inherited his father's grasping disposition. He was constantly involved in lawsuits, which he was charged with conducting in a vexatious manner. Like his father, he took an active interest in the settlement of the North American colonies of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, and was a member of council of both colonies.

Marriage and children

AnnePopham 1607 WellingtonChurch Somerset

Popham married Anne Dudley, daughter and heiress of

John Dudley John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Ja ...

(1569–1645), second son of

Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (circa 1515 – 12 July 1586). The oldest son and heir of John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley. He was an English nobleman and soldier. Contemporary sources also refer to him as ''Sir Edward Dudley''. Life He served in Ir ...

Dudley Castle Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but subs ...

, Staffordshire, by his second wife Jane Stanley, daughter of

Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby KG (c. 10 May 1509 – 24 October 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. He reigned over the Isle of Mann until his death, and then was succeeded by his son. Early life At the age of thirteen, Edwa ...

. However, Francis Popham's wife is also described as a daughter of John Dudley of Yanwath and an heiress of

Thomas Sutton Thomas Sutton (1532 – 12 December 1611) was an English civil servant and businessman, born in Knaith, Lincolnshire. He is remembered as the founder of the London Charterhouse and of Charterhouse School. Life Sutton was the son of an official ...

, founder of the

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

. By his wife he had four sons and seven daughters, including; * John Popham (died 1638), MP *

Alexander Popham Alexander Popham (1605 – 1669) of Littlecote, Wiltshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1669. He was patron of the philosopher John Locke. Early life Popham was born at Littlec ...

, MP *

Edward Popham Edward Popham (1610–1651) was a general at sea during the English Civil War. Popham supported parliament in the English Civil War. He was elected M.P. for Minehead in 1644. He commanded a force in Somerset and Dorset. He was appointed a commis ...

, a General at Sea during 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 ...

*Jane Popham (died 1668), wife of Thomas Luttrell (1583–1644), MP, of

, SomersetYerby, George & Hunneyball, Paul, biography o
''Luttrell, Thomas (1583–1644), of Dunster Castle, Som.''
published in

History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: the House of Commons 1604–1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010 *Frances Popham, wife of The Viscount Conway and mother of the

Earl of Conway The Earl of Conway was an aristocratic title in the Peerage of England. The earldom was created in 1679 for Edward Conway, 3rd Viscount Conway (c.1623-1683), subsequently Secretary of State for the Northern Department. When Edward Conway died ...

*Amy Popham, wife of

William Borlase William Borlase (2 February 169631 August 1772), Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist. From 1722, he was Rector of Ludgvan, Cornwall, where he died. He is remembered for his works ''The Antiquities of Cornwall'' (1754; 2nd ed., 1769) ...

and mother of

Sir John Borlase, 1st Baronet Sir John Borlase, 1st Baronet (21 August 1619 – 8 August 1672) of Bockmer, Medmenham, Buckinghamshire was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1644. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil ...

Death and burial

Popham died in 1644 and was buried at Stoke Newington on 15 August 1644, but in March 1647 was moved to Bristol.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popham, Francis 1573 births 1644 deaths English soldiers 16th-century English soldiers 17th-century soldiers Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Wiltshire

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 ...

Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple English knights Knights of the Bath English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640–1648 Knights Bachelor Deputy Lieutenants of Somerset Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire