Sir Giles Strangways (1528 – 11 April 1562), of

Melbury Sampford Melbury Sampford is a village and civil parish northwest of Dorchester, in the Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. In 2001 the parish had a population of 33. The parish touches East Chelborough, Evershot, Melbury Bu ...

, Dorset, was five times MP for

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

in 1553, 1554, 1555, 1558 and 1559.

Origins

He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Strangways (died 1544), (who died during the lifetime of his own father,

Giles Strangways Giles Strangways (3 June 1615 – 20 July 1675) of Melbury House in Somerset, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1675. He fought on the Royalist side during the Civil War Origins He was the ...

, at the Siege of Boulogne), and his wife Margaret Manners, a daughter of

George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

(c.1470-1513) of Helmsley or Hamlake Castle in Yorkshire, and a sister of

Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland {{Infobox noble, type , honorific_suffix = KG , name = Thomas Manners , title = 1st Earl of Rutland , image = Thomas_Manners,_1st_Earl_of_Rutland.jpg , caption = Effigy of Manners, St Mary's C ...

(c.1492-1543). In 1546 Giles therefore succeeded his grandfather in the family estates.

Career

He was educated at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

, and was

knight 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in 1549. He served as

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

in 1553, 1554, 1555, 1558 and 1559. In 1557 he saw military service in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

under the

Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

Marriage and progeny

He married Joan Wadham (1533-1603), a daughter of John Wadham (died 1578) of

Merryfield, Ilton Merryfield (''alias'' Merrifield, Murefeld, Merefeld, Muryfield, Merifield, Wadham's Castle, etc.) is a historic estate in the parish of Ilton, near Ilminster in Somerset, England. It was the principal seat of the Wadham family, and was called b ...

, Somerset and

Edge, Branscombe Edge, (originally, ''Egge''), is an ancient and historic house in the parish of Branscombe, Devon, England and is today known as Edge Barton Manor. The surviving house is grade II* listed and sits on the steep, south-facing side of a wooded valle ...

, Devon, and a sister and co-heiress of

Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609) Nicholas Wadham () (1531–1609) of Merryfield in the parish of Ilton, Somerset, and Edge in the parish of Branscombe, Devon, was a posthumous co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford, with his wife Dorothy Wadham who, outliving him, saw the ...

, also educated at

, and co-founder with his wife

Dorothy Wadham Dorothy Wadham (; ''née'' Petre) (1534/1535 – 16 May 1618) was the foundress of Wadham College, Oxford. She has the distinction of being the first woman who was not a member of the Royal Family or titled aristocracy to found a college at Ox ...

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

. Sometime after 1545 he and Joan re-built the

tudor period The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...

Melbury House Melbury House is an English country house in the parish of Melbury Sampford near Evershot, Dorset, This Grade I listed mansion is the home of the Honorable Mrs Charlotte Townshend, a major landowner in east Dorset, through her mother, Theresa ...

. Joan later married Sir John Young MP, of The Great House, Bristol, and her effigy is included in her monument to herself and both husbands in

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. Founded in 1140 and consecrated in 1148, it was originally St Augustine's Abbey but after the Dissolu ...

with the following inscription:
:''"Here lyes the bodies of Sir John Young knight and Dame Joan his wyfe. By him she yssued Robert, Jane and Margaret. She was fyreste marryed to Sir Gyles Straingwayes knight by whome shee had yssue John, Edward, George, Nicholas, Ann and Elizabeth. She was daughter to John Wadham esquire and she departed this mortall lyfe the 14th June 1603 aged 70 yeeres"''. She was in later life a defendant in the

Case of the Swans The Case of Swans (1592) Trinity Term, 34 Elizabeth I, is a landmark decision in English property law. Facts Dame Joan Young (née Joan Wadham, sister and a co-heiress of her brother Nicholas Wadham) and Thomas Saunger received a writ from the ...

. By Joan he had four sons and two daughters: *John Strangways (c.1548-1593), of Melbury,

Sheriff of Dorset The High Sheriff of Dorset is an ancient high sheriff title which has been in existence for over one thousand years. Until 1567 the Sheriff of Somerset was also the Sheriff of Dorset. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...

,John. P. Ferris & Paul Hunneyball, biography of "Strangways (Strangwish), Sir John (1585-1666), of Melbury Sampford and Abbotsbury, Dorset", 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 ...

: House of Commons 1604-1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 201

/ref> father of John Strangways (died 1666), John Strangways (1585-1666), MP, an ultimate co-heir of Nicholas Wadham in 1609. *Edward Strangways *George Strangways *Nicholas Strangways *Ann Strangways *Elizabeth Strangways

Death and burial

He died in 1562 and was buried at Melbury Sampford.

References

1528 births 1562 deaths Politicians from Dorset English knights English MPs 1553 (Mary I) English MPs 1554 English MPs 1555 English MPs 1558 English MPs 1559 16th-century English soldiers {{16thC-England-MP-stub