Henry Arthington (1615 – 19 June 1671) 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. T ...

at various times between 1646 and 1660. Arthington was the eldest son of William Arthington of Arthington and his wife Anne Tancred, daughter of Thomas Tancred of Brampton Hall. He was baptised on 1 January 1616 and came into the family estate on the death of his father in 1623. He was commissioner for assessment for the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1643 to 1649, commissioner for sequestrations for the West Riding in 1643 and commissioner for the northern association in 1645. In 1646, 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 o ...

for

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

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 continued to sit in the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "Rump" ...

after

Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...

. He was commissioner for militia for Yorkshire in 1648 and commissioner. for assessment for Yorkshire in 1650. In 1650 he became J.P. for the West Riding until 1657. He was commissioner. for assessment for Yorkshire in 1652 and became JP for the liberties of Ripon, Sutton, Marston and Otley in 1654. History of Parliament Online - Henry Arthington
/ref> In 1656 Arthington was elected MP for

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

in the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in ...

. In 1659 he was commissioner for militia for Yorkshire 1659. He joined his brother-in-law,

Sir Thomas Fairfax Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...

in the northern movement for a restoration, and helped Bryan Fairfax when he went to Scotland with the secret message for George Monck. Arthington took part in the capture of York in January 1660. He was commissioner for assessment for West Riding of Yorkshire in January 1660 and commissioner for militia for Yorkshire in March 1660. He was JP for the West Riding from March 1660 until his death. In April 1660, Arthington was elected MP for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

in the Convention Parliament. He became commissioner for oyer and terminer on the Northern circuit in July 1660 and a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Riding in August 1660. He was a lieutenant-colonel in the militia by 1661. From 1663 to 1669, he was commissioner for assessment for West Riding of Yorkshire. 1663-9 Arthington died at the age of 56 and was buried at Adel. Arthington married Mary Fairfax, daughter of Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Baron Fairfax of Cameron on 24 May 1638, and had two sons and four daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthington, Henry 1615 births 1671 deaths English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1648–1653 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1660 Deputy Lieutenants of the West Riding of Yorkshire