Sir Henry Ashley (2 October 1519 – 27 December 1588) was an English politician. He was the son of Henry Ashley of

Wimborne St. Giles Wimborne St Giles is a village and civil parish in east Dorset, England, on Cranborne Chase, seven miles north of Wimborne Minster and 12 miles north of Poole. The village lies within the Shaftesbury estate, owned by the Earl of Shaftesbury. A tr ...

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 ...

, and succeeded his father in 1549. He was knighted in 1553.

Career

He was deputy vice-admiral for Dorset from 1551 to 1582 and keeper of the manor and forest of Holt from 1555 to 1566. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Dorset from 1554, and for Wiltshire from 1562 and was appointed

Sheriff of Somerset The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government A ...

and

for 1555–56 and 1564–65. He was commissioner for piracy for Dorset in 1565, deputy lieutenant by 1577 and colonel of musters, (Shaftesbury division) in 1587. He was 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 ...

(MP) for

in 1554 and 1563 and for

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

in 1547.

Marriage and progeny

In 1547, he married

Katharine Basset Katharine Basset (c. 1522 – after 1558, occasionally misnamed "Elizabeth") was an English gentlewoman who served at the court of King Henry VIII, namely in the household of Queen Anne of Cleves, and was briefly jailed for speaking against him. ...

(b. circa 1522), a servant to Queen

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...

, the second daughter of Sir John Basset (1462–1528), KB, of

Tehidy Tehidy Country Park is a country park in Illogan in Cornwall, England which incorporates of the parkland and estate around Tehidy House, a former manor house of the Tehidy manor . The park's facilities include an events field, barbecue hire ...

in Cornwall and

Umberleigh Umberleigh is a former large manor within the historic hundred of (North) Tawton, but today a small village in North Devon in England. It used to be an ecclesiastical parish, but following the building of the church at Atherington it becam ...

in Devon (

Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriffs of all other English counties, oth ...

in 1497, 1517 and 1522 and

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1524) by his second wife,

Honor Grenville Honor Grenville, Viscountess Lisle (c. 1493–1495Byrne, vol.1, p. 305, Honor's birthyear was estimated at 1493–95 – 1566) was a Cornish lady whose domestic life from 1533 to 1540 during the reign of King Henry VIII is exceptional ...

(died 1566), (later Viscountess Lisle) a daughter of Sir Thomas Grenville (died 1513) of

Stowe Stowe may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village **Stowe House **Stowe School * Stowe, Cornwall, in Kilkhampton parish * Stowe, Herefordshire, in the List of places in Herefordshire * Stowe, Linc ...

in the parish of

Kilkhampton Kilkhampton ( kw, Kylgh) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is on the A39 road#Atlantic Highway, A39 about four miles (6 km) north-northeast of Bude. Kilk ...

, Cornwall, and

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

in North Devon,

in 1481 and in 1486.Richard Polwhele, The Civil and Military History of Cornwall, volume 1, London, 1806, pp. 106–9; Byrne, vol. 1, p. 302 states "1485", quoting Public Record Office, Lists & Indexes, vol.IX, List of Sheriffs By Katharine he had two sons including: *

Henry Ashley Henry Ashley (February 19, 1778 – January 14, 1829) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from New York from 1825 to 1827. Biography Ashley was born the son of David Ashley in Winchester, Cheshire County, New Hampshire. He at ...

(1548 – post 1605), eldest son and heir, MP.

References

* 1519 births 1588 deaths Politicians from Dorset English knights High Sheriffs of Somerset High Sheriffs of Dorset Deputy Lieutenants of Dorset English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1554–1555 English MPs 1563–1567 {{1563-England-MP-stub