Sir Humphrey Cornewall, baptised 16 July 1616, buried 7 July 1688, was an English landowner from

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

and

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

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

from 1661 to 1679. He served in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

army during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

, although he later claimed to have done so under compulsion. After the

Stuart Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

, he was appointed Deputy lieutenant of

in 1662, and became

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

in 1686.

Personal details

He was born in 1616, the eldest son of John Cornewall and Mary Barneby, and was baptised at Eye, Herefordshire on 14 July 1616.

Career

During the

, he served on the

side under Sir

Henry Lingen Sir Henry Lingen (23 October 1612 – 22 January 1662), Lord of Sutton, Lingen and Stoke Edith, was a Royalist military commander in Herefordshire during the English Civil War, and later a member of parliament. He was the son of Edward Lingen a ...

, though he later claimed to have done so only to defend himself and his neighbours from the depredations of cavalier soldiers. Edward Harley attested that Cornewall was forced to participate in an assault on Stokesay Castle and to sit on a royalist

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

. For this support of the cause of King Charles, he was fined £222 () by the victorious Parliamentarians on 1 July 1647. Successfully pleading poverty, he only actually paid £21 16s of this amount. He was also suspected of complicity with George Booth's rising in 1659. The

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

brought about a marked improvement in Cornewall's fortunes. His name was put forward as a potential

Knight of the Royal Oak The Knights of the Royal Oak was an intended order of chivalry in England. It was proposed in 1660 at the time of the restoration of Charles II of England to be a reward for those Englishmen who had faithfully and actively supported Charles dur ...

. He served as 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 ...

from 1660 until his death, and commissioner for assessment in that county from 1660 to 1680. He was elected to represent

in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

of 1661. He was a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the Herefordshire

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

by 1662, in which year he also became Deputy Lieutenant of Herefordshire and a

commissioner for loyal and indigent officers The Commissioners for loyal and indigent officers were a body formed by a 1662 Act of the Parliament of England (14 Car. 2 c. 8) to provide relief to impoverished Royalist officers who had served in the English Civil War. After the English Resto ...

. In 1670 he became a member of the

Council in the Marches of Wales The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body based in Ludlow Castle wi ...

. He was made a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Admiralty Regiment in 1672, and a commissioner for

recusants Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

in 1675. After leaving parliament in 1679, he concentrated his attention on

, where he had been a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

since 1676. He was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

from 1685 onwards, and was

from 1686 to 1687.

Private life

He married Theophila Skynner (1622–1718), eldest daughter of William Skynner of

Thornton Abbey Thornton Abbey was a medieval abbey located close to the small North Lincolnshire village of Thornton Curtis, near Ulceby, and directly south of Hull on the other side of the Humber estuary. Its ruins are a Grade I listed building, including not ...

. The couple had nine children: * Theophila Cornewall (1644–1731), married on 24 September 1673 Edward Agborough of Ludlow''Shropshire, England, Extracted Church of England Parish Records, 1538-1812'' * Robert Cornewall (1647–1705), soldier and courtier * Cyriac Cornewall (1652–1718), captain in his cousin Henry Cornewall's Regiment of Foot * Humphrey Cornewall * Edward Cornewall, also a captain in Cornewall's Foot * Wolfran Cornewall (1658–1720), captain in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. His great grandson was

Charles Wolfran Cornwall Charles Wolfran Cornwall (15 June 1735 – 2 January 1789) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1789. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1780 to 1789. Origins and early life Charles Wolfran Cornwall ...

. * Bridget Cornewall * A daughter whose name is unknown, who married a Mr Whitney * Caroline Cornewall, married a Mr Roborow Humphrey Cornwall died and was buried at Ludlow on 7 July 1688.

References

1616 births 1688 deaths People from Herefordshire Mayors of places in Herefordshire Deputy Lieutenants of Herefordshire English MPs 1661–1679 Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War {{17thC-England-MP-stub