John Alford (c. 1590 – 5 January 1649) was an English landowner and 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. ...

in two periods between 1626 and 1648. He supported the Parliamentarian side in 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 ...

Early life

Alford was the son of Edward Alford of Offington and his wife Judith Downing, daughter of Sir Edward Downing.Alford Association
/ref> He matriculated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

, on 13 February 1607 aged 16. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Abannan-Appletre', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 1-28. Date accessed: 10 December 2011
/ref>

Political career

In 1626 Alford 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 of ...

for New Shoreham and in 1628 was elected MP for

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...

until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. The manors of

Hamsey Hamsey is a civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The parish covers a large area () and consists of the villages of Hamsey, Offham and Cooksbridge. The main centres of population in the parish are now Offham and Cooksbridge. ...

and Offington both came into his possession on the death of his father in 1632. In April 1640, Alford was re-elected MP for New Shoreham in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...

and again in November 1640 for 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 held the seat until 1648 when he was excluded in

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 ...

Death

Alford died in 1649 and was buried at

Broadwater, West Sussex Broadwater is a neighbourhood of Worthing, in the borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. Situated between the South Downs and the English Channel, Broadwater was once a parish in its own right and included Worthing when the latter was a sma ...

where a monument in the South Transept Chapel was erected to his memory.

"Here lyeth the body of the truly honourable and religious John Alford of Offington, Esquire, who having finished his career, exchanged mortality for glory, Jan. 5, 1648. AEt. 59. "He left issue ye noble Lady Jane Eversfield, and the virtuous gentele woman Mrs. Elizabeth Alford."

Alford married Frances Bishopp, daughter of

Sir Thomas Bishopp, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Bishopp, 1st Baronet (1550–1626), also spelt Bishop and Bisshopp, was an English politician. He was the only son of Thomas Bishop of Henfield, Sussex and his wife, Elizabeth Belknap. He was educated at St John's College, Oxford ...

, of Parham, Sussex, M.P., and had two daughters Elizabeth, born 1620, who married Mr. Bickerstaff, and was Jane, who married Sir Thomas Eversfield. His widow outlived him for eleven years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alford, John 1590s births 1649 deaths Year of birth uncertain Roundheads English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 People from Worthing People from Shoreham-by-Sea