John Duckett (13 September 1580 – 27 October 1648) was an English

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

and landowner who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1624. Duckett was the second son of

Stephen Duckett Stephen John Duckett (born 18 February 1950) is a health economist and think-tanker who has occupied many leadership roles in health services in both Australia and Canada, including as Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Agei ...

, a Wiltshire gentleman and a member of the Company of Mercers. He matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, on 15 December 1592, aged 12. In 1621, 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 of ...

for the rotten borough of Calne, where elections were under his family's control; his father had been returned for the seat in 1584 and 1586. He was re-elected for Calne in 1624. He was fined for refusing a knighthood at the coronation of Charles I. In 1628 he was High Sheriff of Wiltshire.Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 406-439. Accessed 22 December 2011
via British History Online Duckett was a

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 ...

colonel in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He lived at Calstone House, near Calne, until it was destroyed by fire during the war and thereafter at another property,

Hartham House Hartham House was a country house at Hartham Park, Hartham, Wiltshire, England, standing next to Hartham Park, north-west of the town of Corsham. During the Tudor and Civil War periods it was owned by the Duckett family, among whom were several me ...

, near Corsham. On one occasion he escaped the wrath of parliamentary forces by escaping from Calstone in a hearse.William Betham, ''The baronetage of England: or The History of the English baronets, and such baronets of Scotland, as are of English families'' (1805
pp. 38-39
/ref>

Family

Duckett inherited land at Gotton, Somerset, from his father and then inherited the bulk of his father's lands in Wiltshire and Dorset in 1609, on the death of his elder brother Lionel, who had not married. He married twice. Firstly to Elizabeth Elkington, the widow of Thomas Chivers. Secondly on 6 April 1619 at Gloucester, to Jane Winter, a daughter of William Winter of

Coleford, Gloucestershire Coleford is a market town in the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, east of the Welsh border and close to the Wye Valley. It is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district. The combined population of the town's t ...

. Their children were: * William Duckett (1624–1686), the son and heir, who like his father became a member of parliament for Calne. William's descendant, George Duckett (1684–1732), was the last of his line, but ''his'' daughter Grace married George Jackson, who in 1791 was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and took the name of Sir George Duckett, 1st Baronet. * Stephen Duckett (1626–1626) Duckett was buried on 27 October 1648 at Calne, at the age of 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duckett, John 1580 births 1648 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford People from Wiltshire High Sheriffs of Wiltshire English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 Cavaliers