Sir John Evelyn (1591–1664) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1660. He reluctantly supported the

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

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 ...

. Evelyn was the son of Sir John Evelyn of Kingston, Godstone, Surrey and Marden, MP and his wife Elizabeth Stever, daughter of William Stever of Kingston upon Thames. He was baptised at

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

on 20 October 1591.History of Parliament Online - Evelyn, John
/ref> He was admitted at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

on 13 March 1606. He was a member of the Virginia Company in 1612 and of the East India Company in 1624. He was a JP for Surrey from 1624. In 1628, Evelyn 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 Bletchingley and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. As government contractor of gunpowder in June 1628, he was in the credit of the crown for £2400 and had ceased to supply the navy. M. Oppenheim. "The Royal Navy under Charles I". (1894-07). in ''The English Historical Review''. Vol 9, no. 35, p. 481
The Internet Archive website
Retrieved 4 August 2021. In November 1640, Evelyn was re-elected MP for Bletchingley 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 ...

. He was knighted on 25 June 1641. He sat in parliament until 1648 when he was excluded under Pride's Purge. He was a commissioner for assessments from 1643 to 1648 and a commissioner for sequestrations in 1643. In 1660, Evelyn was re-elected MP for Bletchingley in the Convention Parliament. Evelyn died at the age of 71 and was buried at Godstone, Surrey on 18 January 1664. Evelyn married Thomasine Heynes daughter of William Heynes of Chessington. Their son John 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 ...

, of Godstone.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evelyn, John, Senior 1591 births 1664 deaths Roundheads Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge People from Surrey (before 1889) British East India Company people English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1660