Ann Daughter of Sir John Harrison of Balls

Sir John Harrison (c. 1590 – 28 September 1669) of

Balls Park Balls Park in Hertford is a Grade I Listed mid-17th-century house. The estate and house are set in over 63 acres of parkland which is listed Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. The estate a ...

, Hertfordshire was an English 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. T ...

variously between 1640 and 1669. He supported 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 governm ...

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 ...

Public life

Harrison was born in Lancaster, the 12th son of a yeoman, and went to London in 1611 at the age of 22.Cross Fleury ''Time-honoured Lancaster ... Historic notes on the ancient borough of Lancaster.''
/ref> He was one of the first to suggest the position of commissioner of the customs and was given that post.''Townships: Skerton'', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8 (1914), pp. 58-61. Date accessed: 8 January 2011
/ref> Harrison was elected MP for

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

in 1628. In April 1640, 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 o ...

for Lancaster in the Short Parliament. He was then elected for Lancaster 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 ...

He built

House in Hertford between 1637 and 1640 and was knighted in 1641. He supported the King during the Civil War and was disabled from sitting in September 1643. He suffered greatly from his loyalty, being fined £10,745. After the Restoration, Harrison was elected MP for Lancaster again in 1661 for 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 ...

and held the seat until his death in 1669. He served as a

gentleman of the Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

from 1664 until his death.

Private life

Harrison died at the age of 80, at

, Hertford and was buried at All Saints' Church, Hertford. He had married, first, Margaret Fanshawe, daughter of Robert Fanshawe, by whom he had three sons, all of whom predeceased him, and two daughters, and, secondly, Mary Shotbolt, daughter of Philip Shotbolt, by whom he had a son and a daughter. His elder daughter

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

by his first wife married

Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet PC (June 1608 – 16 June 1666) was an English poet and translator. He was a diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1666. During the English Civil War he supported the Royalist caus ...

ambassador to Spain. He was survived by his three daughters and his youngest son, the only son of his second marriage, Richard Harrison (born 1646; died 1726), who succeeded him at Balls Park and was also the Member of Parliament for Lancaster. His descendants included

Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend (11 July 1700 – 12 March 1764), known as The Lord Lynn from 1723 to 1738, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1723 when he was elevated to the House of Lords by wri ...

and

George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, PC (28 February 172414 September 1807), known as The Viscount Townshend from 1764 to 1787, was a British soldier and politician. After serving at the Battle of Dettingen during the War of t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, John 1590s births 1669 deaths People from Lancaster, Lancashire Cavaliers Oxford Parliaments English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1661–1679 Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber Knights Bachelor