John Kent (1559 – 1 October 1630) 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. ...

at various times between 1597 and 1624. Kent was the son of Roger Kent of Copenhall, Cheshire and his wife Petronelle Hawkins. He was a student of

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn is a former Inn of Chancery in Holborn, London. It is now the home of Gresham College, an institution of higher learning established in 1597 that hosts public lectures. History Barnard's Inn dates back at least to the mid-thirt ...

in about 1586. He was in the service of the Earl of Hertford. From 1591 to 1592 he was chamberlain of Devizes and from 1592 was town clerk of Devizes from c.1592. He was also coroner in 1592. In 1597, 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

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...

. From 1597 to 1626 he was clerk of the peace for Wiltshire. He was

Mayor of Devizes The following persons have been mayors of the town of Devizes, Wiltshire, England. Medieval *1302 John Cray (the first Mayor of Devizes) *1376–77 Richard Cardmaker *1379–81 Richard Cardmaker *1377–79 William Spicer. *1381–82 William S ...

from 1602 to 1603. In 1621 he was elected MP for Devizes again. He was re-elected MP for Devizes in 1624. History of Parliament Online - John Kent
/ref> Kent died at the age of 71, and was buried in St. John's church, Devizes. Kent married Maria Wyatt, daughter of Thomas Wyatt of Calne and had three sons and a daughter.

References

1559 births 1630 deaths Mayors of Devizes English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 Burials in Wiltshire {{17thC-England-MP-stub