Sir John Meller (c.1588 – 1649/50)) of Bridehead House, Little Bredy , Dorset 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 ...

in 1628 and 1640. 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 ...

cause 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 ...

Bridehead House from the Littlebredy road - geograph

Meller was the eldest son of Sir Robert Meller of Little Bredy and his wife Dorothy Bailie daughter of Harry Bailie of the Isle of Wight.The gentleman's magazine, and historical chronicle, Volume 99, Part 1
/ref> He was educated at Dorset School, Dorchester under Mr Harris and was admitted at

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

on 15 March 1603 aged 15. He was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

on 15 May 1606. He was knighted on 6 May 1625. In 1628 Meller 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 Wareham and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In April 1640, he was elected

for

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and wit ...

in the Short Parliament. He supported the King in the Civil War and compounded for £693. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Dorset The High Sheriff of Dorset is an ancient high sheriff title which has been in existence for over one thousand years. Until 1567 the Sheriff of Somerset was also the Sheriff of Dorset. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...

for 1630–31 and

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much olde ...

for 1633–34. Meller married Mary Swinnerton daughter of John Swinnerton,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

in 1612, with whom he had 3 sons and at least 5 daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meller, John 1580s births Year of death missing Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple Cavaliers High Sheriffs of Dorset High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April)