Sir John Ramsden (1594 – March 1646) 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 ...

at various times between 1628 and 1640. He fought for 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 ...

army 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 ...

and was killed in action at the

Siege of Newark Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road bypasses the town on the line of th ...

. Ramsden was the son of William Ramsden of Longley near Huddersfield. He was knighted in 1619, and in 1623 he inherited the Manor of

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

on his father's death. In 1628 Ramsden 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

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

. In 1629 he purchased the Manor of

Almondbury Almondbury () is a village south-east of Huddersfield town centre in West Yorkshire, England. The population of Almondbury in 2001 was 7,368 increasing to 18,346 at the 2011 Census. Almondbury appears in the ''Domesday Book'' as "Almondeberi ...

. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...

for 1636–37.Longley Old Hall - Dates
/ref> In April 1640, Ramsden was elected MP for Pontefract in the Short Parliament. On the outbreak of Civil War, he joined the Royalist cause. In 1644 he was captured at Selby by the Parliamentary Army and committed as a traitor to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. In August 1644 he was exchanged for a Parliamentary prisoner held by the King. In 1645, Ramsden was Colonel of the Third Division defending

Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-century English Civil War ...

and he took part in the negotiations for its surrender. He died during the siege of Newark and was buried at Newark parish church on 27 March. Ramsden first married, Margaret Freshville, the daughter of Sir Peter Freshville, of Stovely, in Lancashire, and had sons William and John. His second wife was Anne Pool, widow of Alderman Pool, of London.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsden, John 1594 births 1646 deaths Politicians from Pontefract Cavaliers Prisoners in the Tower of London High Sheriffs of Yorkshire People killed in the English Civil War English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April)