Sir John Smith or Smythe,
JP (1557 – 29 October 1608), of
Westenhanger
Stanford is a village and civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or ...
, Kent, was an English politician.
![Westenhanger Castle - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Westenhanger_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_889584.jpg)
He was the eldest surviving son of
Thomas Smythe
Sir Thomas Smythe (or Smith, c. 1558 – 4 September 1625) was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the East India Company and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until envel ...
, a London haberdasher who was a collector of customs duties ("customer") and who had bought
Westenhanger Castle
Westenhanger Castle is a fortified manor house once owned by royalty, located next to Westenhanger railway station and the grandstand of Folkestone Racecourse in Kent. The castle has endured a period of steady decline to near ruination in recent ...
. His brother was
Thomas Smythe
Sir Thomas Smythe (or Smith, c. 1558 – 4 September 1625) was an English merchant, politician and colonial administrator. He was the first governor of the East India Company and treasurer of the Virginia Company from 1609 to 1620 until envel ...
, the first governor of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. John entered
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
to study law in 1577. He succeeded his father in 1591, inheriting Westenhanger Castle, and was knighted on 11 May 1603.
He was a
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
for Kent from 1587 to his death and was appointed
High Sheriff of Kent
The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...
for 1600–01. He was elected a
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 ...
(MP) for
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
in 1584 and
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
in 1586, 1587 and 1604. He was the Deputy Governor of the Mines Royal from 1605 to death.
He died in 1608 and was buried at Ashford. He had married Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of John Fyneux of Herne, Kent, and had 2 sons (one of whom predeceased him) and 6 daughters. His surviving son Thomas was created an Irish peer in 1635, becoming
Viscount Strangford
Viscount Strangford was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in for Sir Thomas Smythe. He was a son of John Smith (also Smythe) J.P., High Sheriff of Kent 1600–1601, also M.P. for Aylesbury (in 1584) and Hythe (in 1586, 1587 ...
.
References
1557 births
1608 deaths
People from Westenhanger
Members of Gray's Inn
English MPs 1584–1585
English MPs 1586–1587
English MPs 1589
English MPs 1604–1611
High Sheriffs of Kent
English justices of the peace
{{17thC-England-MP-stub