Sir John Suckling (1569 – 27 March 1627) 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 1601 and 1627. Roos Hall

Suckling was the son of Robert Suckling,

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

and MP for the city's constituency between 1571-1572 and 1586-1588, and his wife Elizabeth Barwick, daughter of William Barwick. He 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 W ...

on 22 May 1590. Dictionary of National Biography 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

Dunwich Dunwich is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon period, Dunwich was ...

in 1601. In 1602, he was acting as secretary to the

Lord High Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...

Sir Robert Cecil Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury served as the ...

, and in December 1604 he became receiver of fines on alienations, in succession to Sir Arthur Aty. In 1614 he was elected MP for

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

. He was knighted by

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

Theobalds Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Set in extensive parkland, it was a r ...

on 22 January 1616. In February 1619 he became a Master of Requests, and, in 1622, he was appointed comptroller of the royal household, "paying well for the post." Suckling had become wealthy and accumulated manors, fee-farms, and advowsons in various parts of the country. In September 1621, he was mentioned as Sir Richard Weston's most serious competitor for the chancellorship of the exchequer and in March 1622 he was promoted to be secretary of state.

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, upon his accession three years later, created him a privy councillor. Monument to Sir John Suckling

In 1624, he was elected MP for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

and

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

and chose to sit for Middlesex. In 1625, he represented Yarmouth (IoW) after Edward Clarke opted to sit for Hythe. In 1626 he was elected MP for

and for

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

; he chose to sit for Norwich.

Marriages

Suckling married Martha Cranfield, daughter of Thomas Cranfield of London, and sister of

Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575 – 6 August 1645) was an English merchant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Cranfield. Life He was the second son ...

. She died on 28 October 1613, aged 35. By her, he was the father of the poet Sir John Suckling. A monument of Sir John Suckling, his first wife, Martha, and family, can be seen in St Andrew's Church, Norwich. He then married Jane Hawkins, widow of Charles Hawkins and originally of the Suffolk family of Reve or Reeve. His widow took as her third husband Sir Edwin Rich, of Mulbarton, Norfolk and on the default of her stepson carried into that family the estate of Roos Hall near

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fl ...

Suffolk which Suckling had acquired in 1600 as his residence. On Suckling's death, Roos Hall had been inherited by Sir

Alexander Temple Sir Alexander Temple (bapt. 9 February 1582 OS (1583 NS) – 1629) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament. He was born at Stowe House in 1583 and knighted in 1603. During his life he held many public offices, including Justice of the ...

(Suckling's brother-in-law) in lieu of repayment of a debt, but was later repurchased by the family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suckling, John 1569 births 1627 deaths Members of the Privy Council of England People from Beccles English knights 16th-century English people Members of Gray's Inn English MPs 1601 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1626