Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet JP ( – 18 December 1614) was an English politician, knight, sheriff, and MP.

Early life

Finch was second, but eldest surviving son, of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell, Kent, and the former Catherine Moyle. Among his siblings was brother Henry Finch (MP for Canterbury and

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

), and sister Jane Finch (who married George Wyatt of

Allington Castle Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal con ...

). His paternal grandparents were Sir William Finch, who was knighted for his services at the siege of Therouanne, and, his first wife, Elizabeth ( Cromer) Lovelace (a daughter of Sir James Cromer of

Tunstall, Kent Tunstall is a linear village and civil parish in Swale in Kent, England. It is about 2 km to the south-west of the centre of Sittingbourne, on a road towards Bredgar. History In 1798, Edward Hasted records that it had once been called ''Dunstal ...

, and widow of Sir Richard Lovelace). His maternal grandparents were Sir

Thomas Moyle Sir Thomas Moyle (1488 – 2 October 1560) was a commissioner for Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries, and Speaker of the House of Commons in the Parliament of England from 1542 to 1544. Life He was the fourth son of John Moyle ...

and the former Katherine Jordeyne (a daughters of Edward Jordeyne, a leading goldsmith at Cheapside with a

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

at Raynham). Finch was admitted of Gray's Inn in 1568.

Career

Finch first entered Parliament at a by-election for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, through the influence of the 2nd Earl of Bedford, who had campaigned with his father at

St. Quentin Saint Quentin ( la, Quintinus; died 287 AD) also known as Quentin of Amiens, was an early Christian saint. Hagiography Martyrdom The legend of his life has him as a Roman citizen who was martyred in Gaul. He is said to have been the son of a ...

in 1557 (during the

Italian War The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

), sitting between 1576 and 1584. He later represented Kent in 1593 (the same year he was elected knight of the shire for Kent) and for Winchelsea in 1601. He served as

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 ...

in 1596 and 1605. He was knighted in 1585 and he was created a Baronet, of Eastwell in the County of Kent, in 1611.George E. Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Vol 1'' (1900)
/ref>

Personal life

In 1573, Finch married Elizabeth Heneage, daughter and heiress of

Sir Thomas Heneage Sir Thomas Heneage PC (1532 – 17 October 1595) was an English politician and courtier at the court of Elizabeth I. Early and personal life Thomas Heneage the Younger was born at Copt Hall, Epping, Essex, the son of Sir Robert Heneage and Lucy ...

. They had a daughter Anne who was a writer: she married Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet. * Sir Theophilius Finch, 2nd Baronet (1573–1619), who married Agnes Heydon, only child of Sir Christopher Heydon of

Baconsthorpe Baconsthorpe is a village and civil parish in the North Norfolk district of the English county of Norfolk. It is 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Holt, 5 miles (8 km) south of Sheringham and 20 miles (32 km) north of Norwich. Popul ...

. * Lady Anne Finch (1574–1638), who married Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet. * Heneage Finch (b. 1576), who died young. *

Thomas Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea Thomas Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea (13 June 1578 – 4 November 1639) was an English peer and Member of Parliament. Early life Finch was the third, but second surviving, son of Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet and Elizabeth Heneage, 1st Countes ...

(1578–1639), who married Cicely Wentworth, daughter of John Wentworth, MP. * Hon. Sir Heneage Finch (1580–1631),

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: *Speaker of ...

who married Frances Bell, a daughter of Sir Edmond Bell of

Beaupre Hall Beaupre or Beaupré may refer to: *Beaupre (surname), surname found mostly in Canada, the United States and parts of England *Beaupré, Quebec, a ville in the Canadian province of Quebec * Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec, a town near Quebec city, C ...

. After her death, he married Elizabeth (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Cradock) Bennett, a daughter of William Cradock and the widow of Richard Bennett. * Hon. Francis Finch (b. ), a barrister and MP for

Eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

. * Lady Catherine Finch, who married Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, of Gosfield. He died in December 1614 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Theophilus. Lady Finch was elevated to the peerage in her own right as Viscountess Winchilsea in 1623 and was further honoured when she was made Countess of Winchilsea in 1628. She died in 1634 and was succeeded by her third son, Thomas, who had already succeeded his elder brother in the baronetcy. Their fourth son

Sir Heneage Finch Sir Heneage Finch (15 December 1580 – 5 December 1631) was an English nobleman, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commo ...

became

and was the father of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Moyle 1550s births 1614 deaths 17th-century English nobility Baronets in the Baronetage of England Moyle High Sheriffs of Kent Knights Bachelor English knights English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1601 English justices of the peace Moyle