Sir Nicholas Parker (1547 – 9 March 1620), eldest son of Thomas Parker of Ratton and Eleanor, daughter of William Waller of

Groombridge Groombridge is a village of about 1,600 people. It straddles the border between Kent and East Sussex, in England. The nearest large town is Royal Tunbridge Wells, about away by road. The main part of the village ("New Groombridge") lies in t ...

, was a military commander during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. He was Sheriff of Sussex in 1586-87, again in 1593-94, and was elected MP for

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1597.

Career

Parker is first mentioned as commanding the soldiers on board Henry Ughtred's galleon ''Leicester'' in

Edward Fenton Edward Fenton (died 1603) was an English navigator, son of Henry Fenton and Cicely Beaumont and brother of Sir Geoffrey Fenton. He was also a publisher of diaries and journals. Biography He was a native of Sturton-le-Steeple, Nottinghamshi ...

's voyage in 1582 and afterwards served in the army in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. He was Sheriff of Sussex, in 1586-7 and 1593-4. He became deputy lieutenant of Sussex in 1587 and was knighted by

Lord Willoughby Baron Willoughby of Parham was a title in the Peerage of England with two creations. The first creation was for Sir William Willoughby who was raised to the peerage under letters patent in 1547, with the remainder to his heirs male of body. A ...

in 1588. Parker was master of the ordnance for Willoughby's forces In France in 1589, and was dispatched to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

in 1594. He was elected MP for

in 1597. In 1597 he commanded a company of troops in the islands' voyage under

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, and in October of that year was appointed to command in Sussex, on threat of invasion. In 1598, he was appointed deputy lieutenant of Cornwall and governor of

Pendennis Castle Pendennis Castle (Cornish: ''Penn Dinas'', meaning "headland fortification") is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII near Falmouth, Cornwall, England between 1540 and 1542. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect agai ...

. In 1602, he was named in the charter of the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Main ...

as one of the adventurers, and another of them, Adrian Moore, married his daughter, Anne. He was

governor of Plymouth The Governor of Plymouth was the military Captain or Governor of the Fortress of Plymouth. The Governorship was abolished in 1842. The Lieutenant Governorship was vested in the General Officer Commanding Western District from 1793 to 1903, an ...

from 1601 to 1603, succeeding Sir

Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the m ...

Marriages and issue

Parker married three times. * He married firstly, around 20 January 1573, Jane, daughter of Sir

William Courtenay William Courtenay ( 134231 July 1396) was Archbishop of Canterbury (1381–1396), having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Early life and education Courtenay was a younger son of Hugh de Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon ( ...

(d. 1557) of Powderham and

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, daughter of

John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester ( – 4 November 1576), styled The Honourable John Paulet between 1539 and 1550, Lord St John between 1550 and 1551 and Earl of Wiltshire between 1551 and 1555, was an English peer. He was the eldest son ...

by his first wife, Elizabeth Willoughby; Jane was sister to Sir

(d. 1630) and stepdaughter to Henry Ughtred, son of Sir

Anthony Ughtred Sir Anthony Ughtred or Oughtred, Knight banneret ( – 6 October 1534) was as an English soldier and military administrator during the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII. Ughtred fought in Ireland, the Anglo Scottish border and both ...

and his second wife, Elizabeth Seymour, sister of

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

, third consort of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. * He married secondly, Elizabeth, daughter of John Baker; By his first two marriages he had no issue. * He married thirdly, Catherine, daughter of Sir John Temple of Stowe, Buckinghamshire, by whom he had five sons and two daughters: :* Sir Thomas Parker (1595–1663), married Philadelphia, daughter of

Henry Lennard, 12th Baron Dacre Henry Lennard, 12th Baron Dacre (Born Chevening, Kent 25 March 1570 – 8 August 1616) was an English baron and politician. He was the son of Margaret Fiennes, 11th Baroness Dacre and Sampson Lennard. He was Member of Parliament for West L ...

. :* John Parker :* Robert Parker :* Nicholas Parker :* Henry Parker (1604–1652), the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

pamphleteer. :* Anne Parker, married firstly, Adrian Moore of

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres w ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and secondly, Sir John Smith. :* Mary Parker

Death

He died 9 March 1620 at the age of 73 and was buried in the family chapel in Willingdon church. Following his death, a monument was erected in the Willingdon parish church, showing an effigy of him and his three wives.St Mary, Willingdon
It is one of a group of monuments to the Parker family spanning nearly 150 years.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Monument for Sir Nicholas Parker, St Mary the Virgin, Willingdon
at flickr.com
Llewellyn, Nigel. ''East Sussex Church Monuments - 1530 to 1830 - Archive of Photographs: Willingdon, St. Mary the Virgin''
at sussexrecordsociety.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Nicholas English MPs 1597–1598 High Sheriffs of Surrey High Sheriffs of Sussex 1547 births 1620 deaths People from Willingdon People from Eastbourne English knights Knights Bachelor