Sir Patricius Curwen, 1st Baronet (c. 1602 – 15 December 1664) of

Workington Hall Workington Hall, sometimes called Curwen Hall, is a ruined building on the Northeast outskirts of the town of Workington in Cumbria. It is a Grade I listed building. History A peel tower was built on the site in 1362. The present house dates b ...

, Cumberland was an English landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

from 1640 to 1643 and from 1661 to 1664. He supported the Royalist side 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 ...

Curwen was the son of Sir Henry Curwen of Workington in Cumberland. The Curwen family owned iron ore mines at Harrington and the account books of Curwen's steward contain many references to iron ore. Curwen was apparently a generous landlord who between 1628 and 1643 paid his harvesters with food and wages and provided a piper to play in the fields for the time of the harvest. In 1627 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Workington in the County of Cumberland. Curwen served as 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 Cumberland from 1624 to at least 1640 and in 1636 was appointed

High Sheriff of Cumberland 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 or ...

. In April 1640 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 of ...

for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

for the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...

and was re-elected in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

. As a staunch Royalist he was one of the 56 MPs who voted to spare the life of the Earl of Strafford and was disabled from sitting in March 1643. When 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 ...

started he enlisted as a colonel in the Royalist army. After the Restoration in 1661 Curwen was elected MP for Cumberland again in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

and held the seat until his death in 1664. Curwen died in December 1664 at the age of 62 and was buried at Workington. He had married Lady Isabella Selby, daughter of Sir George Selby of Whitehouse in Durham but their only son Henry had died in 1636. Curwen's Workington estate therefore passed to his brother Thomas and the baronetcy became extinct. In his will he bequeathed money to build and maintain a school at Harrington which was known as the Patricius Curwen School.Samuel Jefferson ''The History and Antiquities of Allerdale Ward, Above Derwent, in the County of Cumberland; With Biographical Notices and Memoirs'' General Books 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curwen, Patricius 1600s births 1664 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge English landowners Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1661–1679 High Sheriffs of Cumberland Patricius