Reginald Beseley was one of two Members of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for the borough of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

in 1545, 1547, the November session of 1554 and in 1559. He also represented the borough of Thirsk in the March session of 1553 and the April session of 1554, as well as the borough of

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

in the October session of 1553 and also the constituency of York in 1555.

Life and politics

There is little recorded about Reginald's early life. He is noted as being a tenant on lands belonging to Furness Abbey in 1530 and a number of letters verify his profession as a lawyer in 1533, 1534 and 1548. He held several offices across the county of Yorkshire during his lifetime. Most notably those of recorder for Scarborough in 1547; treasurer to Admiral Seymour in 1547; Vice -Admiral in the North , also in 1547 and 1548; clerk of the court and castle of York in 1555. His numerous terms as MP for several constituencies is reported to have been due to the support of Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury, who was president of the

Council of the North The Council of the North was an administrative body first set up in 1484 by King Richard III of England, to improve access to conciliar justice in Northern England. This built upon steps by King Edward IV of England in delegating authority in the ...

at the time. He married Alice and had one son and two daughters, Agnes and Anne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beseley, Reginald Year of birth missing Year of death missing Place of birth missing Members of the Parliament of England for constituencies in Yorkshire