Sir Richard Jennings MP (c. 1619 – 8 May 1668), was an English nobleman and 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. ...

at various times between 1642 and 1668. He took the

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

side in 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 ...

. He was the father of

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...

, who was the confidante of Queen Anne. Jennings succeeded his father, Sir John Jennings, as head of the family in August 1642, and took residence at

Sandridge Sandridge is a village and civil parish between St Albans and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England. History The original name was "Saundruage" meaning a place of sandy soil serviced by bond tenants. The earliest recorded mention of Sandri ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. His mother was Alice, daughter of Sir Richard Spencer of

Offley Offley is a civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire, between Hitchin and Luton. The main village is Great Offley, and the parish also contains the nearby hamlets of Little Offley and The Flints. In the south-west of the parish, nea ...

, who bore his father no less than 22 children. He was also elected as

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 ...

(MP) for

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 ...

in succession to his father in 1642. History of Parliament Online - Jennings, Richard
/ref> He fought for the parliamentary cause in the Civil War, and was captured by the Royalists and imprisoned for some time. As a moderate, he was secluded from parliament under

Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...

in December 1648. He was re-elected MP for St Albans in Richard Cromwell's

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a powe ...

in 1659. He took a leading role in the restored Long Parliament during the few weeks of 1660 when the secluded members resumed their seats, and was then elected MP for St Albans for the Convention Parliament. He was re-elected MP for St Albans in 1661 for 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 sat until his death in 1668. Jennings married Frances Thornhurst, daughter and heiress of Sir Gifford Thornhurst, 1st Baronet and Susanna Temple.thePeerage.com http://www.thepeerage.com/p40844.htm#i408439 She brought with her the manor of Agney, Kent. Their daughters,

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

and

Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the ...

, were both noteworthy figures at the court of Charles II. Frances, nicknamed "La Belle Jennings", became maid of honour to the

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...

in 1664, and eventually by her second marriage to Richard Talbot became Countess of Tyrconnel. Sarah married

John Churchill General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

, the future Duke of Marlborough, in 1677, and was highly influential during the reign of Queen Anne.

Abigail Masham Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham (née Hill; 6 December 1734), was an English courtier. She was a favourite of Queen Anne, and a cousin of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Life Early life Abigail Hill was the daughter of Francis Hill, a London m ...

, who ultimately supplanted her in the Queen's confidence, was a first cousin of Sarah, the child of Elizabeth Jennings Hill, one of Richard's 21 siblings. Jenning's estates, initially divided between his two daughters, were later consolidated by Sarah's husband.

References

The Peerage: Richard Jenyns
1610s births 1668 deaths Roundheads English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 {{17thC-England-MP-stub