Richard Southby (1623 – 7 January 1704) was an English 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. T ...

in 1659 and from 1679 to 1689. Southby was the son of John Southby of Carswell Manor in the parish of Buckland in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) and his wife, Elizabeth daughter and heiress of William Wiseman of Steventon in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). His father was MP for Berkshire. Southby matriculated at Lincoln College, Oxford on 14 May 1641 aged 17 and entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

on 4 Nov 1646.W R Williams ''Parliamentary History of the County of Gloucester''
/ref> In 1659, Southby 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 o ...

for

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

in the

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 po ...

. In 1660, Southby stood unsuccessfully at Berkshire for the Convention Parliament. He was elected MP for Berkshire in 1679 and sat until 1689. In 1696 he was

High Sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

. Southby married Katherine, daughter and co-heiress of Robert Strange of

Somerford Keynes Somerford Keynes (, ) is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, close to the River Thames and about 5 miles (8 km) from its source. It lies on the boundary with Wiltshire, midway between Cirencester, Swindon and Malmesbury. The ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

and they had nine children. He died in 1704 and was buried at Buckland.

References

1623 births 1704 deaths Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn People from Buckland, Oxfordshire High Sheriffs of Berkshire Members of the Parliament of England for Berkshire English MPs 1659 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1685–1687 Burials in Oxfordshire {{17thC-England-MP-stub