Robert Beake (died 22 September 1708) 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. ...

variously between 1654 and 1679. He supported 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 ...

cause 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 ...

. Beake was a Presbyterian alderman and draper of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, and was commissioned into the parliamentary army. ''The City of Coventry: Parliamentary representation'', A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8: The City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick (1969), pp. 248-255. Date accessed: 8 March 2011
/ref> In 1654, 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

in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Hou ...

.History of Parliament Online - Beake, Robert
/ref> He became mayor of Coventry in 1655 and was elected MP for Coventry in the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in t ...

in 1656. In 1657 he wrote his diary which showed how zealous he was in his puritan duties enforcing strict Sabbatarianism and suppressing disorder. Those who travelled on Sundays were put in the stocks or the cage, and even a man whose journey was in order to be a godfather was fined. On Sundays Beake spent his time in the park, observing 'who idly walked there'. He took action to suppress the sale of unlicensed ale and visited all the unlicensed alehouses in three wards in person. 'The City of Coventry: Social history to 1700', A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8: The City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick (1969), pp. 208-221. Date accessed: 9 March 2011
/ref> He was re-elected MP for Coventry in 1659 for 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 powe ...

. In 1660, Beake was elected in the Convention Parliament However a parliamentary enquiry declared the election illegal, and in the following by-election, he lost his seat to

William Jesson William Jesson (1580 – 1651) was an English dyer and politician who was active in local government in Coventry and sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1648. Jesson was the son of Richard Jesson of Coventry and his wife Elizabeth Hill. ...

. Beake was elected again as MP for Coventry in 1679. He only sat for a short time, but voted for the first Exclusion Bill. Beake's diary is held in the local record office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beake, Robert Year of birth missing 1708 deaths Roundheads Mayors of Coventry English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1659 English MPs 1679 Members of Parliament for Coventry