Sir Robert Hitcham (1572? – 1636) was a

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 ...

and Attorney General under King James I.

Early life

Robert was born of lowly origin in

Levington Levington is a small village in the county of Suffolk, England in the East Suffolk district. The population of the parish including Stratton Hall at the 2011 Census was 259. History Levington has a church called St Peter's Church and a pub. It ...

, near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, and educated at the Free School at Ipswich and later Pembroke College, Cambridge, studying law. He was admitted to

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 3 November 1589 from

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn is a former Inn of Chancery in Holborn, London. It is now the home of Gresham College, an institution of higher learning established in 1597 that hosts public lectures. History Barnard's Inn dates back at least to the mid-thirt ...

and was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1595.

Political career

He became a Member of Parliament for

West Looe West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

from 1597 to 1598; for King's Lynn, Norfolk from 1604 to 1611; for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

in 1614 and for Orford, Suffolk from 1624 to 1626. He held a number of posts including:

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, Queen Consort to

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

(1603–?); Sergeant-at-law (1614–?); and King's Senior Sergeant-at-law (1616–?). He was knighted on 29 June 1604 by King James I.

Later life

On 14 May 1635 he purchased

Framlingham Castle Framlingham Castle is a castle in the market town of Framlingham in Suffolk in England. An early motte and bailey or ringwork Norman castle was built on the Framlingham site by 1148, but this was destroyed (slighted) by Henry II of England in ...

, Suffolk from Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk for the sum of £14,000. He died on 15 August 1636 and now lies in a tomb in the

Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham St Michael's Church in Framlingham, Suffolk is a Church of England church dedicated to Saint Michael. It was the burial site of the Howard family. The church was declared a Grade I listed building in 1966. History The Church of Saint Michael ...

Legacy

His will stated that the castle, save for the outer walls, be demolished and the stone used to build a poor house. The inner buildings were duly demolished and a poor house, Sir Robert Hitcham's Almshouses, was built in its place. He also endowed a school for local children (originally boys only), which was the foundation of the current Framlingham Sir Robert Hitcham primary school. His also left money in his will to fund a school in both

Debenham Debenham is a village and civil parish located north of Ipswich in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publish ...

Coggeshall Coggeshall ( or ) is a small town in Essex, England, between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road Stane Street and the River Blackwater. It has almost 300 listed buildings and a market whose charter was granted in 1256 by Henry III. ...

. With the school in Debenham being named after him; Sir Robert Hitcham CEVA Primary School. He bequeathed the site of the castle to the Master, Fellows and Scholars of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Some of the land he left was later given by the College as the site for

Framlingham College Framlingham College is a public school (independent day and boarding school) in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school and nursery at Brandeston Hall, it serves pupils from 3 to 18 ye ...

, a school built as a memorial to Prince Albert. Hitcham's Cloister in Pembroke College (built 1666) was named after him as is the Hitcham House at

Thomas Mills High School Thomas Mills High School is a secondary school with academy status as well as a sixth form in Framlingham, Suffolk, England. The current Headteacher is Philip J Hurst. History The history of the school dates back to the beginning of the 18th ce ...

in Framlingham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitcham, Robert 1570s births 1636 deaths Burials in Suffolk Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Serjeants-at-law (England) Members of Gray's Inn Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge People educated at Ipswich School Politicians from Ipswich English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 16th-century English lawyers