Robert Jenner (c.1584 – 7 December 1651) was an English merchant in the City of London, who acquired land in north Wiltshire and 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 1628 and 1648.

Life

Robert Jenner was born around 1584; his birthplace is unknown, although he had connections in north Wiltshire and south Gloucestershire, including John Jenner, yeoman of

Crudwell Crudwell is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. The nearest towns are Malmesbury, about to the south-west, and Cirencester, Gloucestershire to the north-east. Also to the north-east is Cotswold Airport. Kemble village, abou ...

, who was probably his brother. By 1617 he had married Elizabeth Longston, daughter of Thomas Longston, citizen and grocer of London. Jenner completed an apprenticeship under the

Goldsmiths' Company The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of Londo ...

, London, in 1613 and by 1615 was employing apprentices of his own. His business specialised in refining silver bullion – either imported or bought from mines in Cumbria – for use in the wire-drawing trade. He prospered and was able to pay £1,400 for a house at

Foster Lane Foster Lane is a short street within Cheap (ward), Cheap ward, in the City of London. It is situated northeast of St Paul's Cathedral and runs southbound Gresham Street to Cheapside. "Foster" is a corruption of 'St Vedast' to whom St Vedast Fost ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. In 1624 he bought the Wiltshire manor of Widhill, near

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

(later in

Blunsdon Blunsdon is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, in Wiltshire, England, about north of the centre of Swindon, with the A419 forming its southern boundary. Its main settlement is the village of Broad Blunsdon, with Lower Blunsdon nearby; th ...

parish), together with the nearby manor of Eysey, at that time in Gloucestershire. Eysey was sold in 1630. In 1648 he bought the manor of

Marston Meysey Marston Meysey, pronounced and sometimes also spelt Marston Maisey, is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, lying northeast of Cricklade on the county boundary with Gloucestershire. The parish includes the hamlet of Marston Hill. Ma ...

, also at that time in Gloucestershire. In the same year he paid for the rebuilding of the derelict chapel at Marston, which was raised in status to a parish church. With Elizabeth he had a daughter, Anne, who in 1632 (aged 15) was married to Thomas Trevor, later Sir Thomas, the only son of Sir Thomas Trevor of Trevalyn Denbighs, Lord Baron of the Exchequer. It is presumed that Anne died childless before her father as she is not mentioned in his will.

Politics

In 1628, Jenner 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

and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In April 1640, he was re-elected MP for Cricklade in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...

. He was re-elected MP for Cricklade in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

, and held the seat until he was excluded 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 1648. Jenner was in favour of taking a milder course with Charles I at the end of the Civil War, and was reprimanded by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

for his tenderness. Cricklade - old school - geograph

Death and legacy

Jenner died on 7 December 1651 at the age of 67, and was buried in Cricklade St Sampson's Church. His chest tomb, in limestone with a black marble top, is in the north aisle of the church. He left money for eight almshouses in Malmesbury and for the building and maintenance of a free school at Cricklade.

Jenner's School Jenner's School is a Grade II* listed former school in Bath Road, Cricklade, Wiltshire, England. It was built in 1652 and then became a workhouse. It became a school again in the 19th century and is now a community hall. History The school w ...

, a single large room, was completed in 1652 on a site backing onto St Sampson's churchyard. Later the building became the parish workhouse before going back into use as a school until 1960. It became the Cricklade parish hall and was renamed the Jenner Hall.Cricklade Town Council - Official Guide
Archived at the Internet Archive in 2012. Besides those bequests, Jenner made provision for his wife, including a life interest in the Foster Lane house; on her death the house would be granted to the Goldsmith's Company for charitable purposes. Widhill manor was left to his cousin and heir, John Jenner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenner, Robert 1584 births 1651 deaths Politicians from London English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Members of Parliament for Cricklade