Robert Suckling (1520–1589), of St. Andrew's,

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, Norfolk, was an English politician, mercer and merchant adventurer. He 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 of ...

(MP) for

in 1571 and 1586.

Life

Suckling was born in 1520, the first son of Richard Suckling, a baker of Norwich, who served as one of the city's aldermen. Suckling was a

mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

and a merchant adventurer. He became a freeman of Norwich in 1548, and served as an alderman in 1559, as sheriff in 1564–65, and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in 1572–73 and 1582–83. He was a

for Norwich in 1571 and 1586. In 1562 he bought and rebuilt a large house in St Andrews Street in Norwich, part of which survives, incorporated into a cinema. He also had property at

Woodton Woodton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 7 km north-west of the Suffolk town of Bungay, and 20 km south-east of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a populatio ...

and elsewhere in the area. He died in November 1589. An inventory of his property taken in 1590 included four Bibles and a copy of Calvin's ''Institutes''. Suckling was married three times: to Elizabeth Barwick (d. 1569), to Margaret Pettingale (d. 1576), and to Joan Cardinall, who survived him. He had five sons and five daughters from his first marriage, including Edmund Suckling, who became

Dean of Norwich The Dean of Norwich is the head of the Chapter of Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, England. The role is vacant since Jane Hedges' retirement on 1 May 2022. List of deans Early modern *1538–1539 William Castleton (last prior) *1539–1554 J ...

in 1614 and John Suckling, who was knighted in 1616 and served as Secretary of State to both James I and Charles I. Suckling also had a son, Charles (b. 1578), from his third marriage. His memorial is in St Andrew's Church, Norwich.

References

1520 births 1589 deaths Politicians from Norwich Mayors of Norwich English MPs 1571 English MPs 1586–1587 {{16thC-England-MP-stub