Sir Abel Barker, 1st Baronet (c.1616 – 1679) was an English politician.

Biography

Barker was the son of Abel Barker and Elizabeth Wright. In 1637 he inherited the manor of Hambleton,

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

, from his father and he prospered as a large-scale sheep-farmer. During 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 ...

, Barker supported

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and he served on the Rutland county committee. In 1646 he was appointed High Sheriff of Rutland and he served as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for the county between 1647 and 1653. In 1656, he was elected as 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 ...

for

in the Second Protectorate Parliament, representing the seat until 1658. In 1659 he served as commissioner for militia in Rutland. Barker supported the Stuart Restoration in 1660 and was a signatory of the loyal address to

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

. He was proposed as a Knight of the Royal Oak in 1660 with an estate of £1,000 per year. In 1661 he stood unsuccessfully against Edward Noel for re-election to parliament. His success as a farmer and landlord enabled him to construct a manor at Lyndon, Rutland and purchase a baronetcy; on the 9 September 1665 he was made a baronet, of Hambleton in the

Baronetage of England Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

. In 1679, he was again returned as the member for Rutland, but died before the

Second Exclusion Parliament The Exclusion Bill Parliament was a Parliament of England during the reign of Charles II of England, named after the long saga of the Exclusion Bill. Summoned on 24 July 1679, but prorogued by the king so that it did not assemble until 21 Octob ...

convened. He was married twice, and was succeeded in his baronetcy by his son from his first marriage, Thomas. The title became extinct on the death of the second baronet in 1707.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Abel, 1st Baronet Year of birth uncertain 1679 deaths Abel English MPs 1656–1658 High Sheriffs of Rutland Roundheads