Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Baronet (c. 1632 – 29 July 1704) was an English landowner and 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. ...

from 1661 to 1704, and briefly became

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously- ...

in 1704 as the member with the longest unbroken service. Musgrave was the son of

Sir Philip Musgrave, 2nd Baronet Sir Philip Musgrave, 2nd Baronet (21 May 1607 – 7 February 1678) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1640 to 1643 and from 1661 to 1678. He served in the Royalist army in the Civil War. Biography Musgra ...

of Edenhall and his wife Julia Hutton daughter of Sir Richard Hutton of Goldsborough, Yorkshire. He matriculated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

on 10 July 1651 and was awarded his B.A. on the same date. He was a student of

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 Wale ...

in 1654. As a young man, he was active in the Royal cause. He was captain of the Guards before 1661.George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage'' 1900
/ref> In 1661, Musgrave 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

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

. History of Parliament Online - Musgrave, Christopher
/ref> He was knighted in 1671 and was Mayor of Carlisle in 1672. In 1677 he was governor of Carlisle. He was re-elected MP for Carlisle in the two elections of 1679, in 1681 and in 1685 and was a Commissioner of the Ordnance from 1679 to 1681. He succeeded to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on the death of his brother in about 1687. In 1690 Musgrave was elected MP for

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. He was elected MP for Appleby in 1695 and for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1698. In 1700 he was elected MP for Westmorland for a second time and in 1701 he was elected MP for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

. He was elected MP for Westmorland for the third time in 1702. In 1702 Queen Anne made him one of the four tellers of the Exchequer. Musgrave died of apoplexy at the age of 72 at St. James', Westminster and was buried at Trinity Minories, London. Musgrave married firstly on 31 May 1660 Mary Cogan eldest daughter of Sir Andrew Cogan, of East Greenwich, Kent. She died in childbirth at Carlisle Castle on 8 July 1664 aged 27 and was buried at St. Cuthbert's, Edenhall. He married secondly by licence dated 16 April 1671 Elizabeth Francklyn daughter of Sir John Francklyn, of Willesden, Middlesex. She died on 11 April 1701, and was buried at Edenhall.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Musgrave, Christopher, Sir, 4th Baronet 1630s births 1704 deaths Year of birth uncertain English landowners Baronets in the Baronetage of England Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn Mayors of Carlisle, Cumbria Cavaliers English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Totnes

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...