Sir Francis Fulford (c. 1583 – 1664) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1625. Fulford was the son of Sir Thomas Fulford (1553-1610) of Fulford in the parish of

Dunsford Dunsford is a village in Devon, England, just inside the Dartmoor National Park. The place-name 'Dunsford' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as ''Dunesforda'', meaning 'Dunn's ford'. The village has a number of ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and Ursula Bampfield (died 1639), daughter of Richard Bampfield of

Poltimore Poltimore is a village, civil parish and former manor in the East Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It lies approximately northeast of Exeter. The parish consisted of 122 households and a population of 297 people during the 2 ...

, and was baptised at the Church of St Mary Major, Exeter on 1 September 1583. He matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

on 16 February 1599, aged 15 and was a student of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1601. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on 26 February 1606. He succeeded his father in 1610, inheriting the family seat of

Great Fulford Great Fulford is an historic estate in the parish of Dunsford, Devon. The grade I listed manor house, known as Great Fulford House, is about 9 miles west of Exeter. Its site was said in 1810 to be "probably the most ancient in the county". T ...

. His parents'

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

in the Fulford Chapel, Dunsford Church still survives. In 1625, he 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

. He served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset by 1640 and was appointed High Sheriff of Dorset for 1642–43. 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 ...

he was an active royalist and was captured and briefly imprisoned in Devon in early 1643. He maintained a garrison at Great Fulford until December 1645, when he surrendered to Thomas Fairfax. His eldest son Thomas was killed during the war. He was allowed to compound for his estates. Viewed with understandable suspicion by the

Cromwellian 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 ...

regime, he lived quietly on his estates until the

Restoration of Charles II The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

. He married Elizabeth, the daughter and co-heiress of Bernard Samways of Winterbourne St. Martin and

Toller Fratrum Toller Fratrum () is a very small village and civil parish in Dorset, England, near Maiden Newton, anciently in Tollerford Hundred. The name is taken from the village's situation on the brook formerly known as the Toller, now called the Hooke. ...

, Dorset, with whom he had 7 sons (several of whom predeceased him) and 6 daughters. The marriage led to a lengthy lawsuit with his brother-in-law Sir Francis Ashley, who married Elizabeth's sister and co-heiress Anne. Fulford died at the age of about 80 between 7 January 1664 when he made his will and 2 May 1664 when it was proved. He was buried at Toller Fratrum. His eldest son having been killed, his Devon estates passed to his grandson Francis and the

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

estate to his younger son George.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulford, Francis 1580s births 1664 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple High Sheriffs of Dorset Deputy Lieutenants of Dorset English MPs 1625 Cavaliers Fulford family Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon