Sir Francis Lawley, 2nd Baronet (c. 1630 – 25 October 1696) was an English courtier 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. ...

between 1659 and 1679. Lawley was the son of Sir Thomas Lawley, 1st Baronet of Spoonhill, near

Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villag ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. He inherited 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 ...

and the estate on the death of his father in 1646. Lawley acquired the estate of the dissolved monastery of Canwell, in the parish of Hints,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, which became the family seat. In 1659, Lawley 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 Wenlock in the

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a po ...

. He was elected MP for Much Wenlock again in 1660 to the Convention Parliament. In 1661, he was elected MP for

for 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 ...

and held the seat until 1679.History of Parliament Online – Lawley, Sir Francis, 2nd Bt.
/ref> From 1690 to 1696, he was

Master of the Jewel Office The Master of the Jewel Office was a position in the Royal Households of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The office holder was responsible for running the Jewel House The Jewel House is a vault housing the British ...

. Lawley married Anne Whitmore, daughter of

Sir Thomas Whitmore, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Whitmore, 1st Baronet (28 November 1612 – 1653) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England between 1640 and 1644. He supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War. Biography Whitmore was the son o ...

of Apley. He was succeeded by his son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

References

1630s births 1696 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 Masters of the Jewel Office {{England-baronet-stub