Sir Francis Leke, 1st Baronet (1627 – October 1679) was an English soldier, administrator and Member of Parliament. He was born the eldest son of William Leke of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir

Guy Palmes Sir Guy Palmes (1580–1653) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1643. Early life Palmes was the son of Francis Palmes of Lindley, now part of Huddersfield, and at Ashwell ...

of Ashwell, Rutland. He succeeded his father in 1651 and was knighted by October 1661. He was appointed 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 ...

and deputy lieutenant for Nottinghamshire in 1660, holding both positions for life. He was also appointed

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuri ...

for 1660–61. He became an army officer in 1662 whilst still deputy lieutenant in Nottinghamshire. As deputy lieutenant he was ordered to arrest the formidable Colonel John Hutchinson in 1663 for his part in the Yorkshire Plot and was soon afterwards created a baronet. In 1666 he was elected

Knight of the Shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

(MP) for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. He was appointed in 1669

Governor of Gravesend and Tilbury The Governor of Gravesend and Tilbury Fort (or West Tilbury) was the military officer responsible for paired fortifications and blockhouses protecting the River Thames: on the south side of the river at Gravesend, Kent and on the north side at Tilb ...

, block-houses on either side of the mouth of the Thames, which was a full-time commitment until his son was old enough to deputise for him. He died at Gravesend in 1679. He had married Frances, the daughter of Sir William Thorold, 1st Baronet of Marston, Lincolnshire. They had a son

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

and four daughters.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leke, Francis 1627 births 1679 deaths People from Newark-on-Trent High Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire Deputy Lieutenants of Nottinghamshire English MPs 1661–1679