Sir Francis Nicolls, 1st Baronet (sometimes spelt Nichols) (1586 – 4 March 1642) was an English Member of Parliament. He was also the first of the Nicolls baronets. He was born the eldest son of Francis Nichols of

Hardwick, Northamptonshire Hardwick is a small village in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the town of Wellingborough. The population is included in the civil parish of Great Harrowden Great Harrowden is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, w ...

and was educated 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 ...

. He also entered the

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 the same year (1602) to study law but was never

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

. He succeeded his father in 1604 and inherited land at

Faxton Faxton is an abandoned village and chapelry in the county of Northamptonshire in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lie ...

in 1616 on the death of his uncle, the judge Sir Augustine Nicholls. 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 Northamptonshire in 1620-26 and from 1628 to his death. He was made a commissioner for

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French ''oyer et terminer'', which literally means "to hear and to determine") was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the ...

on the Midlands circuit in 1626. In 1628 he was elected MP for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, sitting until Parliament was suspended the following year by King Charles I. He was pricked

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. 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 centuries most of the respon ...

for 1630–31. Nicolls was created a baronet on 28 July 1641. He died in 1642. He had married Mary, the daughter of Edward Bagshawe,

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

, of London and the stepdaughter of his uncle Augustine, with whom he had a son and a daughter. His son Edward was an active parliamentarian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolls, Francis 1586 births 1642 deaths People from North Northamptonshire Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple English MPs 1628–1629 Baronets in the Baronetage of England High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire