Sir Gilbert Gerard, 1st Baronet Of Fiskerton
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Sir Gilbert Gerard, 1st Baronet of Fiskerton ( 1632 – 24 September 1687) was an English soldier and politician. During the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
he supported the
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
cause. After the Restoration he sat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
from 1661 to 1685.For the date of birth


Biography

Gerard was the son of Ratcliffe Gerard and his wife Jennet Barret, daughter of Edward Barret, of Pembrokeshire. His family supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War and at the start of the first war he was commissioned as a captain into the same foot regiment as his father (the colonel of the regiment was his father's twin brother, Gilbert Gerard (died 1646)). His brother
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
also served officer in the royalist army. From 1643 to 1646 Gerard was a captain of horse. On 29 August 1645 a warrant was made out for Gerard to become a
baronet 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 ...
, but formality of sealing it never took place. He also participated in the Second Civil War; he was taken prisoner at the
battle of St Neots The Battle of St Neots on 10 July 1648 was a skirmish during the Second English Civil War at St Neots in Cambridgeshire. A Royalist force led by the Earl of Holland and Colonel John Dalbier was defeated by 100 veteran troops from the New Mode ...
after spending a year as a prisoner of war but was allowed to leave England a year later. He was back in England by 1654, when after travelling from Worcestershire he was arrested in London as one of those implicated in the Gerard's conspiracy. Although his brother John was executed for his part in the plot, Gerard was not tried, and went and joined Charles II's court in exile. He returned to England after the death of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and was a suspect member of a group of Cavalier agitators in the Bristol area. In 1654 Gerard and John were both arrested on suspicion of being involved in the Gerard's conspiracy. Gerard was released without charge, but John was tried for high treason, was found guilty of plotting to assassinate the
Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') is a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometime ...
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
and was executed in May of that year. After the Restoration Gerard was a
Gentleman of the Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...
by June 1660 probably until 1685, he was also a lieutenant in the 1st troop of life guards commanded by his cousin (1661–1668). Gerald also held many local government positions: Constable, Durham 1661–1676; commissioner for assessment, county Durham 1661–80, Westminster 1661–1663, Middlesex 1665–1689, 1679–1680, Lincolnshire 1673–1674, Yorkshire (North and West Ridings) 1673–1680, (East Riding) 1679–1680, improvement, Kingswood chase 1661, corporations, Yorkshire, 1662–1663, loyal and indigent officers, county Durham, London and Westminster 1662; justice of the peace county Durham 1663–1680, (North Riding) 1676–1680, Middlesex 1677–1680; deputy-lieutenant county Durham 1663–c.1680, (North Riding) by 1679–c.1680; sheriff, county Durham 1665–1675; commissioner for recusants, county Durham and North Riding 1675. He was also Joint farmer of excise, Cumberland and Westmld. c.1661, county Durham and Northumbland by 1661–1665; master of Greatham hospital county Durham 1663 until he died(?); and a freeman, Hartlepool 1665. In 1661, Gerard was elected Member of Parliament for
Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...
in the
Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...
and was re-elected to the same constituency in March and October 1679 and again in 1681. He was created
baronet 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 ...
of Fiskerton in the County of Lincoln on 17 November 1666. Between 1673 and 1680 (while the Exclusion Bill agitation was maturing) it was asserted by the country party that Charles II had legally married
Lucy Walter Lucy Walter (c. 1630 – 1658), also known as Lucy Barlow, was the first mistress of King Charles II of England and mother of James, Duke of Monmouth. During the Exclusion Crisis, a Protestant faction wanted to make her son heir to the throne, ...
—his mistress while exiled on the European Continent in the late 1640s and early 1650s, and the mother of his son the
James, Duke of Monmouth James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was an English nobleman and military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest ill ...
. It was believed in course of time that the contract of marriage was preserved in a black box in the possession of Sir Gilbert, who was son-in-law of Bishop
John Cosin John Cosin (30 November 1594 – 15 January 1672) was an English bishop. Life He was born at Norwich, and was educated at Norwich School and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was scholar and afterwards fellow. On taking orders he was appo ...
(died 1672), a confidant of Lucy Walter. In a novel which had a wide circulation it was the designing Prince of Purdino (James) who advised his brother, King Conradus of Otenia, to marry the beautiful "Lucilious", but, in order to avoid disgusting the Otenians, to do so with the greatest privacy imaginable, and in the presence of but two witnesses, himself and the priest (Cosin). cites ''The Perplex'd Prince'', London, 1681? 12mo, dedicated to William, lord Russell, by T. S. Sir Gilbert Gerard, summoned before an extraordinary meeting of the Privy Council convened by King Charles II, stated that he knew nothing whatever of such a marriage contract; and the King issued three declarations in denial of the marriage (January, March, and June 1678). One of these declarations, signed by sixteen Privy Councillors, was entered in the council book and registered in chancery.


Family

Gerard married firstly Mary, daughter of Sir John Brereton with whom he had no children, and secondly Mary, daughter of
John Cosin John Cosin (30 November 1594 – 15 January 1672) was an English bishop. Life He was born at Norwich, and was educated at Norwich School and at Caius College, Cambridge, where he was scholar and afterwards fellow. On taking orders he was appo ...
,
Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...
, with whom he had a daughter, Charlotte and a son and heir Sir Gilbert Cosins Gerard, 2nd Baronet. Charlotte married John Barcroft. Gilbert married first, Mary, daughter and heiress of
Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth Charles Berkeley, 1st Earl of Falmouth (11 January 1630 – 3 June 1665) was an English nobleman and naval officer who was the son of Charles Berkeley (1599–1668) and his wife Penelope née Godolphin (died 1669), of the Bruton branch of t ...
, from whom he was divorced in 1684, and secondly, Lady Morlaud, but had no children from either marriage, so the baronetcy became extinct on his death.


Notes


References

* * * * ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Gilbert 1687 deaths High sheriffs of Durham Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 Year of birth uncertain Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber British Life Guards officers Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War