![Ann Daughter of Sir John Harrison of Balls](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Ann_Daughter_of_Sir_John_Harrison_of_Balls.jpg)
Sir John Harrison (c. 1590 – 28 September 1669) of
Balls Park
Balls Park in Hertford is a Grade I Listed mid-17th-century house. The estate and house are set in over 63 acres of parkland which is listed Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. The estate a ...
, Hertfordshire was an English 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. T ...
variously between 1640 and 1669. 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 governm ...
side in 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 ...
.
Public life
Harrison was born in Lancaster, the 12th son of a yeoman, and went to London in 1611 at the age of 22.
[Cross Fleury ''Time-honoured Lancaster ... Historic notes on the ancient borough of Lancaster.'']
/ref> He was one of the first to suggest the position of commissioner of the customs and was given that post.[''Townships: Skerton'', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8 (1914), pp. 58-61. Date accessed: 8 January 2011 ]
/ref>
Harrison was elected MP for Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
in 1628. In April 1640, 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 o ...
for Lancaster in the Short Parliament. He was then elected for Lancaster in November 1640 for the Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...
He built Balls Park
Balls Park in Hertford is a Grade I Listed mid-17th-century house. The estate and house are set in over 63 acres of parkland which is listed Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. The estate a ...
House in Hertford between 1637 and 1640 and was knighted in 1641.
He supported the King during the Civil War and was disabled from sitting in September 1643. He suffered greatly from his loyalty, being fined £10,745.[ After the Restoration, Harrison was elected MP for Lancaster again in 1661 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 his death in 1669.[ He served as 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 ...
from 1664 until his death.
Private life
Harrison died at the age of 80, at Balls Park
Balls Park in Hertford is a Grade I Listed mid-17th-century house. The estate and house are set in over 63 acres of parkland which is listed Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. The estate a ...
, Hertford and was buried at All Saints' Church, Hertford
All Saints' Church is in Queens Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Hertford and Ware, the archdeaconry of Hertford, and the diocese of St Albans. It is the civic church of the town ...
.[
He had married, first, Margaret Fanshawe, daughter of Robert Fanshawe, by whom he had three sons, all of whom predeceased him, and two daughters, and, secondly, Mary Shotbolt, daughter of Philip Shotbolt, by whom he had a son and a daughter. His elder daughter ]Ann
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
by his first wife married Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet
Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet PC (June 1608 – 16 June 1666) was an English poet and translator. He was a diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1666. During the English Civil War he supported the Royalist caus ...
ambassador to Spain. He was survived by his three daughters and his youngest son, the only son of his second marriage,Richard Harrison (born 1646; died 1726) Richard Harrison may refer to:
Politicians
* Richard Harrison (died 1726) (1646–1726), English MP for Lancaster, Hertfordshire and Middlesex
*Richard Harrison (British Army officer) (1837–1931), British Quartermaster-General to the Forces and ...
, who succeeded him at Balls Park and was also the Member of Parliament for Lancaster.
His descendants included Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend
Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend (11 July 1700 – 12 March 1764), known as The Lord Lynn from 1723 to 1738, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1723 when he was elevated to the House of Lords by wri ...
and George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend
Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, PC (28 February 172414 September 1807), known as The Viscount Townshend from 1764 to 1787, was a British soldier and politician. After serving at the Battle of Dettingen during the War of t ...
.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, John
1590s births
1669 deaths
People from Lancaster, Lancashire
Cavaliers
Oxford Parliaments
English MPs 1628–1629
English MPs 1640 (April)
English MPs 1640–1648
English MPs 1661–1679
Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber
Knights Bachelor