Sir John Stepney, 3rd Baronet (1618c. 1676) was a Welsh 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. ...
from 1640 to 1643. 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 governme ...
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 ...
.
Stepney was the son of Sir John Stepney, 1st Baronet, and his wife Jane Mansel, daughter of Sir Francis Mansel of Muddlescomb,
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
. He succeeded to 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 ...
on the death of his brother Alban in 1628. In 1637 he was
High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Pembrokeshire. 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 responsibilitie ...
.
[Welsh Biography Online - Stepney family]
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In April 1640, Stepney 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 Pembroke in the Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks.
Aft ...
. He was elected MP for Haverfordwest
Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...
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 ...
in November 1640 and held the seat until he was disabled from sitting in 1643. He remained loyal to the king and was governor of the town of Haverfordwest during the Civil War. He was captured by the Parliamentary forces at Hereford on 18 December 1645 and imprisoned.[ He compounded on 2 March 1646 and was fined £1230 on 23 December 1646. This was reduced to £550 on 1 Oct 1649 and he was discharged on 31 May 1650.W R Williams ''Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales'']
/ref>
Stepney married Magdalen Jones, daughter of Sir Henry Jones of Abermarlais.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepney, John
1618 births
1676 deaths
Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales
High Sheriffs of Pembrokeshire
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
Cavaliers
Stepney family
English MPs 1640 (April)
English MPs 1640–1648