Sir Ralph Hare, 1st Baronet (24 March 1623 – 28 February 1672) of

Stow Bardolph Stow Bardolph, sometimes simply referred to as Stow, is an estate and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, lying between King's Lynn and Downham Market on the A10. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,014 in 421 household ...

, Norfolk 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. ...

variously between 1654 and 1672. Hare was the son of Sir John Hare and his wife Elizabeth Coventry, only daughter of

Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry (157814 January 1640) was a prominent English lawyer, politician and judge during the early 17th century. Education and early legal career He entered Balliol College, Oxford, in 1592, and the Inner Temple in ...

by his 1st wife Sarah Sebright. He was related to (great great great uncle) Sir Nicholas Hare,

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

from 1539 to 1540, who had purchased the Stow Bardolph estate in 1553. Hare was created 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 ...

, of

in the County of Norfolk on 23 July 1641 and appointed

Sheriff of Norfolk The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other im ...

for 1650. 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 of ...

for

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Hou ...

in 1654, and then re-elected MP for Norfolk for the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in t ...

in 1656. In 1660, he was elected MP for

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

in the Convention Parliament and MP for Norfolk 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 ...

, sitting until his death in 1672. Hare died at the age of 48. He had married firstly Mary Crane, daughter of

Sir Robert Crane, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Crane, 1st Baronet (1586 – February 1643) of Chilton, Suffolk and of Buckenham Tofts, Norfolk, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1614 and 1643. Crane was the son of Henry Crane of Chilton ...

of Chilton, Suffolk, by whom he had seven children, of whom

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

succeeded him. He married secondly, Vere Townshend, daughter of

Sir Roger Townshend, 1st Baronet Sir Roger Townshend, 1st Baronet (c.1596 – 1 January 1637), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in two parliaments between 1621 and 1629. Family Townshend was the son of Sir John Townshend (died 1603) of ...

of Raynham, Norfolk, but by her had no issue. He married thirdly Elizabeth Chapman of Suffolk, and by that lady left a posthumous son, John, who died in infancy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hare, Ralph 1623 births 1672 deaths People from Stow Bardolph High Sheriffs of Norfolk English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 Members of the Parliament of England for Norfolk 101