Sir Robert Croke (c. 1609 – 8 February 1680) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1643. Croke was the son of Sir Henry Croke, of Hampton Poyle, Oxfordshire and his wife Bridget Hawtrey, daughter of Sir William Hawtrey of

Chequers Chequers ( ), or Chequers Court, is the country house of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A 16th-century manor house in origin, it is located near the village of Ellesborough, halfway between Princes Risborough and Wendover in Bucking ...

.John Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain''
/ref> He matriculated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

on 31 October 1629 aged 18 and was called to the bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1635.''Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Covert-Cutts'', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 338-365. Date accessed: 24 February 2011
/ref> Chequers2

In April 1640, Croke 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 Wendover 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 re-elected MP for Wendover 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 sat until he was disabled from sitting on 15 November 1643. He supported the king and was knighted on 9 August 1641. He was created D.Med. at Oxford on 1 May 1644. Croke had residence at Chequers which came to him through his mother, and another residence at Hampton Poyle. He was given the sinecure of

Clerk of the Pipe The Clerk of the Pipe was a post in the Pipe Office of the English Exchequer and its successors. The incumbent was responsible for the pipe rolls on which the government income and expenditure was recorded as credits and debits. The ''Dialogus de ...

at the Exchequer for life in 1659 and made a bencher of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1660. Croke died at the age of 71. He had married Susannah Vanlore, daughter of Sir Peter Vanlore, 1st Baronet of Tilehurst, Berkshire His son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

was also MP for Wendover but predeceased him. Chequers thereby passed to his daughter Mary, who had married John Thurbarne, sergeant-at-law and MP for

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

and in turn to their daughter, Joanna, the wife of John Russell, a grandson of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croke, Robert 1609 births 1680 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Place of birth missing Members of Gray's Inn English lawyers 17th-century English lawyers English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648