Sir Gilbert Gerard, 1st Baronet of Harrow on the Hill (23 October 1587 – 6 January 1670), 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. ...

at various times between 1614 and 1660. He was a supporter of the

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

cause during 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 ...

and 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 ...

during

the Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the Com ...

Biography

Gerard was the son of

William Gerard (died 1609) William Gerard (c. 1551–1609), of Harrow, Middlesex, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1584 and 1593. Biography Gerard was the eldest son of William Gerard and his wife Dorothy, daughter of ...

of Flambards,

Harrow-on-the-Hill Harrow on the Hill is a locality and historic village in the borough of Harrow in Greater London, England. The name refers to Harrow Hill, ,Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) and is located some half a mile south of the mod ...

and his wife Dorothy Ratcliff, daughter of John Ratcliff of Langley.. According to Burke, William Gerard died 15 April 1583, four years before his son's birth. He succeeded his father in 1609, inheriting Flambards in Harrow . Gilbert served as

Clerk of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster Clerk of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster is an office of the Duchy of Lancaster, in England. Nathan Thompson has been Chief Executive, Clerk of the Council, Keeper of the Records and Surveyor General of the Duchy of Lancaster since 2013. P ...

from 1609 to 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 of ...

for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in 1614 and created a baronet in 1620. George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Volume 1'' 1900
/ref> In 1621 he was elected MP for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. In 1624, he was elected MP for both Middlesex and

Newtown, Isle of Wight Newtown is a small village in the civil parish of Calbourne, Newtown and Porchfield, on the Isle of Wight, England. In medieval times it was a thriving borough. Newtown is located west of the town of Newport on the large natural harbour on th ...

but chose to sit for Middlesex. He was elected again for Middlesex in 1625 and 1626.. In 1626, he was also appointed

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. High Sheriff, Sheriff is the olde ...

. In April 1640, Gerard was elected MP for Middlesex for the Short Parliament and in November the same year 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 showed himself to be an enemy to the

Earl of Strafford Earl of Strafford is a title that has been created three times in English and British history. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in January 1640 for Thomas Wentworth, the close advisor of King Charles I. He had already succe ...

, and afterwards joined the Parliamentary cause against the King.. He was appointed

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the Middlesex Trained Bands and to the

Committee of Both Kingdoms The Committee of Both Kingdoms, (known as the Derby House Committee from late 1647), was a committee set up during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the Parliamentarian faction in association with representatives from the Scottish Covenanters, aft ...

, and he was made paymaster of the Parliamentary army. He had three-pence in the pound allowance, worth fifty thousand pounds and also was appointed

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

. The

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was 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 sometimes ...

made him a lord of his

Upper House An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

. After

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

's resignation as Protector Gerard was refused admission to the House of Commons because of his alliance to and friendship for the Cromwells. He had the courage to bring an action against Colonel , who had personally stopped him as he was entering the House; but Parliament ordered the action to be dropped, as it was done by their order. The Army soon after obtaining the superiority, he was nominated one of the new

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. In April 1660, he was elected MP for Lancaster. He survived the restoration, dying on 6 January 1670, and was buried at Harrow.

Family

In 1614 Gerard married Mary, a daughter of Sir

Francis Barrington Sir Francis Barrington, 1st Baronet of Barrington Hall, Essex (ca. 15603 July 1628) was a Puritan activist and politician, who was MP for Essex from 1601 to 1604, then 1620 to 1628. One of the wealthiest members of the Essex gentry, Barr ...

and Joan Cromwell, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell. He thereby acquired that year the manor of Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire.

Notes

References

* * * * * ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Sir Gilbert 1587 births 1670 deaths Roundheads High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1660 Baronets in the Baronetage of England Middlesex Militia officers People_from_Harrow_on_the_Hill