Sir Valentine Knightley (c. 1555 – 9 December 1618) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament. Fawsley Hall - geograph

He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Knightley of

Fawsley Hall Fawsley is a hamlet and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England.- OS Explorer Map 207: Newport Pagnell & Northampton South (1:25 000) The population at the 2001 census was 32. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and ...

, Northamptonshire and educated at Hart Hall, Oxford (1568), where he was awarded MA in 1605 and trained for the law at

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 ...

(1583). He was knighted on 11 May 1603 and succeeded his father in 1615. He was elected to Parliament as MP for Tavistock in both 1584 and 1586, for

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

in 1593 and for Tavistock again in 1597. He was knight of the shire (MP) for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

in 1604, having also been elected for Dunwich. The latter seat was taken instead by his friend Thomas Smythe. He served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(J.P.) for Northamptonshire at various times and as a judge of assize in the oyer and terminer courts on the

Oxford circuit The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

from 1609 to his death and on the Midland circuit from 1616 to his death. He was a Member of the Virginia Company in 1611 and the North West Passage Company in 1612. He was appointed High Sheriff of Berkshire for 1617–18 and was a deputy lieutenant for Northamptonshire by 1618. He died a rich man soon after his father in 1618 and was buried at Fawsley. He had married Anne, the daughter of Sir Edward Unton of Wadley, Berkshire, with whom he had a son (who predeceased him) and three daughters. The Fawsley estate passed to his nephew

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, also an MP for Northamptonshire.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knightley, Valentine 1618 deaths English knights Knights Bachelor English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 Members of the Parliament of England for Tavistock High Sheriffs of Berkshire Year of birth uncertain People from West Northamptonshire District People from Faringdon