Baptist Hicks, 1st Viscount Campden (1551 – 18 October 1629) was an English cloth merchant and 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. T ...

between 1621 and 1628. King James I knighted Hicks in 1603 and in 1620 he 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 14t ...

. He was MP for

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...

in the House of Commons of 1621 and for

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

in the parliaments of 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628. In 1628, he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Hicks, of

Ilmington Ilmington is a village and civil parish about north-west of Shipston-on-Stour and south of Stratford-upon-Avon in the Cotswolds in Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 712. Ilmington is the h ...

in the

County of Warwick Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, and Viscount Campden, of

Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...

in the

County of Gloucester Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Glouce ...

, with remainder to his son-in-law, Edward Noel, husband of his daughter Juliana.

Early life

Hicks was the youngest of six sons born to Robert and Juliana Hicks, and the grandson of John Hicks of

Tortworth Tortworth is a small village and civil parish, near Thornbury in Gloucestershire, England. It has a population of 147 as of 2011. It lies on the B4509 road, which crosses the M5 motorway to the west of Tortworth. History In the Domesday Book o ...

. His father died while Baptist was only a child. His mother was a moneylender and he was one of three sons who survived childhood. The others were Clement and Michael Hickes. Baptist Hicks matriculated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, in 1568 and was admitted to the

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 ...

in 1573.

Career

Hicks was brought up in his father's business and took over the business from his mother, who died in 1592. He imported rich silks from Italy and other foreign places. Through the influence of his brother Michael he contracted a large amount of business with the

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

and amassed a large fortune. By 1596 he was appointed

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

regarding the purchase of fabrics.https://www.chippingcampdenhistory.org.uk/content/history/people-2/sir_baptist_hicks, Sir Baptist Hicks Hicks wrote to James VI of Scotland on 1 March 1600 hoping for repayment of sums due to him by Robert Jousie, a bankrupted textile merchant working on the king's behalf. He had written twice before to the king, and was disappointed to hear from the Scottish ambassador that he would not be paid from the annuity awarded by Queen Elizabeth. Hicks employed

Humphrey Dethick Humphrey Dethick (born 1577) was an English merchant in Italy who killed a man in Scotland in 1602 during a royal christening. Career He was the son of William Dethick and his wife Helen, of Smithston in Derbyshire. He went to school in Ashbourne ...

as his factor in Florence buying fabrics, until he left in 1602. Having made large loans to the Crown and prominent courtiers, he was knighted on 23 July 1603, soon after the accession of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

. He was one of the first citizens who kept a shop to continue in trade once knighted. He was in dispute with the

Court of Aldermen The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior alderman during his year of office). The Co ...

of the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

because he was unwilling to serve as an alderman; however the king directed that he be excused as a "king's servant". Hicks supplied King James Court with silks and "rich mercery ware". He purchased the manor of Campden soon after 1608 and built a large manor house there near the church, around 1612. The property included gardens, a very early example of a

garden canal In the history of gardening and landscaping, a canal is a relatively large piece of water that has a very regular shape, usually long, thin and rectangular. The peak period for garden canals was the 17th and 18th centuries, by the end of which le ...

, water gardens and terraces. The house was burned down by Royalists in the Civil War. He founded and endowed an almshouse in 1612 for 12 pensioners in

Chipping Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...

; the Grade I listed Almshouses on Church Street still remains in use for that purpose. Hicks and Thomas Woodward provided the fabrics supplied to Princess Elizabeth for her wedding to Frederick V of the Palatinate in February 1613. In 1627, he built a market hall at the centre of town as a shelter for the vendors; the Grade I listed building is still in use. He performed many other charitable acts, in his life-giving £100,000 for charity. He was created a

on 1 July 1620. W R Williams ''Parliamentary History of the County of Gloucester''
/ref> Hicks also built a large mansion in Kensington; and paid for a new

sessions house A sessions house in the United Kingdom was historically a courthouse that served as a dedicated court of quarter sessions, where criminal trials were held four times a year on quarter days. Sessions houses were also used for other purposes to do w ...

for the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

magistrates in Clerkenwell, which was named

Hicks Hall Hicks Hall, or Hickes' Hall, was a courthouse at the southern end of St John Street, Clerkenwell, London. It opened in 1612, and was closed and demolished in 1782. It was the first purpose-built sessions house for justices of the peace of the ...

in his honour.

Personal life, death, and legacy

Hicks married Elizabeth May in 1585. She was the daughter of Richard May of London and Sussex, and sister of Sir

Humphrey May Sir Humphrey May (1573 – 9 June 1630) was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1605 and 1629. Career May was the fourth son of Richard May, Merchant Taylor of London. He matriculated from St John's Colleg ...

, Alderman of London. His elder daughter Juliana married Edward Lord Noel, who became 2nd

Viscount Campden A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. His younger daughter Mary married: #

Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Morrison, 1st Baronet (18 April 1587 – 20 August 1628) (also Moryson) of Cashiobury in Watford, Hertfordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1628. Origins Morrison ...

of Cashiobury, #

Sir John Cooper, 1st Baronet Sir John Cooper, 1st Baronet (died 23 March 1630), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1628 to 1629. He was the father of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury. Life Cooper was the son of Sir ...

, # Sir Edward Alford. Hicks died at the age of 78 and is buried under a classical monument in Chipping Campden St James church. His will left £10,000 for charitable purposes; the funds helped to establish Campden Charities, a non-profit organization to alleviate poverty in Kensington. All that now remains of Sir Baptist Hicks' once imposing estate are a gatehouse and two Jacobean banqueting houses;https://www.cotswolds.info/famouspeople/baptist-hicks.shtml, Baptist Hicks (1551 - 1629) the latter of which were restored by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British architectural conservation, building conservation charitable organization, charity, founded in 1965 by John Smith (Conservative politician), Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or ...

. Afterwards, Lady Juliana Noel, Sir Baptist's daughter, her husband Edward Noel, 2nd Viscount Campden, and family lived at the converted stables near the site in Calf Lane, now called the Court House.https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101342016-court-house-chipping-campden, Court House Her descendant still lives in that Grade II listed building.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campden, Baptist Hick, 1st Viscount 1551 births 1629 deaths Merchants from London Members of the Parliament of England for Tewkesbury 17th-century merchants English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 17th-century English businesspeople Viscounts Campden Members of the Parliament of England for Tavistock Cloth merchants Knights Bachelor