Matthew Cradock (1584–1636) was an English wool 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 ...

at various times between 1621 and 1629. Cradock was the son of George Cradock of Stafford. He was the first mayor Stafford in 1614.Stafford Borough Council - In Touch with the Past
/ref> In 1615 he purchased the neglected

Caverswall Castle Caverswall Castle is a privately owned early-17th-century English mansion built in a castellar style upon the foundations and within the walls of a 13th-century castle, in Caverswall, Staffordshire. It is a Grade I listed building. The castle i ...

. He built a mansion house retaining the old castle walls, to a design, it is said, of

Robert Smythson Robert Smythson (1535 – 15 October 1614) was an English architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing—his first mention in historical records comes in 155 ...

or John Smythson. The three storey house has five bays each with stone

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed and transomed windows. There is a castellated parapet and an entrance porch. Heritage Gateway, architectural description of listed building - Caverswall Castle
/ref> In 1621, Cradock 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 o ...

for Stafford. He was re-elected MP for Stafford in 1624 and 1625. He was elected MP for Stafford again in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles dispensed with parliament for eleven years. Cradock died in 1636 and was buried in the church of St Peter at Caverswall.Caverswall St Peter's
Cradock married Elizabeth Fowler daughter of Richard Fowler of Harnedge Grange, Shropshire on 28 April 1612. They had a daughter Mary and a son George, who entered the Inner Temple in 1632, and died in 1643. Cradock was said to be cousin of Matthew Cradock, a financial supporter of the

Puritan migration The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cradock, Matthew 1636 deaths Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Stafford Mayors of places in Staffordshire English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1628–1629 1584 births