Robert Hesketh (c. 22 September 1569 – 7 November 1620) was an English MP and High Sheriff. He was born at

Whalley, Lancashire Whalley is a large village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire, England. It is overlooked by Whalley Nab, a large wooded hill over the river from the village. The population of the civil parish ...

, the eldest son of Sir Thomas Hesketh of Rufford and Great Harwood, Lancashire of the old and well-known Lancashire Hesketh family. He succeeded his father in 1588, inheriting Martholme, the medieval Manor House near Great Harwood, as well as other property at Rufford, Holmes and Holmeswood. He was a maternal cousin of

Sir Gilbert Gerard Sir Gilbert Gerard (died 4 February 1593) was a prominent lawyer, politician, and landowner of the Tudor period. He was returned six times as a member of the English parliament for four different constituencies. He was Attorney-General for more t ...

. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace c.1592 and

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanc ...

for 1599–1600. He was elected

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

(MP) for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

in 1597. He died in 1620 and was buried in Rufford chapel. He had married three times: firstly Mary, the daughter of Sir George Stanley of Crosse Hall, and with whom he had four sons; secondly Blanche, the daughter and coheiress of Henry Twiford of Kenwick, Shropshire and widow of William Stopford; thirdly Jane, the daughter of Thomas Spencer of Rufford, with whom he had one son. He bequeathed his Martholme property to his third wife, who later married Sir Richard de Hoghton and moved away.

Issue

With Mary

*John Hesketh * Mary Hesketh (m. Thomas Stanley) **Jane Stanley **Elizabeth Stanley (d. 1655) **Mary Stanley **Richard Stanley (d. 1640) **Bridget Stanley *Thomas Hesketh (b. 1572, m. Susan Powes) *Holcroft Hesketh (m. Roger Dodsworth) *Robert Hesketh (m. Margaret Standish) **Robert Hesketh (d. 1651) *Henry Hesketh *George Hesketh (m. Jane Sherbourne) *Jane Hesketh (m. William Reynolds)

With Jane

*Robert Hesketh

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hesketh, Robert 1620 deaths English MPs 1597–1598 English justices of the peace Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lancashire High Sheriffs of Lancashire Year of birth uncertain