Sir Robert Wroth (c. 1540 – 27 January 1606) was an English politician.

Life

Robert, born in

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 ...

about 1540, was eldest son of Sir

Thomas Wroth (died 1573) Sir Thomas Wroth (c. 1518 – 9 October 1573) was an English courtier, landowner and politician, a supporter of the Protestant Reformation and a prominent figure among the Marian exiles. Family origins The Tudor-age family of Wroth of Enfiel ...

by his wife Mary, daughter of Richard, Lord Rich. He was admitted a pensioner of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, on 21 April 1553, but, owing to the religious changes consequent on the accession of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

, he left the university without a degree soon after his admission. Accompanying his father in his exile, he returned to England soon after the accession of

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". Eli ...

. He afterwards entered public life, and the rest of his career was devoted to politics and the administration of a large estate. He was elected for the first time to parliament for

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ...

on 11 January 1563; he was returned for

Bossiney Bossiney ( kw, Boskyny, meaning ''Cyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 ...

on 2 April 1571; he took his seat as member for the important constituency of

on 8 May 1572, and was re-elected to seven later parliaments (1584, 1586, 1589, 1593, 1597, 1601, and 1604). Meanwhile, his father's death on 9 October 1573 had placed him in possession of large estates in Middlesex,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

; but he lived chiefly at Loughton Hall, Essex, which he acquired through his wife, and devoted much time to the affairs of the county of Essex. He was High Sheriff of Essex in 1587. He was appointed to the command of two hundred untrained men, forty harquebusiers, and forty musketeers of Essex in the army which was raised in 1588 to resist the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an ar ...

. He was knighted in 1597. During the closing years of Queen Elizabeth's reign he, as a staunch

protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and loyal supporter of the queen's government, was nominated to serve on many special commissions for the trial of persons charged with high treason, including Dr. William Parry (20 February 1584–5),

Anthony Babington Anthony Babington (24 October 156120 September 1586) was an English gentleman convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, for which he was hanged, drawn and quarte ...

(5 September 1586), Patrick O'Cullen (21 February 1593), many Jesuits and suspected coiners (26 March 1593), and Valentine Thomas (22 July 1598). Wroth retained the favour of the government under James I. On 22 May 1603 the new king granted him a walkership in

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

for life, and on 19 February next year he and others were directed to see to the erection of bridges across the

river Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of ...

between Hackney and

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

for the king's convenience when hawking. On 18 and 19 July 1605 he entertained James I at his residence at Loughton in Essex for two days. His estates in Essex were increased by the death of

Francis Stonard Francis may refer to: People * Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

, his father-in-law, on 13 September 1604. He was a juryman at the trial of Sir Walter Ralegh on 15 September 1603, when through some misunderstanding he incurred the displeasure of the attorney-general. He was in the special commission of oyer and terminer for Middlesex issued 16 January 1606 for the trial of

Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated ...

and the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sough ...

conspirators. Wroth died on 27 January 1606, and was buried on the following day at Enfield. His obsequies were formally celebrated on 3 March.

Family

Sir Robert married Susan, daughter and heiress of John Stonard of Loughton, through whom he acquired the estate of Loughton. He seems to have had at least four surviving sons: * Sir Robert (1576?–1614) who married Lady Mary Wroth. * John, who was admitted a student of the Inner Temple, 1596, was afterwards described as a captain, and succeeded to Durrants (also spelt Durants), the family's estate at Enfield in Middlesex,See *Thomas. *Henry, who is styled "of Woodbury in Herefordshire".

Sir Henry Wroth Sir Henry Wroth (d. 1671), second son of Henry, Sir Robert Wroth's youngest son, acquired some fame as a royalist during the civil wars, was a 'pensioner' of Charles I, and was knighted at Oxford on 15 September 1645. He compounded with the parl ...

(died 1671), second son of Henry, Sir Robert's youngest son, acquired some fame as a royalist during the civil wars.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wroth, Robert 1540 births 1606 deaths People from Essex Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge English knights High Sheriffs of Essex English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1571 English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611