Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet JP ( – 18 December 1614) was an English politician, knight, sheriff, and MP.

Early life

Finch was second, but eldest surviving son, of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell, Kent, and the former Catherine Moyle. Among his siblings was brother Henry Finch (MP for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and

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

), and sister Jane Finch (who married George Wyatt of

Allington Castle Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal con ...

). His paternal grandparents were Sir William Finch, who was knighted for his services at the siege of Therouanne, and, his first wife, Elizabeth ( Cromer) Lovelace (a daughter of Sir James Cromer of

Tunstall, Kent Tunstall is a linear village and civil parish in Swale in Kent, England. It is about 2 km to the south-west of the centre of Sittingbourne, on a road towards Bredgar. History In 1798, Edward Hasted records that it had once been called ''Dunstal ...

, and widow of Sir Richard Lovelace). His maternal grandparents were Sir

Thomas Moyle Sir Thomas Moyle (1488 – 2 October 1560) was a commissioner for Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries, and Speaker of the House of Commons in the Parliament of England from 1542 to 1544. Life He was the fourth son of John Moyl ...

and the former Katherine Jordeyne (a daughters of Edward Jordeyne, a leading goldsmith at

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...

with a manor at Raynham). Finch was admitted of

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 ...

in 1568.

Career

Finch first entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at a by-election for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, through the influence of the 2nd Earl of Bedford, who had campaigned with his father at St. Quentin in 1557 (during the

Italian War The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

), sitting between 1576 and 1584. He later represented

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1593 (the same year he was elected knight of the shire for Kent) and for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The ...

in 1601. He served as

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

in 1596 and 1605. He was knighted in 1585 and he was created a Baronet, of Eastwell in the County of Kent, in 1611.George E. Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Vol 1'' (1900)
/ref>

Personal life

In 1573, Finch married Elizabeth Heneage, daughter and heiress of

Sir Thomas Heneage Sir Thomas Heneage PC (1532 – 17 October 1595) was an English politician and courtier at the court of Elizabeth I. Early and personal life Thomas Heneage the Younger was born at Copt Hall, Epping, Essex, the son of Sir Robert Heneage and Lucy ...

. They had a daughter

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

who was a writer: she married

Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet Sir William Twysden, 1st Baronet (1566–1628) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1593 and 1628. Life Twysden was the son of Roger Twysden, of Roydon Hall, East Peckham, and his wife Anne Wyatt, dau ...

. *

Sir Theophilius Finch, 2nd Baronet Sir Theophilus Finch, 2nd Baronet (2 October 1573 – ) was an English nobleman and politician. Early life Finch was born on 2 October 1573. He was the eldest son of Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet and Elizabeth Finch, ''suo jure'' Countess of Winch ...

(1573–1619), who married Agnes Heydon, only child of Sir

Christopher Heydon Sir Christopher Heydon (14 August 1561 – 1 January 1623) was an English soldier, Member of Parliament, and writer on astrology. He quarrelled with his family over its estates in Norfolk. Background Born in Surrey, Heydon was the eldest son ...

of Baconsthorpe. * Lady Anne Finch (1574–1638), who married

. * Heneage Finch (b. 1576), who died young. *

Thomas Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea Thomas Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea (13 June 1578 – 4 November 1639) was an English peer and Member of Parliament. Early life Finch was the third, but second surviving, son of Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet and Elizabeth Heneage, 1st Countes ...

(1578–1639), who married Cicely Wentworth, daughter of John Wentworth, MP. * Hon. Sir Heneage Finch (1580–1631),

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

who married Frances Bell, a daughter of Sir Edmond Bell of Beaupre Hall. After her death, he married Elizabeth (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Cradock) Bennett, a daughter of William Cradock and the widow of Richard Bennett. * Hon. Francis Finch (b. ), a barrister and MP for Eye. * Lady Catherine Finch, who married

Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, of Gosfield Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet ( – October 1631), of Gosfield, was an English aristocrat. Easly life He was the eldest of two sons born of John Wentworth of Gosfield Hall, and the former Cicely Unton.Cokayne, George Edward, editor, ''The Comple ...

. He died in December 1614 and was succeeded by his eldest son,

Theophilus Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection) can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend of God", i.e., it is a theoph ...

. Lady Finch was elevated to the peerage in her own right as Viscountess Winchilsea in 1623 and was further honoured when she was made Countess of Winchilsea in 1628. She died in 1634 and was succeeded by her third son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, who had already succeeded his elder brother in the baronetcy. Their fourth son

Sir Heneage Finch Sir Heneage Finch (15 December 1580 – 5 December 1631) was an English nobleman, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commo ...

became

and was the father of

Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, PC (23 December 162018 December 1682), Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Moyle 1550s births 1614 deaths 17th-century English nobility Baronets in the Baronetage of England Moyle High Sheriffs of Kent Knights Bachelor English knights English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1601 English justices of the peace Moyle