Arthur Goodwin (circa 1593/94 – 16 August 1643) of Upper Winchendon, Buckinghamshire was an English lawyer 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. ...

at various times between 1621 and 1643. He supported the Parliamentary cause during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

Background and upbringing

Goodwin was the son of Francis Goodwin (1564–1634), a landed gentleman of Upper Winchendon and his wife Elizabeth Grey (died 1630), daughter of

Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey of Wilton The Rt Hon. Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton, KG (1536–1593), was a baron in the Peerage of England. Lord Grey de Wilton is now largely remembered for his memoir of his father, for participating in the last defence of Calais (1558), ...

.'Parishes: Upper Winchendon', A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4 (1927), pp. 122–125. Date accessed: 27 November 2011
/ref> He was believed to have been born in 1593 or 1594 (being described as 40 years old in his father's will in 1634) He was educated in Oxfordshire at

Lord Williams's School Lord Williams's School is a co-educational secondary school with academy status in Thame, Oxfordshire, England. The school takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school has approximately 2,200 pupils. In September 2001 t ...

, was a law student of 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 W ...

in 1613 and graduated with BA from Magdalen College, Oxford on 10 February 1614. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714 Gilpin-Greenhaugh', Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 569–599. Date accessed: 27 November 2011
/ref>

Parliamentary career

In 1621 Goodwin 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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for Wycombe. He was re-elected MP for Wycombe in 1624. In 1626, he was elected MP for Aylesbury. In April 1640, Goodwin was elected with his friend John Hampden as MP for

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

in the Short Parliament. He was re-elected MP for Buckinghamshire in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

. Goodwin was a strong Parliamentarian and

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

and opposed many of the policies of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after ...

. When open war broke out between Parliament and the King, he gave substantial sums to the Parliamentarian cause, and commanded a cavalry regiment.

Civil war

Goodwin took part at the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitutional compromise between ...

and Turnham Green. However, he was primarily active on his home ground in Buckinghamshire and the surrounding counties. In August 1642, he joined Hampden and Bulstrode Whitelocke to capture the Earl of Berkshire, who had been attempting to execute a commission of array in Oxfordshire for the King. Hampden and Goodwin also captured the Earl of Northampton at Daventry that year. Goodwin was appointed Parliamentary commander-in-chief of Buckinghamshire in January 1643, and made an unsuccessful attempt to seize Brill. While harrying

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cava ...

's troops after the siege of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, Hampden was wounded at Chalgrove Field on 18 June 1643. Although it is often reported (by who) that Goodwin persuaded Hampden to leave the field and ride to Thame, where he died on 24 June there is no firm evidence that Goodwin even took part in the battle. (There is no evidence whatsoever of Goodwin being at the Battle of Chalgrove) Waddesdon, The Goodwin Almshouses - geograph

Waddesdon, The Goodwin Almshouses - geograph

Goodwin himself died shortly after, at Clerkenwell,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 16 August 1643Article by Joan A. Dils. of "camp fever". He was buried at Wooburn, Buckinghamshire,The ''Alumni Oxonienses'' erroneously stated he died there. In his will he endowed and caused six

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

s to be erected in Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, a project the war prevented him fulfilling when alive.

Family

Goodwin married Jane Wenman, daughter of Richard Wenman, 1st Viscount Wenman in April 1618. They had one daughter Jane (1618–1658), who married

Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton (18 April 1613 – 4 February 1696) was an English soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a Parliamentarian during the English Civil War. Wharton was the son of Sir Thomas Wharton of Aske Hall and his wife ...

in 1637.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Arthur 1590s births 1643 deaths People educated at Lord Williams's School Roundheads English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Infectious disease deaths in England

Background and upbringing

Parliamentary career

Civil war

Family

See also

References