Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis of Eye (1632 – 13 April 1673) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1660 to 1662 when he inherited the

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as Baron Cornwallis.

Early years

Cornwallis was born in Culford,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, the son of Sir Frederick Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis and his wife Elizabeth Ashburnham, daughter of Sir John Ashburnham and

Elizabeth Richardson, 1st Lady Cramond Elizabeth Richardson, 1st Lady Cramond (1576/77 – 1651) was an English writer and peeress.George Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, 1887–98 She is remembered for her collections of prayers. Biography Born Elizabeth Beaumont, she was the ...

, and was baptised on 19 April 1632. His uncle was John Ashburnham.History of Parliament Online - Cornwallis, Frederick
/ref> His paternal grandparents were Sir William Cornwallis and Jane Meautys (died 1 July 1627). Cornwallis's parents lived much of the time in London, his father being a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

and an

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Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, while his mother was a

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to the

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. With his parents busy at Court, Cornwallis and his three siblings were raised at Culford Hall by their grandmother, Lady Jane, who was by then married to her second husband, Sir Nathaniel Bacon. Their home, Culford Hall, had been built by Lady Jane's father-in-law, Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1st Baronet. It is through Lady Jane that Culford Hall eventually passed from Bacon to Frederick, becoming home to the Earls of Cornwallis.

Career

In April 1660, Cornwallis was elected Member of Parliament for

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

in the Convention Parliament. He was created

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

on 23 April 1661. In 1661 he was re-elected MP for Eye in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

and sat until 1662 when on the death of his father he inherited the peerage. He became J.P. in 1662 and as county magistrate, he was one of the appointees at the

assize The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

who oversaw a test of accused women in the

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

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. Cornwallis died aged 41, and was buried at Culford.

Family

At age 19, Cornwallis married Margaret Playsted (died 1668), daughter of Sir Thomas Playsted of Arlington, East Sussex. They had eleven children but, as their eldest two sons died young, their son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

succeeded to the title. He is buried under a monument in St. Mary's Church, Culford. St. Mary's Church was built by their daughter-in-law Elizabeth's father, Sir Stephen Fox.

References

External links

Home of the Cornwallis family, Eye, Suffolk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwallis, Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron 1632 births 1673 deaths 17th-century English nobility Members of the Privy Council of England Politics of Suffolk

English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 Barons Cornwallis