Francis Luttrell (1628–1666) of

Dunster Castle Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a English country house, country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo ...

, Somerset, 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 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 ...

at various times between 1656 and 1666.

Origins

He was baptised on 1 November 1628. He was the heir of his elder brother George Luttrell (d. 1655) of Dunster Castle and the second surviving son of Thomas Luttrell (died 1644) of Dunster Castle by his wife Jane Popham, daughter of Sir Francis Popham of Littlecote, Wiltshire. His younger brother was Alexander Luttrell, MP for Minehead.

Career

He entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1646 and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1653. In 1655 he succeeded his elder brother George Luttrell (d. 1655) of Dunster Castle, Sheriff of Somerset in 1652, who died childless, having married three times.Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, pp. 1437–9, Fownes-Luttrell of Dunster Castle In 1656 he was elected Member of Parliament for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He was a JP for

from 1657 to 1659 and a Commissioner for Assessment for Somerset in 1657 and from January 1660 until his death. He became a JP for Somerset again from March 1660 until his death. He became Commissioner for Militia for Somerset in March 1660 and Colonel of Militia in April 1660. History of Parliament Online – Francis Luttrell
/ref> In April 1660 Luttrell was elected MP for the family's

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act of 1832, which had a very small electo ...

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...

in the Convention Parliament. He was proposed as a Knight of the Royal Oak, with an income of £1,500 per year. He was commissioner for sewers in August and December 1660. In 1661 he was re-elected MP for

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 his death in 1666.

Marriage and children

On 8 October 1655 Luttrell married Lucy Symonds, daughter of Thomas Symonds of

Whittlesford Whittlesford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, and also the name of an old hundred. The village is situated on the Granta branch of the River Cam, seven miles south of Cambridge. Whittlesford Parkway railway station serves the village. L ...

, Cambridgeshire, and granddaughter of

John Pym John Pym (20 May 1584 – 8 December 1643) was an English politician and administrator who played a major role in establishing what would become the modern Westminster system, English Parliamentary system. One of the Five Members whose attempte ...

, by whom he had three sons: *Thomas Luttrell (d. 1670), eldest son and heir, who died a minor, without children. *Col. Francis Luttrell (1659–1690), of Dunster Castle, 2nd son and heir to his elder brother. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

in 1676 and was MP for Minehead 1679–90. He married Mary Tregonwell (d. 1704), only daughter and sole heiress of John Tregonwell of

Milton Abbey Milton Abbey School is a private school for day and boarding pupils in the village of Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, in South West England. It has 224 pupils , in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonwell. T ...

, by whom he had two daughters, Mary and Frances, and a son and heir Tregonwell Luttrell (1683–1703), of Dunster Castle, who died childless. *Col. Alexander Luttrell (1663–1711), youngest son, of Dunster Castle, who was heir to his nephew Tregonwell Luttrell (1683–1703), of Dunster Castle, and whose own son Alexander Luttrell (1705–1737) of Dunster Castle was the last in the male line of the Luttrell family, whose only daughter and sole heiress Margaret Luttrell (1726–1766) married

Henry Fownes Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainme ...

(c. 1722–1780), who adopted the name and arms of Luttrell.

Death

Luttrell died in 1666 at the age of 37 and was buried at Dunster on 14 March 1666.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luttrell, Francis 1628 births 1666 deaths Members of Lincoln's Inn Politicians from Somerset People from Minehead English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...