SirFrancisPopham 1607 WellingtonChurch Somerset

SirFrancisPopham AndWife 1607 WellingtonChurch Somerset

Sir Francis Popham (1573–1644) of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, Somerset, was an English soldier and landowner who was elected a Member of Parliament nine times, namely 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 ...

(1597),

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

(1604),

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

(1614), Great Bedwin (1621),

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

1624, 1625, 1626, 1628–29), and for

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 ...

(1640–1644).

Origins

Popham was the only son of Sir John Popham (1531–1607), of

, Somerset and Littlecote, Berkshire (now Wiltshire),

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 ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and

Lord Chief Justice of England The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English an ...

, by his wife Amy Adams, daughter of Hugh Adams of Castleton,

St Athan St Athan () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier church was dated t ...

, Glamorgan.

Career

He matriculated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, on 17 May 1588 at the age of 15, and entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1589. As a soldier he served under

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...

(1566–1601) in Spain and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

by him at Cadiz in June 1596. In 1597 Popham was elected Member of Parliament for

. He was a JP for

from 1597 and for

by 1602. He was also Deputy Lieutenant for both counties. In 1603 he was made

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 ...

. He was elected MP for

in 1604. In 1607 he succeeded to the estates of Littlecote on the death of his father. He became constable of

Taunton Castle Taunton Castle is a castle built to defend the town of Taunton, Somerset, England. It has origins in the Anglo Saxon period and was later the site of a priory. The Normans then built a stone structured castle, which belonged to the Bishops of ...

in 1613. In 1614 he was elected MP for

and in 1621, MP for Great Bedwin. He was elected MP for

at a by-election in 1624 and was re-elected for the same seat in 1625, 1626 and 1628. He sat until 1629 when King Charles dispensed with parliament for eleven years. In November 1640, due to the influence of his son-in-law Thomas Luttrell (1583–1644) 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, Popham was elected MP for the Luttrell

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 ...

in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

and sat until his death. Popham was considered to have inherited his father's grasping disposition. He was constantly involved in lawsuits, which he was charged with conducting in a vexatious manner. Like his father, he took an active interest in the settlement of the North American colonies of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, and was a member of council of both colonies.

Marriage and children

AnnePopham 1607 WellingtonChurch Somerset

Popham married Anne Dudley, daughter and heiress of John Dudley (1569–1645), second son of

Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (circa 1515 – 12 July 1586). The oldest son and heir of John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley. He was an English nobleman and soldier. Contemporary sources also refer to him as ''Sir Edward Dudley''. Early life Sir Edw ...

Dudley Castle Dudley Castle is a ruins, ruined castle, fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Originally, a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortifica ...

, Staffordshire, by his second wife Jane Stanley, daughter of

Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby (c. 10 May 1509 – 24 October 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. He succeeded his father as Lord of Mann until his death, and then was succeeded by his son. Early life At the age of thirteen, ...

. However, Popham's wife is also described as a daughter of John Dudley of Yanwath and an heiress of Thomas Sutton, founder of the Charterhouse. By his wife he had four sons and seven daughters, including; * John Popham (died 1638), MP *

Alexander Popham Alexander Popham (1605 – 1669) of Littlecote, Wiltshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1669. He was patron of the philosopher John Locke. Early life Popham was born at Littlec ...

, MP * Edward Popham, a General at Sea during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

*Jane Popham (died 1668), wife of Thomas Luttrell (1583–1644), MP, of

, SomersetYerby, George & Hunneyball, Paul, biography o
''Luttrell, Thomas (1583–1644), of Dunster Castle, Som.''
published in

History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in ...

: the House of Commons 1604–1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010 *Frances Popham, wife of The Viscount Conway and mother of the Earl of Conway *Amy Popham, wife of

William Borlase William Borlase (2 February 169631 August 1772), Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist. From 1722, he was Rector of Ludgvan, Cornwall, where he died. He is remembered for his works ''The Antiquities of Cornwall'' (1754; 2nd ed., 1769) a ...

and mother of Sir John Borlase, 1st Baronet

Death and burial

Popham died in 1644 and was buried at Stoke Newington on 15 August 1644, but in March 1647 was moved to Bristol.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popham, Francis 1573 births 1644 deaths 16th-century English soldiers 17th-century soldiers Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Wiltshire

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 ...

Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple 17th-century English knights Knights of the Bath English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640–1648 Knights Bachelor Deputy lieutenants of Somerset Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire