Sir Hamon le Strange (1583 – 31 May 1654) was an English 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 1614 and 1626. He supported the

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 governme ...

cause in 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 England's governance and issues of re ...

. His family were

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...

long based at their manor of

Hunstanton Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...

Life and career

Le Strange was the son of Sir Nicholas le Strange of Hunstanton and his wife Mary Bell, and a great-grandson of the MP Sir

Nicholas L'Estrange Sir Nicholas le Strange (1 January 1511 – 19 February 1580) of Hunstanton, Norfolk, was an English Member of Parliament (MP). The eldest son of Sir Thomas Le Strange, he succeeded his father in 1545 and was knighted in 1547. His mother was ...

. He was admitted to

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

on 26 July 1601 and knighted on 13 March 1604. From 1608 to 1609 he was the

High Sheriff of Norfolk The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other imp ...

. In 1614 and again in 1625 Le Strange was elected MP for

. In 1625 and 1626 he was also elected MP for

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The River Babingley skirts the north of the village separating C ...

.Browne Willis ''Notitia parliamentaria, or, An history of the counties, cities, and boroughs in England and Wales.... The whole extracted from mss. and printed evidences'' (1750), pp. 176–239.
/ref> In 1616 a priest, Thomas Tunstal, escaped from

Wisbech Castle Wisbech Castle was a stone to motte-and-bailey castle built to fortify Wisbech (historically in the Isle of Ely and now also in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England) on the orders of William I in 1072, it probably replaced an earlier ...

to Norfolk. L'Estrange had him pursued and apprehended. He was tried at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

and condemned and executed. During the

, Le Strange served as the Royalist Governor of

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

in 1643. The honour was short-lived, as the town was besieged by Parliamentarians. When it surrendered, Hamon's family had to pay over £1000 in compensation. Other bills accrued and enemies arranged for its lands to be forfeited in 1649–1651.

Family

Le Strange married Alice Stubbe in 1602, daughter of the family's lawyer, Richard Stubbe, of Sedgeford, Norfolk. They are known to have had four children. * Hamon was a writer on history, theology and

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. *

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, was a religious pamphleteer. *Nicholas became a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. *Elizabeth married the Parliamentarian politician Sir William Spring. Le Strange died in 1654 aged 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:le Strange, Hamon 1583 births 1654 deaths People from Hunstanton Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge High Sheriffs of Norfolk Cavaliers English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 Members of Parliament for Norfolk