Simon Digby, 4th Baron Digby (18 July 1657 – 19 January 1686), was an

Irish peer The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

and English Member of Parliament.

Early life

Digby was a younger son of

Kildare Digby, 2nd Baron Digby Kildare Digby, 2nd Baron Digby (c. 1627 – 11 July 1661), was an Irish nobleman. Kildare was a minor when he succeeded his father, Robert Digby, 1st Baron Digby, in 1642. Upon the English Restoration, he sat in the Irish House of Lords in the P ...

, and Mary Gardiner. He was privately educated by a clergyman, William Rawlins, at the family estate of

Coleshill, Warwickshire Coleshill ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England, taking its name from the River Cole, on which it stands. It had a population of 6,900 in the 2021 Census, and is situated east of Bi ...

, before matriculating on 1 July 1674 at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. He was admitted to

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 1676, and succeeded his elder brother,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, as

Baron Digby Baron Digby is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of Great Britain, for members of the same family. Robert Digby, Governor of King's County, was created Baron Digby, of Geashill in th ...

in December 1677.

Political career

At the October 1679 election, Digby stood as a court candidate for

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, but was outpolled by all the other candidates. From 1679 to 1680, he was a commissioner of assessment for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, and a deputy lieutenant of the county from 1680 on. A devout and scrupulous man (he rarely gambled, and donated any winnings to the poor), he took particular pains in exercising the

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of Coleshill. He ultimately appointed

John Kettlewell John Kettlewell (10 March 1653 – 12 April 1695) was an English clergyman, nonjuror and devotional writer. He is now known for his arguments against William Sherlock, who had justified the change of monarch of 1688–89 and his own switch of si ...

, then known as the author of ''The Measures of Christian Obedience'', to the vicariate there in December 1682.

Marriage and issue

On 27 August 1683, he married Lady Frances Noel, daughter of

Edward Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough Edward Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough, 4th Viscount Campden (1641 – January 1689) was an English peerage, peer, styled Hon. Edward Noel from 1660 to 1681. Origins Edward Noel was born in 1641, the son and heir of Baptist Noel, 3rd Viscount C ...

, and Lady Elizabeth Wriothesley (herself daughter of

Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, KG ( ; 10 March 1607 – 16 May 1667), styled Lord Wriothesley before 1624, was an English statesman, a staunch supporter of King Charles II who after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 ...

). They had one daughter; Lady Digby died in childbirth, and was buried at Coleshill on 4 October. *Hon. Frances Digby (29 September 1684 – 3 May 1729), married

James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore James Scudamore, 3rd Viscount Scudamore (1684 – 2 December 1716), was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1716. Scudamore was baptised on 15 July 1684, the second, but eldest surviving son of ...

, and had one daughter.

Later life

At the 1685 election, he was returned as Member of Parliament for

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, presumably, like his elder brother, with the support of Lord Brooke. He was quite active in Parliament, serving on several committees, and was so strenuous and effective a speaker against a

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...

as to be numbered among the opposition, and named to the committee which wrote the address against employing Roman Catholic officers. However, this activity was not long to continue: Digby died on 19 January 1685/6 at Coleshill, and was buried there. Kettlewell preached his

funeral sermon A Christian funeral sermon is a formal religious oration or address given at a funeral ceremony, or sometimes a short time after, which may combine elements of eulogy with biographical comments and expository preaching. To qualify as a sermon, it sh ...

, as he had for Lady Digby. Digby was succeeded in the barony by his younger brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. Digby left an endowment for a school and almshouses in Coleshill.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Digby, Simon Digby, 4th Baron 1657 births 1686 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Deputy lieutenants of Warwickshire English MPs 1685–1687 Members of Lincoln's Inn

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

Younger sons of barons