Sir Abel Barker, 1st Baronet (c.1616 – 1679) was an English politician. He was Member of Parliament for

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

and he was made 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 ...

in 1665.

Biography

Barker was the son of Abel Barker and Elizabeth Wright. In 1637 he inherited the manor of Hambleton,

, from his father and he prospered as a large-scale sheep-farmer; he rented land from Edward Harington and James Harington. 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 ...

, Barker supported

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and he served on the Rutland county committee. In 1646 he was appointed

High Sheriff of Rutland This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of the English county of Rutland. The high sheriff, sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enf ...

and he served as a justice of the peace for the county between 1647 and 1653. In 1656, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for

in the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first sess ...

, representing the seat until 1658. In 1659 he served as commissioner for militia in Rutland. Barker supported the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

in 1660 and was a signatory of the loyal address to

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

. He was proposed as a Knight of the Royal Oak in 1660 with an estate of £1,000 per year. In 1661 he stood unsuccessfully against Edward Noel for re-election to parliament. His success as a farmer and landlord enabled him to construct a manor at

Lyndon, Rutland Lyndon is a small village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish was 80 at the 2001 census (including Pilton), increasing to 124 at the 2011 census. The village's name means 'hill of flax' ...

and purchase a

baronetcy 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 ...

; on 9 September 1665 he was made a baronet, of Hambleton in the

Baronetage of England Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

. In 1679, he was again returned as the member for Rutland, but died before the Second Exclusion Parliament convened. He was married twice, and was succeeded in his baronetcy by his son from his first marriage, Thomas. The title became extinct on the death of the second baronet in 1707.

Letters

Barker kept a letter-book, a copy of his and his family's letters. His sister Mary Barker wrote to the tailor John Swinfield in London to have a black gown made with a grass green or willow green petticoat and stomacher, and a warm winter woollen serge gown, and a scarlet serge riding coat and hood. She wanted Swinfeld's wife to buy some items for her including "cuffs of the neatest fashion." Barker's mother Elizabeth tried to arrange a marriage for Abel with Anne Burton, daughter of Sir Thomas Burton, an old friend, who replied that the matter rested with his daughter. They married, and in 1647 she wrote to a London merchant Augustine Crofts for blue watchett sarsenet to make bed curtains and for powdered

bezoar A bezoar stone ( ) is a mass often found trapped in the gastrointestinal system, though it can occur in other locations. A pseudobezoar is an indigestible object introduced intentionally into the digestive system. There are several varieties o ...

stone. Anne Burton also asked her sister Jane to shop for her and buy presents for her family including the "best fashioned gloves you can get." Abel Barker wrote to Elizabeth Goodman at Blaston, advising against marrying her deceased husband's half-brother which he believed to be uncanonical. After Anne died, in 1655 Barker tried to remarry with Mary Noell and with Rebekah Parsnett, who refused his offer. Mary Noell accepted, and in 1661 she wrote from Hambleton to her husband at the Dog and Ball on

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

about the prevalent sickness of whooping cough and the risk to their children.''HMC 5th Report: Field'' (London, 1876), pp. 387-98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Abel, 1st Baronet Year of birth uncertain 1679 deaths

201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 201 for this yea ...

English MPs 1656–1658 High sheriffs of Rutland Roundheads