Sir Francis Wyndham, 1st Baronet (c. 1612 – 15 July 1676) of

Trent, Dorset Trent is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in northwest Dorset, England, situated in the River Yeo (South Somerset), Yeo valley northwest of Sherborne and four miles northeast of Yeovil. It was in Somerset until 1896.Betjema ...

was an English soldier and politician who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

at various times from 1640 until his death in 1676. During the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

, he served as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 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 gove ...

army and helped

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 ...

escape to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after his defeat in the 1651

Third English Civil War Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

Biography

Francis Wyndham was born around 1610, fifth surviving son of Sir Thomas Wyndham (1570-1631), and his wife Elizabeth Coningsby (died 1635). His father came from the Kentsford Wyndhams, a cadet branch of the

Orchard Wyndham Orchard Wyndham is a historic manor near Williton in Somerset, centred on the synonymous grade I listed manor house of Orchard Wyndham that was situated historically in the parish of Watchet and about two miles south of the parish church of ...

s, a numerous and powerful grouping within the

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 ...

gentry. He was one of five sons, including Edmund Wyndham (1600-1681); three of his brothers were killed during the 1638 to 1651

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

. In 1646, he married Anne Gerard, daughter and heir of Thomas Gerard (1593-1634), owner of

, then in Somerset. They had three sons, Thomas (1648-1691), Francis (1654-1716), and Gerard.

Career

Wyndham spent some of the 1630s travelling and studying in Europe, graduating from the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

in 1635. He returned to England and in April 1640 was elected MP 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 ...

in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

. When the

began in August 1642, Wyndham became a

colonel; in June 1643, he was appointed governor 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 ...

, one of the last Royalist positions in the

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

to hold out, surrendering in April 1646. The Wyndham family was closely connected to the future

; Lady Christabella, Francis' sister-in-law and wife of his elder brother Edmund, had been successively Charles'

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeding, breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, if she is unable to nurse the child herself sufficiently or chooses not to do so. Wet-nursed children may be known a ...

, tutor and first lover. Along with his uncle Sir Hugh (1603-1663) who owned a nearby estate at Pilsdon, Wyndham was instrumental in his escape after the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in 1651, hiding him in his house at

for several days. During

The Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was the English form of government lasting from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659, under which the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotl ...

, he was briefly arrested on suspicion of involvement in the 1655 Penruddock uprising before being released without charge. Following the 1660

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 ...

, he was elected MP for Milbourne Port in the Convention Parliament, then re-elected in 1661 for 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 ...

where he sat until his death. He was also given commissioned as a major in the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

. Wyndham inherited Pilsdon when his uncle died in 1663 and was created 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 ...

on 18 November 1673, apparently in return for foregoing a claim on the Exchequer for £10,800 granted in 1670. He died three years later at the age of 64 and is buried in St Andrews' parish church in Trent.

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Sources

* * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyndham, Francis 1610s births 1676 deaths Cavaliers Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1661–1679 Military personnel from Somerset Royal Horse Guards officers Deputy lieutenants of Somerset Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War University of Padua alumni