Sir Gervase Elwes, 1st Baronet (bapt. 21 August 1628 – 11 April 1706) was an English

Court Whig The Whigs were a political party in the Parliaments of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between the 1680s and the 1850s, the Whigs contested power with their rivals, the Tories. The Whigs became the Liberal ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

at various times between 1677 and 1706. Elwes was the son of Sir Gervase Elwes, of Woodford,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and his wife Frances, the daughter of Sir Robert Lee of

Billesley, Warwickshire Billesley is a village and civil parish in the Stratford district of Warwickshire, England, between Stratford and Alcester. According to the 2001 Census, the parish had a population of 46. Billesley is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and i ...

. He was baptised on 21 August 1628, at St Mary's Bothaw, London. He succeeded his father in April 1653, and at the Restoration 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 22 June 1660.George Edward Cokayne profile
''Complete Baronetage'' (vol. 3; 1900) In 1677, Elwes was elected Member of Parliament for

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

in a by-election to 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 ...

. He was elected MP for

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

in the first election of 1679 and for Sudbury again in the second election in 1679. He was re-elected MP for Sudbury in 1681. In 1690 he was elected MP for Suffolk again. He was elected MP for Sudbury again in 1700 and sat until 1706, and was sometime Lieutenant of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

Marriage

He married Amy Trigge, daughter of physician William Trigge, of Highworth, Wiltshire. Sir Gervase Elwes died in April 1706 around the age of 77 and was buried at Stoke. (See

Elwes baronets The Elwes Baronetcy () of Stoke-by-Clare in the County of Suffolk, was a title in the Baronetage of England held by the Elwys family, whose name through the years has alternately been spelled Helwish, Helewise, Helwys, Elwaiss and Elwaies. The ...

and Elwes for his descendants.) His grandson inherited the baronetcy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elwes, Gervase 1628 births 1706 deaths People from Sudbury, Suffolk Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing