Sir Richard Grobham Howe, 2nd Baronet (28 August 1621 – 3 May 1703), 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 1656 and 1695.

Life

Howe was the eldest son of Sir John Howe, 1st Baronet, of Little Compton, Withington, Gloucestershire, and his wife Bridget Rich, daughter of Thomas Rich of North Cerney, Master in Chancery.John Burke ''A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage''
/ref> He was educated at

Hart Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

, in 1640 and at Lincoln's Inn in 1641. From 1650 to 1652 and from 1656 to 1680, he was J.P. for Wiltshire. History of Parliament Online - Richard Howe
/ref> In 1656, Howe was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

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. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in ...

. He was commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire in 1657. In 1659 he was elected MP for Wilton in the

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a powe ...

. He was commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire from January 1660 to 1680, commissioner for militia for Wiltshire in March 1660 and captain of militia horse for Wiltshire in April 1660. In June 1660 he was returned as MP for Wilton in the Convention Parliament. He became Gentleman of the Privy Chamber (extraordinary) in July 1660. He was knighted in around 1665 and was

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held '' ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local G ...

from 1668 to 1669. In 1670 he became Deputy Lieutenant until June 1688. He succeeded his father in the

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 ...

in 1671. In 1672 he was made freeman of Salisbury. He was commissioner for assessment for Gloucestershire from 1673 to 1680. In May 1675 he was elected MP for

in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of ...

. He was re-elected MP for Wiltshire in March 1679 and was elected MP for Hindon in October 1679. He was elected MP for Hindon in 1681. In 1685 he was made freeman of Wilton and in 1686 he was a commissioner for rebels’ estates in Wiltshire. He became Deputy Lieutenant again in October 1688 and JP for Wiltshire again in 1689. In 1689 and 1690 he was commissioner for assessment for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. In 1690 he was re-elected MP for Wilton. Howe died at the age of 81.

Family

Howe married firstly before 1642 Lucy St John, daughter of Sir John St John, 1st Baronet, of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire, and had five sons and four daughters. Lucy died in 1658 and he married secondly Anne Dutton, widow of John Dutton of Sherborne, Gloucestershire, and daughter of John King,

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

. His brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

was MP for Gloucestershire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Richard 1621 births 1703 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England High Sheriffs of Wiltshire Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1690–1695

Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Wiltshire