Sir Robert Crane, 1st Baronet (1586 – February 1643) of Chilton, Suffolk and of Buckenham Tofts, Norfolk, 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 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 ...

variously between 1614 and 1643. Crane was the son of Henry Crane of Chilton and educated in the law at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

and

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 ...

.John Burke, John Bernard Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies''
/ref> In 1614 Crane was elected Member of Parliament for Sudbury and held the seat until 1620. 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 1621 and re-elected MP for Sudbury in 1624 and 1625. He was created a Baronet of Chilton, in Suffolk on 21 April 1626. Crane was re-elected MP for Suffolk in 1626 and re-elected MP for Sudbury in 1628. He sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In 1632–33 Crane was

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

. In April 1640, Crane was elected MP for Sudbury 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 ...

and in November 1640 for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

. He held the seat until his death in February 1643. In 1618 Robert Ryece dedicated ''The Breviary of Suffolk'' to Robert Crane. The manuscript was preserved in the

Harleian Collection The Harleian Library, Harley Collection, Harleian Collection and other variants () is one of the main "closed" collections (namely, historic collections to which new material is no longer added) of the British Library in London, formerly the libra ...

until published in 1902 in an edition edited by Lord Francis Hervey a
''Suffolk in the XVII Century''
The baronetcy became extinct on Crane's death as he had no sons. He had married firstly Dorothy Hobart, daughter of Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, by whom he had no issue. He married secondly, Susan Alington, ?granddaughter of Sir Giles Alington of Horseheath and a great-granddaughter of Lord Burghley, chief minister of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. They had four daughters - Mary who married Sir Ralph Hare, 1st Baronet, Anne who married firstly

Sir William Armine, 2nd Baronet Sir William Armine, 2nd Baronet (14 July 1622 – 2 January 1658) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1646 to 1653. Armine was born at Ruckholt,John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse (or Bellasis) (24 June 1614 – 10 September 1689) was an English nobleman, Cavalier, Royalist officer and Member of Parliament, notable for his role during and after the English Civil War, Civil War. He suff ...

, Susan who married Sir Edward Walpole, and Katherine who married Edmund Bacon, nephew of Sir Robert Bacon, 3rd Baronet. After Crane's death, Lady Crane married secondly, Isaac Appleton, esq. of Waldingfeld.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Robert 1586 births 1643 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Members of Lincoln's Inn High sheriffs of Suffolk English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Baronets in the Baronetage of England