Sir Ralph Verney, 1st Baronet, of Middle Claydon
Sir Ralph Verney, 1st Baronet DL, JP (12 November 1613 – 24 September 1696)[1] was an English baronet and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1690.
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[edit] Background
Baptised at Hillesdon in Buckinghamshire, he was the eldest son of Sir Edmund Verney and his wife Margaret, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Denton.[2] Verney was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford and was called to the bar by the Middle Temple.[3]
[edit] Career
Verney entered the Short Parliament in 1640, sitting as Member of Parliament for Aylesbury. He was re-elected MP for Aylesbury for the Long Parliament in November 1640.[4] He was present in the trial of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford in January 1641, making notes, and was knighted in March.[4] Verney opposed William Laud before the Civil War, and sided with the Parliamentarians at its outset; however, when he didn't partake in the Solemn League and Covenant in 1643, he was forced to flee into exile; three years thereafter his assets were confiscated.[4] He went first to the Netherlands, met his wife in Blois in France, where she died, and arrived then in Italy.[4] He was disabled from sitting in Parliament on 22 September 1645.
Following his return to England in 1653, Verney was captured and imprisoned two years later, however released with a fine in 1656.[3]
After the English Restoration in 1660, on advice of Anne Wilmot, Countess of Rochester, Verney stood for Great Bedwyn, but was unsuccessful.[3] He was appointed a Commissioner of Oyer and Terminer for the Norfolk circuit in July and a Commissioner of Assessment in August, serving in Buckinghamshire.[3] For the latter county Verney was a Justice of the Peace as well as a Deputy Lieutenant.[3] On 16 March 1661, King Charles II of England made him a Baronet, of Middle Claydon, in the County of Buckingham.[5] A year later, he became a Commissioner of Sewers in Bedfordshire and was additionally Commissioner of Loyal and Indigent Officers in the same county.[3]
In 1675, Verney was nominated a Commissioner of Recusants in Buckinghamshire.[3] He was reelected to the House in 1681 and represented Buckingham until 1690.[6] During this time as Member of Parliament, he spoke against the coronation of William of Orange as king of England.[7]
[edit] Family
On 31 May 1629, Verney married Mary Blacknall, daughter of John Blacknall in Hillesdon and had by her three sons and as many daughters.[8] He died, aged 82 and was buried at Middle Claydon on 9 October 1696.[9] His eldest son Edmund predeceased him and Verney was succeeded in the baronetcy by his second son John, who was later raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Viscount Fermanagh.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ "Leigh Rayment - Baronetage". http://www.leighrayment.com/baronetage/baronetsV.htm. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ^ Burke, John (1841). John Bernhard Burke. ed. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland (2nd ed.). London: Scott, Webster, and Geary. pp. 545.
- ^ a b c d e f g Henning, Basil Duke (1983). The House of Commons, 1660-1690. vol. I. London: Secker & Warburg. pp. 634–635. ISBN 0436192748.
- ^ a b c d Lee, Sidney (1899). Dictionary of National Biography. vol. LVIII. Smith, Elder & Co.. pp. 264–265.
- ^ Kimber, Edward (1771). Richard Johnson. ed. The Baronetage of England: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the English Baronets. vol. III. London: Thomas Wotton. pp. 317.
- ^ "Leigh Rayment - British House of Commons, Buckingham". http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Bcommons6.htm. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- ^ Lodge, John (1789). Mervyn Archdall. ed. The Peerage of Ireland or A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of that Kingdom. vol. II. Dublin: James Moore. pp. 285–286I.
- ^ a b Tinniswood, Adrian (2007). The Verneys: A True Story of Love, War and Madness in Seventeenth-Century England. Riverhead Books. ISBN 978-1-59448-948-8.
- ^ "ThePeerage - Sir Ralph Verney, 1st Bt". http://www.thepeerage.com/p2980.htm#i29794. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Parliament suspended since 1629 |
Member of Parliament for Aylesbury 1640-1645 With: Sir John Pakington, 2nd Baronet 1640 Thomas Fountaine 1640 Sir John Pakington, 2nd Baronet 1641-1642 |
Succeeded by Thomas Scot Simon Mayne |
| Preceded by Sir Richard Temple Viscount Latimer |
Member of Parliament for Buckingham 1681 – 1690 With: Sir Richard Temple |
Succeeded by Alexander Denton Sir Richard Temple |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of Middle Claydon) 1661 – 1696 |
Succeeded by John Verney |
