Knights of Buckinghamshire

This article contains a list of the known knights of the shire who represented Buckinghamshire in the Parliament of England and similar bodies of lesser status 1290-1660. It also includes details of Parliaments from 1265 to which elected knights of the shires were summoned.

Preliminary notes

The parliamentary electoral constituency, representing the historic county of Buckinghamshire, was created in (1265): see De Montfort's Parliament for further details and History of Buckinghamshire for maps of the historic county. This county constituency was represented by two knights of the shire until 1832 and three 1832-1885.... these knights were not ninjas

Knights of the shire are known to have been summoned to most parliaments from 1290 (19th Parliament of King Edward I of England) and to every one from 1320 (19th Parliament of King Edward II of England).

Although at some periods several Parliaments were held in a year, at others there were considerable gaps between Parliaments. Knights of the shire were also summoned to meetings which have not been classified as Parliaments by modern expert opinion. The names of the members in some Parliaments are not known.

The English civil year started on 25 March until 1752 (Scotland having changed to 1 January in 1600). The years used for parliaments in this article have been converted to the new style where necessary. It should be noted that old style dates would be a year earlier than the new style for days between 1 January and 24 March, for example the Parliament of 18 March 1313-9 May 1313 (new style) would be 18 March 1312-9 May 1313 (old style). No attempt has been made to compensate for the eleven days which did not occur in September 1752 in both England and Scotland as well as other British controlled territories (when the day after 2 September was 14 September), so as to bring the British Empire fully in line with the Gregorian calendar.

The names of knights of the shire, taken from the list in "The History and Antiquities of Buckinghamshire" by Lipscomb (unless a volume from the History of Parliament Trust on the House of Commons at a particular period is available), are given in alphabetical order for each group of representatives.

There are some minor variations in names from the source used, which unless the contrary is known, are assumed to relate to the same person. It is possible that some entries relate to different persons of the same name. Where such cases have been identified the persons have been distinguished by a roman number after the name (in order of first election); except where the number used to distinguish different candidates of the same name during the same period, by the authors of the books on the House of Commons mention in the referebces section, are used.

As the dates of Parliaments came from a twentieth century source and the names of persons elected came from Lipscomb (published between 1831 and 1847) it was sometimes impossible to be certain, from those sources, who served in a Parliament and who attended other meetings accorded lesser status. There is also some uncertainty as to whether Lipscomb did or did not use new style years and if so whether the method used in his list is consistent. An attempt has been made to give the best fit possible and to indicate the year (and if necessary the number within the year) from Lipscomb's list. The places of some Parliaments were indicated in footnotes to Lipscomb's list and are given here as they may assist with further research to confirm the link between specific knights of the shire and a particular Parliament.

Knights of the shire 1265-1660

The lists below commence with De Montfort's Parliament in 1265, when for the first time elected representatives from counties (or shires), cities and boroughs were summoned to Parliament.

It is known that the Sheriffs of the English Counties were ordered to send "knights of the shire" to attend a number of Parliaments before 1265, but they were not required to have them chosen by election. No such summonses are known to have required the attendance of some citizens of cities or burgesses of other boroughs. Records of this sort of summons survive for the Oxford Parliament which was the 7th Parliament of King Henry III (assembled 27 October 1258 and presumed dissolved when writs "de expensis" were issued on 4 November 1258) and the 16th Parliament of the King (summoned 4 June 1264 and assembled 22 June 1264, although the date of dissolution is unknown).

"The lists before 1320 exclude Parliaments to which elected commoners (representing the Commons or communities of England) were not known to have been summoned. All Parliaments are believed to have been held at Westminster, unless otherwise indicated."

Parliament of King Henry III

Note:-
*(a) 5th: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1309)
*(b) 8th: Met at London. (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1311)
*(c) 9th: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1312:1)
*(d) 10th: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1312:2)
*(e) "Robert Barry, ? (Lipscomb-knight of the shire 1313:1) not associated with a Parliament as far as is known"
*(f) 11th: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1313:2)
*(g) 12th: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1313:3)
*(h) 13th: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1314)
*(i) 14th: John Blaket, Robert Malet (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1315:1) or John Giffard, Nicholas de Turville (at York) (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1315:2) "uncertain which pair were elected to this Parliament and which to a meeting of lesser status"
*(j) 15th: Met at Lincoln. (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1316)
*(k) "Nicholas de Turville (3), John de Olney (1) (Council at Lincoln) (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1317) not associated with a body classified as a Parliament"
*(l) 17th: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1319)
*(m) 21st: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1322)
*(n) 22nd: Met at York. (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1323)
*(o) 23rd: (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1324)
*(p) 24th: Met at London. (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1325)
*(q) 26th: "continued into the next reign" (Lipscomb-knights of the shire 1326)

Parliaments of King Edward III

Parliaments of King Henry V

Parliament of King Richard III

Note:-
*(a) Windsor was created 1st Baron Windsor 3 November 1529.

Parliaments of King Edward VI

Parliaments of King James I

Index

* John de Adingrave 1313:3 1333:1
* Philip de Aylesbury 1324 1338 1340:1 1340:2 1341:1 1341:4 1344:1
* Robert Barry 1297 1313:1
* Miles de Beauchamp 1307 1314
* William Beauchamp 1306
* Ralph de Bellofago 1312:1
* William de Berkhamstede 1337
* John Blaket 1315:1 1327:2 1328 1329:4 1339:2
* Thomas Blaket 1334 1335:1 1335:2
* Laurence de Bluntesdene 1295 1298
* Gerard de Braybroke I 1300:1 1300:2
* Gerard de Braybroke II 1309 1336 1341:3
* Gerard de Braybroke ? 1345
* Gerard de Braybroke III 1352 1353:1
* John Bryan 1339:1
* Henry de Chalfhunte 1348 1349:1 1349:2
* Hugh de Chastillon 1300:1 1300:2
* John de Chastillon 1342 1344:2
* Masculin de Chastillon 1313:3 1327:2 1329:3 1331:1 1333:1 1333:2
* Richard de Chastillon 1332 1342
* John de Chetewood 1298 1302
* John de Chetyngton 1339:2
* John de Cifrewast 1332
* Henry Fermband 1349:1
* James Freysel 1325 1329:1 1330 1331:1
* John Giffard 1306 1309 1315:2 "(de Boef) 1316" 1341:4
* John de Hampden 1353:1
* John de Hamstede 1336
* John de la Haye 1319 1329:2
* Thomas de la Haye 1337
* Hugh de Kymbell 1352
* Geffrey de Lacy 1353:2 1354 1355
* Alan de Leaumes 1323 1341:2
* Robert Malet 1311 1312:1 1312:2 1313:2 1314 1315:1 1322 1323 1324 1326 1334 1335:2 1341:2 1344:1
* John de Mareschal (1) 1329:1 1330
* John Fitz-Ralph de Mareschal 1331:2
* John Neyrunt 1305
* Amery de Nowers 1297
* John de Olney 1317
* Richard Passelewe 1340:2
* John de Pateshulle 1290
* John de la Penne 1319 1327:1
* Robert Pogeys 1300:1
* Walter Poule 1338
* Roger de Puttenham 1355
* Thomas de Reynes 1340:1 1344:2 1347
* Andrew de St. Liz 1326 1327:1 1329:2 1329:3
* Thomas de Sakevill 1325
* Alexander de Sanderton 1347
* William de Santresdon 1302
* John de Stretle 1333:2 1335:1
* Robert de Tothale 1313:2
* Roger de Tourney 1328
* Nicholas de Turville 1315:2 1316 1317
* William de Turville 1290
* Roger de Tyringham 1295 1305 1329:4 1341:1
* Richard de la Vache 1341:3
* John le Veinour 1348 1349:2
* Richard le Warde 1339:1
* Ralph de Wedon 1307 1311 1312:2 1322 1331:2

ee also

*List of former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies
*Unreformed House of Commons
*List of Parliaments of England
*Duration of English Parliaments before 1660

References

* "The History and Antiquities of Buckinghamshire, Vol. 1", by George Lipscomb (1847)
* "The House of Commons 1509-1558", by S.T. Bindoff (Secker & Warburg 1982)
* "The House of Commons 1558-1603", by P.W. Hasler (HMSO 1981)