Philip Stapleton

Sir Philip Stapleton (1603-1647), of Warter-on-the Wolds in Yorkshire was an English Member of Parliament, a supporter of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. His surname is also sometimes spelt Stapylton or Stapilton.

He was the second son of Henry Stapleton of Wighill (d. 1630). He was admitted as a fellow-commoner of Queens' College, Cambridge in 1617. In 1630 he was knighted.

He served as MP for Boroughbridge in the Long Parliament. In 1642 he was appointed parliamentary commissioner in Yorkshire. When the civil war broke out he was made a colonel of horse and commander of the Earl of Essex's bodyguard. He commanded a brigade of cavalry at the Battle of Edgehill, one of two held in reserve until late in the day and whose charge against the flanks and rear of the Royal infantry almost secured a parliamentary victory but proved ultimately inconclusive. He also saw action at the Battle of Chalgrove Field and at the First Battle of Newbury. He was a member of the Committee of Safety appointed in 1642 and of the Committee of Both Kingdoms which replaced it in 1643.

However, he fell out of favour when he opposed the Self-Denying Ordinance and the advancement of Oliver Cromwell. In 1647 he was one of the eleven MPs impeached by the army, but managed to escape to Calais, and died there later the same year.

Stapleton married twice, first in 1627 to Frances Hotham (daughter of Sir John Hotham), by whom he had four children:
* John Stapleton of Warter (d. 1697)
* Robert Stapleton of Wighill (d. 1675)
* Mary, who married The Viscount FitzWilliam (d. 1704)
* another daughter

His second wife was Barbara Lennard, daughter of The Lord Dacre. Their five children were:
* Henry Stapleton of Wighill (d. 1723)
* Philip Stapleton of Wighill (d. 1729)
* Frances Stapletonand two other daughters.

References

*"Concise Dictionary of National Biography"
* [http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/ss4tz/stapleton03.htm Stapleton genealogy]
*Ken and Denise Guest, "British Battles"
*Rayment