Valentine Knightley (died 1618)

Valentine Knightley (c.1555 – 9 December 1618) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament.

He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Knightley of Fawsley Hall, Northamptonshire and educated at Hart Hall, Oxford (1568), where he was awarded MA in 1605 and trained for the law at Gray's Inn (1583). He was knighted on 11 May 1603 and succeeded his father in 1615.

He was elected to Parliament as MP for Tavistock in both 1584 and 1586, for Northampton in 1593 and for Tavistock again in 1597. He was knight of the shire (MP) for Northamptonshire in 1604, having also been elected for Dunwich. The latter seat was taken instead by his friend Thomas Smythe.

He served as a Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Northamptonshire at various times and as a judge of assize in the oyer and terminer courts on the Oxford circuit from 1609 to his death and on the Midland circuit from 1616 to his death. He was a Member of the Virginia Company in 1611 and the North West Passage Company in 1612. He was appointed High Sheriff of Berkshire for 1617–18 and was a deputy lieutenant for Northamptonshire by 1618.

He died a rich man soon after his father in 1618 and was buried at Fawsley. He had married Anne, the daughter of Sir Edward Unton of Wadley, Berkshire, with whom he had a son (who predeceased him) and three daughters. The Fawsley estate passed to his nephew Richard, also an MP for Northamptonshire.

References

    Parliament of England
    Preceded by
    Nathaniel Bacon
    Charles Morrison
    Member of Parliament for Tavistock
    1584–1588
    With: Edward Bacon 1584–1586
    John Glanville 1586–1588
    Succeeded by
    Michael Heneage
    Anthony Ashley
    Preceded by
    Peter Wentworth
    Richard Knollys
    Member of Parliament for Northampton
    1593–1597
    With: Peter Wentworth
    Succeeded by
    Christopher Yelverton
    Henry Yelverton
    Preceded by
    Hugh Vaughan
    Richard Codrington
    Member of Parliament for Tavistock
    1597–1601
    With: Edward Mantagu
    Succeeded by
    Henry Gray
    Walter Wentworth
    Preceded by
    Sir John Stanhope
    William Lane
    Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire
    1604–1614
    With: Sir Edward Montagu
    Succeeded by
    William Tate
    Sir Edward Montagu
    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.