Sir Edward Hungerford (1596–1648) of Corsham, Wiltshire and of Farleigh Castle in Wiltshire (now Somerset), Member of Parliament, was a Parliamentarian commander during the English Civil War. He occupied and plundered Salisbury in 1643, and took Wardour and Farleigh castles.
Origins
Hungerford was the eldest son of Sir Anthony Hungerford (1564–1627) of Black Bourton, by his first wife Lucy Hungerford, a daughter of Sir Walter Hungerford (died c. 1596) of Farleigh Castle.
Career
In 1614 he was elected Member of Parliament for Wootton Bassett in the Addled Parliament. He was elected as M.P. for Chippenham in 1621 and for Wiltshire in 1624. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Wiltshire in 1624. In 1625 he was created a Knight of the Bath. He was elected MP for Cricklade in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles I decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. He was Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1631.
In April 1640, Hungerford was elected MP for Chippenham in the Short Parliament. He was re-elected MP for Chippenham for the Long Parliament in November 1640. At the outbreak of the Civil War he took the side of Parliament, and on 11 July 1642 was sent to execute the militia ordinance in Wiltshire. He was excluded from pardon in the king's declaration of grace to the inhabitants of Wiltshire of 2 November 1642, and having been put in command of the Wiltshire forces, made Devizes his headquarters.
In December 1642 he attacked Lord Cottington at Fonthill, threatening to bring his troops into Fonthill House, where Lord Cottington lay sick, unless he paid £1,000 to Parliament. Against such treatment Lord Cottington appealed to Parliament, and the Speaker desired Sir Edward to desist.
In January 1643 Hungerford had a violent quarrel with Sir Edward Baynton, the parliamentarian governor of Malmesbury, each accusing the other of intended treachery. In February 1643 he occupied and plundered the city of Salisbury, but finding himself unsupported by the county, evacuated Devizes and retired to the city of Bath. When Waller recaptured Malmesbury for Parliament (22 March 1643) he appointed Hungerford governor, but while Hungerford was still at Bath seeking supplies, Malmesbury was abandoned by the officer whom he had nominated to represent him. Hungerford published a 'Vindication' of his conduct, dated at Bath 28 April 1643 (published at London, 6 May 1643).
After taking part with Sir William Waller in the Battle of Lansdowne and Battle of Roundway Down, Hungerford besieged Lady Arundel in Wardour Castle, Wiltshire (2–8 May 1643). He treated the lady with little grace, carrying her with scant ceremony to Hatch and thence to Shaftesbury, and keeping her all the while "without a bed to lie on".
Subsequently, Hungerford attacked Farleigh Castle, which was garrisoned for the king and under the command of Colonel John Hungerford, said to have been Sir Edward's half-brother. The castle surrendered to Sir Edward in September 1645. He had a reversionary right to the property under the will of Sir Edward Hungerford (died 1607), his maternal uncle, but the testator's widow had a life-interest, and remained there until 1653.
Marriage
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In 1620 he married Margaret Holliday (d. 1672), a daughter and coheiress of William Holliday, an Alderman of the City of London. The marriage was childless. She survived him until 1672, when she was also buried at Farleigh. She was the sister of Anne Holliday, wife of Sir Henry Mildmay of Wanstead, Essex, Master of the Jewel Office from 1620 to 1649.
Death and burial
Hungerford died in 1648 and was buried in St Anne's Chapel, the north transept chapel of St Leonard's Chapel within the walls of Farleigh Castle. His magnificent tomb chest, with effigies of himself and his wife, survives.
Succession
His will was proved on 26 October 1648. In 1653 his widow Margaret petitioned the Council of State to pay her £500, a small part of the sum borrowed from her husband by Parliament. Parliament had ordered repayment in 1649. Oliver Cromwell appears to have interested himself in her case. Sir Edward's reversionary interest in the Farleigh estates passed to his royalist brother Col. Anthony Hungerford (d. 1657).
Notes
- In 1625 Hungerford resided at Corsham, Wiltshire, but after 1645 he seems to have settled at Farleigh Castle
- The Internet Archive: Lee, Sidney (1903), Dictionary of National Biography Index and Epitome, p.661 (also main DNB xxviii 254)
- England and Wales Parliament & Jansson 1988, p. 470.
- Willis 1750, pp. 184, 195.
- Willis 1750, pp. 226.
- ^ Hardy 1891, p. 254.
- Hardy 1891, pp. 254, 255.
- ^ Hardy 1891, p. 255
- Hardy 1891, p. 255 cites: Claredon, Hist. ed. Macray, iii. 82n, 85n.
- Hardy 1891, p. 255 cites: Mercurius Rusticus, No. 5.
- Marriage licence dated 26 February 1620
- Hardy 1891, p. 255 cites: Chester, Marriage Licences, ed. Foster, p. 728.
- J.T. Peacey, 'Mildmay, Henry', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (OUP, 2004).
- Hardy 1891, p. 255 cites: Cal. State Papers, 1652–3 pp. 421, 440, 456, 1653–4 pp. 410–11.
- Hardy 1891, p. 255 cites: Carlyle, Cromwell, iii. 210.
References
- England and Wales Parliament; Jansson, Maija (1988). Proceedings in Parliament 1614 (House of Commons). Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 172 (illustrated ed.). American Philosophical Society. p. 470. ISBN 9780871691729.
- Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. pp. 174, 184, 195, 226.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1903). "Hungerford, Edward (1596-1648)". Index and Epitome. Dictionary of National Biography. Cambridge University Press. p. 661.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hardy, William John (1891). "Hungerford, Edward (1596-1648)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 28. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 254, 255.
- notes supplied by C. H. Firth;
- Le Neve's Pedigrees of Knights (Harl. Soc.);
- Visitation of Oxfordshire, 1634 (Harl. Soc.);
- Hoare's Hungerfordiana, 1823;
- Carlyle's Cromwell;
- Collinson's Somerset;
- Bibliotheca Gloucestrensis, p. 196.
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byHenry Martin Alexander Tutt |
Member of Parliament for Wootton Bassett 1614 With: Sir William Willoughby |
Succeeded byRichard Harrison John Wrenham |
| Preceded byWilliam Maynard Thomas Colepeper |
Member of Parliament for Chippenham 1621–1622 With: John Baily |
Succeeded bySir John Maynard Charles Maynard |
| Preceded bySir Francis Seymour Sir Edward Bayntun |
Member of Parliament for Wiltshire 1624 With: Sir John St John |
Succeeded bySir Francis Seymour Sir Henry Ley |
| Preceded bySir George Hungerford George Ernle |
Member of Parliament for Cricklade 1628–1629 With: Robert Jenner |
Parliament suspended until 1640 |
| VacantParliament suspended since 1629 | Member of Parliament for Chippenham 1640–1648 With: Sir Edward Bayntun |
Succeeded bySir Edward Bayntun William Eyre |
- 1596 births
- 1648 deaths
- Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire
- High sheriffs of Wiltshire
- Hungerford family
- English MPs 1614
- English MPs 1621–1622
- English MPs 1624–1625
- English MPs 1628–1629
- English MPs 1640 (April)
- English MPs 1640–1648
- Members of Parliament for Cricklade
- Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Wiltshire
- Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War