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Alexander Popham (1605 – 1669) of Littlecote, Wiltshire, was an English politician who sat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
at various times between 1640 and 1669. He was patron of the philosopher
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
.


Early life

Popham was born at Littlecote House in Wiltshire, the son of Sir Francis Popham and Anne Gardiner Dudley, and grandson of Sir John Popham and wife Amy Games. He was educated at
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
, and admitted to the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...
in 1622.


Antebellum

Popham was a prominent figure and
Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...
in Somerset. In April 1640 he was elected Member of Parliament for
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
in the
Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Af ...
. He was re-elected MP for Bath for the
Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septe ...
in November 1640.


Civil War and Interregnum

Popham came from a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
family and was himself an elder in the church. He supported the
Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
cause. On the outbreak of war he was
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
of the Bath Trained Band, the part-time force of local infantry. After it served in the Siege of Sherborne in September 1642, he took its weapons early in 1643 to arm a full-time regiment of foot for Parliament. Popham's Foot saw action in the 1643 Western campaign that culminated in the Battle of Roundway Down near Devizes. He also had a garrison stationed at Littlecote House. Despite his Presbyterianism, Popham's sympathies lay with the Army during the Second Civil War, so he survived
Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...
in late 1648 and – after the
execution of Charles I The execution of Charles I by beheading occurred on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall. The execution was the culmination of political and military conflicts between the royalists and the parliamentarians in E ...
and the founding of the Commonwealth – he served on the
Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
. In 1654, he was elected MP for Bath again in the
First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the Ho ...
. He was elected MP for
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
in the
Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first session, the House of Commons was its only chamber; in ...
and for
Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National ...
in the
Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a pow ...
. He did not support
the Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the Co ...
and although he sat in the Protectorate parliaments he refused to take his seat in Cromwell's Other House (1657–1658).


Restoration

In April 1660, he was elected MP for Bath in the Convention Parliament. After the
restoration of the monarchy Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...
, he made his peace with Charles II and entertained him to a "costlie dinner" at Littlecote. He was re-elected MP for Bath in 1661 to the
Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...
.


Family

Popham inherited from his father in 1644, his older brother
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
(also an MP) having died in 1637. Popham married first Dorothy Cole (died 1643) and second Letitia Carre, daughter of William Carre of Ferniehurst, Scotland, half brother to
Robert Carre The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, ho ...
, favourite of King
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
. By his second wife, he had eight children, of whom six, three sons and three daughters, survived into adulthood: * Sir Francis Popham (died 28 August 1674), of Littlecote, Wiltshire, who married Helena Rogers and had children: ** Alexander Popham, who married Anne Montagu, daughter of
Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (24 December 1638 – 9 March 1709) was an English courtier and diplomat. Background Ralph Montagu was the second son of Edward Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Boughton (1616–1684), and Anne Winwood, daught ...
. Their daughter, Elizabeth (died 20 March 1761), married firstly Edward Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, and secondly
Francis Seymour, of Sherborne, Dorset Francis Seymour (1697 – 23 December 1761), of Sherborne House, Dorset, was a British landowner and Tory politician, who sat in the House of Commons from 1732 to 1741. Seymour was the second son of Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet and his wif ...
. ** Letitia Popham (died 1738), who married
Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 5th Baronet (1660 or 1663 – 29 December 1740) of Bradley House, Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire was an English landowner and Tory politician. Early life Seymour was baptized on 18 December 1663, the eldest ...
, her aunt's step-son. Her son was
Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset (December 1694 or early 1695 – December 1757) was an English peer and landowner. Family The son of Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet, of Berry Pomeroy, a descendant of Lord Protector Somerset by his fi ...
, who inherited the dukedom from his father's 6th cousin
Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset General Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (11 November 16847 February 1750), styled Earl of Hertford until 1748, of Petworth House in Sussex, was a British Army officer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 until 17 ...
who died in 1750 without male children. *Alexander Popham (died 4 January 1718/19) who married Jane French and inherited the estates from his nephew Alexander. *George Popham (died 28 January 1686/87), who married Dulcibella Ford and was the progenitor of the Pophams of Winchester and the Isle of Wight. *Essex Popham, eldest daughter, who married on 17 August 1663
John Poulett, 3rd Baron Poulett John Poulett, 3rd Baron Poulett (c. 1641 – June 1679), was an English peer. Poulett was the son of John Poulett, 2nd Baron Poulett, by Catharine Vere, daughter of Horace Vere, 1st Baron Vere of Tilbury. He sat as a Knight of the Shire for Som ...
and had children. *Letitia Popham (died 16 March 1714), who became the second wife of Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet, of Berry Pomeroy in Devon. *Ann Popham (died 20 April 1684), who married William Ashe of Heytesbury in Wiltshire.


Deaf nephew

This Alexander Popham is not to be confused with his nephew Alexander Popham, son of Alexander's brother Edward Popham, who was born deaf and was taught to speak by two scientists,
John Wallis John Wallis (; la, Wallisius; ) was an English clergyman and mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus. Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal ...
and William Holder. He is considered to be one of the earliest cases of a born deaf person learning to talk.


References


Further reading

* *


External links


John Locke Bibliography—Part I – Early miscellaneous works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popham, Alexander 1605 births 1669 deaths People from Wiltshire English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679
Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
Roundheads Somerset Militia officers