Sir Francis Fortescue (ca. 1563–1624), KB was an English politician.

Life

Francis was the eldest surviving son of John Fortescue of Salden at

Mursley Mursley is a small village in and also a civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about three miles east of Winslow and about seven miles south west of Central Milton Keynes. The village name is Old English in origin, and is tho ...

and his wife, Cecily Ashfield. His brothers were William Fortescue and Thomas Fortescue II. In 1589, he married Grace Manners (d. 1624), daughter of Sir John Manners of

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Duke of Rutland, Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rut ...

, second son of Thomas Earl of Rutland, and of Dorothy Vernon daughter and co-heir of Sir George Vernon. They had at least one son, his heir, John. A daughter, Dorothy Vernon (d. 1650), married Sir Robert Throckmorton of

Weston Underwood, Buckinghamshire Weston Underwood is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about a mile west of Olney. The village name 'Weston' is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'weste ...

and

Coughton Court Coughton Court () is an English Tudor country house, situated on the main road between Studley and Alcester in Warwickshire. It is a Grade I listed building. The house has a long crenellated façade directly facing the main road, at the cen ...

Career

In 1600, he became the Custos Rotulorum of Buckinghamshire and in 1608

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. Sheriff is the oldest secular office under th ...

. In 1589, 1593 and 1597 he was MP for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

, and in 1601 MP for

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. Fortescue was a Catholic recusant who welcomed the priests

John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular garde ...

and Anthony Hoskins ''alias' Rivers at Salden. Michael Hodgetts & Paul Hodgetts, ''Secret Hiding Places: Priest Holes: An Incredible True Story of Faith and Ingenuity'' (Pear Branch Press, 2024), pp. 162–164.

References

1560s births 1624 deaths High sheriffs of Buckinghamshire 17th-century English politicians Knights of the Bath English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 {{1601-England-MP-stub