Anthony Eyre JP (baptised 17 September 1634 – November 1671) 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 Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1661 to 1671.

Early life

Eyre was baptised on 17 September 1634. He was the second, but only surviving, son of Sir Gervase Eyre of Laughton-en-le-Morthen, Yorkshire, and his wife Elizabeth Babington, daughter of John Babington of Rampton, Nottinghamshire. His father was killed in 1645 defending Newark Castle for the King in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. After his father's death, his mother married William More D.D. His father was the eldest son of the former Anne Markham and Anthony Eyre, of Laughton-en-le-Morthen and Kiveton, Yorkshire, and Newbold, Derbyshire. He was educated at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1654, and was awarded a M.A. from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1663.

Career

In 1660, Eyre was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Nottinghamshire. He was returned as Member of Parliament for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

at the 1661 general election to the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

. He held the seat until his death in 1671.

Personal life

Eyre married firstly Lucy Digby, daughter of Sir John Digby of Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire on 9 June 1657. Before her death in June 1659, they had two children: * Robert Eyre (1655–1660), who died young. * Elizabeth Eyre. He married secondly Elizabeth Pakington, daughter of Sir John Pakington, 2nd Baronet, of Westwood, Worcestershire. Together, they were the parents of three sons (two of whom predeceased him) and four daughters. * Gervase Eyre (1669–1704), who married Catherine Cooke, the daughter and eventual heiress of Sir Henry Cooke, 2nd Baronet. * Anthony Eyre (1671–1672), who died young. * Dorothy Eyre, who married John Bradshaw Esq. in 1680. * Margaret Eyre (b. 1667) Eyre died in 1671 and was buried at Rampton on 11 November 1671. He was succeeded in his estates by his son Gervase Eyre.

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

See also