Edward Owner (1576–1650) 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 ...

at various times between 1621 and 1648. He supported the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

cause 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 ...

. In 1621, Owner was elected Member of Parliament for

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

. He was alderman and bailiff of Yarmouth in 1625, and closely connected to its Presbyterian faction, his daughter marrying the minister John Brinsley and was also re-elected MP for the town in the same year. He was bailiff again in 1634 when he was the cause of offence. The bailiffs of the Cinque Ports were accustomed to attend the fair at Yarmouth but in this year Owner refused them their usual seat. They petitioned the Earl of Arundel who settled the matter but recommended "a more courteous carriage, and friendly demeanor, in future." In April 1640, he was re-elected MP for Yarmouth in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

and was re-elected for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

in November 1640. He opposed Ship Money in parliament and voted it illegal. When the Civil War broke out, he worked to ensure that the town's defences were satisfactory and contributed financially to this purpose. In January 1646 he led a group of councillors and one of the town's ministers, Thomas Whitfield, in attempt to put down the town's independent congregation. In 1646 he was elected Bailiff of Yarmouth, which he attempted to refuse. He is not recorded as sitting in parliament after

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 ...

. He made charitable donations to the town of Yarmouth and left property in Ireland to the benefit of the council for the Children's Hospital School .John Preston ''The picture of Yarmouth''
/ref> Owner died in 1650, and was buried in the north aisle of Yarmouth's St Nicholas' Church.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Owner, Edward 1576 births 1650 deaths Roundheads Place of birth missing People from Great Yarmouth Mayors of places in Norfolk English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648