Edward Proger (16 June 1621 or 1618 – 31 December 1713Will
/ref>) was a Member of Parliament for

Brecknockshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1 ...

Breconshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1536 under the Laws in Wales ...

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

to King Charles I,

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

for King Charles II and

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

of West Stow. He was Keeper of the Middle Park and Harewarren for 48 years. Proger's family lived in a mansion near

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. He was either the second or fourth son of Philip Proger,

equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

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� ...

and had eight children with his wife Elizabeth. Proger started his career as a page of Charles I and groom to the chamber of his son Charles II, with whom he became good friends. After Charles I's death Proger was with Charles II in Scotland but was sent back to England by the Scots as 'an evil instrument and bad counsellor'. Later he accompanied Charles II to France and also travelled to Spain. He was granted 2000 acres of land in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in 1650, which were never actually received, and in 1670 was made housekeeper of His Majesty's palace in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. In addition Proger leased the Great Gatehouse at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. Proger was criticised and satirised by figures such as the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...

and

Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...

who suggests that he was a procurer or go-between of the King and his mistresses — he appears in Forever Amber with the same role. He was elected to parliament as

knight of the shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

for

in 1662. Edward Proger was commanded on 30 December 1663 by the King to build a 'Lodge for Our Service in one of Our Parks at Hampton Court called North Parke' — Bushy Lodge, which was designed by William Samwell, a court architect of Charles II. Bushy Lodge was later expanded to become the present

Bushy House Bushy House is a Grade II* listed former residence of King William IV and Queen Adelaide in Teddington, London, which George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax had constructed for his own enjoyment on the site of a previous house Upper Lodge, Bushy ...

. It cost £4000 at the time, a sum for which he was never properly reimbursed. He retired there upon the death of Charles II and in 1702 (aged 81 — 'the oldest servant of the Crown now alive') was given a pension of £200. Proger was buried under his pew in

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

church on 4 January 1714. A brass plate covered the grave. Twelve years later the pew was turned into a reading desk and the brass plate was lost until 1831 when the church was demolished. The cause of his death was reported by Peter Le Neve to be 'the anguish of cutting teeth; he having cut four new teeth, and had several ready to cut, which so inflamed his gums he died thereof'. His Brecknock lands were left to his oldest daughter, Philippa, who married

Samuel Croxall Samuel Croxall (c. 1688/9 – 1752) was an Anglican churchman, writer and translator, particularly noted for his edition of Aesop's Fables. Early career Samuel Croxall was born in 1688 or 1689 at Walton on Thames, where his father (also called Sa ...

in 1717.

Notes

:1. Welsh Biography Online gives his birth year as 1618

References

Local History Notes: Bushy House and the National Physical Laboratory, TeddingtonTimeline: Upper Lodge and the Water Gardens, Bushy Park, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Date: From 1514 to present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proger, Edward 17th-century births 1713 deaths Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales English MPs 1661–1679 People from the Borough of St Edmundsbury