Sir Edward Unton KB (1534 – 16 September 1582) was an English politician, high sheriff and

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

. Edward was the eldest son of Sir Alexander Unton of Wadley House at Faringdon in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...

(now Oxfordshire) and his wife, Cecily, daughter of Edward Bulstrode of

Hedgerley Hedgerley is a village and civil parish in South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. The parish is centred south-east of Beaconsfield and south-west of Gerrards Cross. The parish has incorporated the formerly separate parish of Hed ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

. He inherited his father's estates in 1547. Eight years later, he married Anne, the daughter of

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry ...

and widow of John Dudley, 2nd Earl of Warwick; together they had seven children. His eldest son

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

became MP for Berkshire (1584, 1586). His younger son Sir

Henry Unton Sir Henry Unton (or Umpton) (c. 155723 March 1596) was an Elizabethan English diplomat. Life Unton was born at Wychwood and was the second son of Sir Edward Unton (d. 1583) of Wadley House, near Faringdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). His mo ...

was the English ambassador to France. He was knighted in 1559; he was appointed High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1567. Four years later (1572), he was also elected the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

. He had previously been MP for

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the u ...

(1554) and for Oxfordshire (1563). He died in 1582 and was buried in Faringdon church. His monument reads: ''"Here lyeth Sir Edward Unton, Knight of the Noble Order of the Bathe, whoe married Anne Countess of Warwick, daughter of Edwarde Seymer Duke of Somersett and Protector of England, by whome he had ffive sonnes, whereof 3 died younge in the life of their father; Two, namelye Edwarde and Henry onely, survyved and succeeded him, the one after the other in their father's inheritance; and two daughters, Anne married to Sir Valentine Knightley, Knight, and Scissil married to John Wentworth, Esquire"''. He left heavy debts, and his daughter Scissil (or Cicely) and her husband John Wentworth had considerable difficulty obtaining the lands he had bequeathed to her as a result, difficulties which ended in a lawsuit.

References

1534 births 1582 deaths People from Faringdon Members of the Parliament of England for Berkshire High Sheriffs of Berkshire Knights of the Bath English MPs 1554–1555 English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1572–1583 {{1563-England-MP-stub