Edward Whitby (c. 1578 – 8 April 1639) was an English lawyer and 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 ...

between 1614 and 1629. Whitby was the son of Robert Whitby, who was mayor of Chester. Joseph Hemingway ''History of the city of Chester, from its foundation to the present time''
/ref> He was of

Dunham on the Hill Dunham-on-the-Hill is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Dunham-on-the-Hill and Hapsford, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, and

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

in 1596 at the age of 18, graduating with a BA in 1599. He was admitted to the

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 November 1600, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

there in 1610.Students admitted to the Inner Temple 1571–1625
/ref> In 1606, he purchased

Bache Hall Bache Hall is a former English country houses, country house in Bache, Cheshire, Bache, Chester, Cheshire. It replaced an earlier house that had been damaged in the English Civil War, Civil War. At one time a golf club house, then a hospital b ...

Upton-by-Chester Upton-by-Chester is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a large suburb on the outskirts of Chester, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It includes the village Upt ...

and became

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

in 1613.Parks and Gardens – Bache Hall, Chester
/ref>J H. Hanshall The history of the county palatine of Chester
/ref> In 1614, he was elected Member of Parliament for

. In 1619 the Chester corporation was riven by faction. Whitby was accused of official corruption and the committee voted to remove him from office. However the meeting was extremely unruly and a decision was deferred until his return. At the hearing he defended himself successfully and was reaffirmed in his office.Catherine F. Patterson ''Urban patronage in early modern England''
/ref> He was re-elected MP for Chester in 1621, 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1628 and sat until 1629 when

King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, S ...

decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. Whitby continued as Recorder until his death in 1639. His house at Bache Hall was demolished during the

siege of Chester The siege of Chester occurred over a 16-month period between September 1644 and February 1646 during the First English Civil War. In the engagement, William Brereton, 2nd Baron Brereton, Sir William Brereton and the Roundhead, Parliamenta ...

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 ...

, when Parliamentary troops used it as a garrison. Whitby married Alice Gamull, widow of

Thomas Gamull Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

and daughter of Richard Bavand of Chester. History of Parliament Online – Thomas Gamull
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitby, Edward 1570s births 1639 deaths English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 People from Chester Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford 17th-century English lawyers Members of the Inner Temple