Francis Downes (1606–1648) 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 ...
in 1624 and 1625.
Downes was the second son of
Roger Downes
Roger Downes (died 1638) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601 and from 1621 to 1622.
Downes was the son Roger Downes of Shrigley, Cheshire. He was a student of Staple Inn and then of Gray's Inn in 1589 a ...
of
Wardley Hall
Wardley Hall is an early medieval manor house and a Grade I listed building in the Wardley area of Worsley, Salford, in Greater Manchester (historically within Lancashire). There has been a moat on the site since at least 1292. The current hall ...
, and his second wife Anne Calvert, daughter of John Calvert of Cockeram. His mother was a Catholic and Downes also adopted the Catholic faith.
[ History of Parliament Online – Roger Downes]
/ref> He matriculated at 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 ...
on 5 December 1623, aged 17 and was a student of Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
in 1623.[ 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714: Disbrowe-Dyve', Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714 (1891), pp. 406–439. Date accessed: 8 May 2012]
/ref> In 1624, he was elected member of parliament for Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
. He was re-elected MP for Wigan in 1625.[William Duncombe Pink, Alfred B. Beaven ''The parliamentary representation of Lancashire, (county and borough), 1258–1885, with biographical and genealogical notices of the members, &c.'' (1889)]
/ref>
References
1606 births
1648 deaths
English MPs 1624–1625
English MPs 1625
{{1625-England-MP-stub