Francis Wingfield or Wingfeild (born September 1628) was a Stamford

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

in the mid-seventeenth century. He went on to become Member of Parliament for Stamford in 1660 and first Serjeant-at-law to

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

in 1677.

Early life and family

Francis, born at

Tickencote Tickencote is a small village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is noted for St Peter's Church, Tickencote, St Peter's Church, with its Norman chancel arch. The population at the 2001 census was 67. At ...

in September 1628, was the fourth son of Sir John Wingfield and Frances, daughter of

Edward Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell Edward Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell (– 27 April 1607) was an English peer. He was the son of Henry Cromwell, 2nd Baron Cromwell by his wife Mary, daughter of John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester and his first wife Elizabeth Willoughby. Hi ...

Oakham Oakham is a market town and civil parish in Rutland (of which it is the county town) in the East Midlands of England. The town is located east of Leicester, southeast of Nottingham and northwest of Peterborough. It had a population of 12,14 ...

. According to traditional tales, Frances Wingfield, his mother, entertained

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

and saved the town of Stamford from destruction, by allowing the gates to be closed. He later became a lawyer at

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 ...

.Notes in the E C Till bequest, in the archive of Stamford Museum, accessed 3 December 2010. He married twice, with his first wife Anne, the daughter of Edward Palmer of

Stoke Doyle Stoke Doyle is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire in England, two miles south-west of Oundle. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Wadenhoe. The village's name means 'Outlying ...

, he had two sons and a daughter, Frances, later the wife of Richard Butler of Hundleby. With his second wife, Lucy Ashfield or Lucia Poultney, daughter of the Governor of York, he had two sons and three daughters, two of the daughters, Lucy (1668) and Sarah (1671) died in infancy, the third Anne (1673) married John Cock.

1660 election

The 1660 election to the Convention Parliament of 1660 was the first after 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 ...

and the first of the

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, and hence the first for some twenty years. The returning officer for Stamford could not determine the winner of the election between Wingfield, backed by the Cecils, and the incumbent John Weaver, thereby calling a

double return Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A 2 ...

. Eventually, Wingfield was returned for Stamford in 1660,History of Parliament Online = Wingfield, Francis
/ref> although not without some confusion as the following two entries from journal of 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 ...

for 9 May 1660 show: He only sat for one year.

Barnwell House

In January 1662 he bought Barnwell House in Clipshill, Stamford from William Wolfe, then occupied by Elizabeth Cromwell, widow. The house was the last resting place of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

on his flight to Newark before surrendering himself to the Scots. At the same time he bought Hills Orchard, a half acre plot presumably as a garden to Barnwell House, from

John Cecil, 4th Earl of Exeter John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

. The house passed to his daughter Frances Butler.

Serjeant-at-law

In 1677, supported by Robert Bertie, Wingfield was promoted to Serjeant-at-law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wingfield, Francis English MPs 1660 People from Stamford, Lincolnshire People from Rutland 1628 births Date of birth missing Year of death missing Place of death missing Serjeants-at-law (England) 17th-century English lawyers Members of Gray's Inn