
Giles Strangways (3 June 1615 – 20 July 1675) of
Melbury House in Somerset, was an English politician who sat in the
House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1675. He fought on the
Royalist side during the
Civil War
Origins
He was the son of
Sir John Strangways (1585-1666) of Melbury and his first wife Grace Trenchard, daughter of Sir George Trenchard of Wolveton.
Career
In April 1640 he was elected a
Member of Parliament for
Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, Dorset, in the
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks.
Aft ...
. He was elected MP for
Bridport, Dorset, in the
Long Parliament in November 1640.
[ History of Parliament Online - Strangways Giles]
/ref> He supported the king and was a Colonel in a regiment of horse. He was disabled from sitting in Parliament in January 1644 and was fined £10,000 for the service of the navy in August 1644. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two and a half years, partly as a hostage for his father. When he was set free, he had a very large gold medal struck, to commemorate his imprisonment.
In 1651, as King Charles II was trying to escape from England after losing the Battle of Worcester, he stayed at Trent Manor, the home of Francis Wyndham, who consulted his cousin Strangways (both were descended from John Wadham (d.1578)) about finding a ship to carry the king to France. Strangways was unable to help find a ship, but was able to provide 300 gold pieces to Charles, and encouraged Wyndham to search further in the area around Lyme (now Lyme Regis.)
In 1661 Strangways was elected an MP for Dorset for the Cavalier Parliament remaining until his death in 1675.[
]
Marriage and children
Strangways married Susanna Edwards, a daughter of Thomas Edwards, of the City of London, a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, by whom he had issue including:[
* Thomas Strangways (1643–1713), MP;
* John Strangways (died 1676), MP;
* Wadham Strangways, MP.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangways, Giles
1615 births
1675 deaths
Cavaliers
English MPs 1640 (April)
English MPs 1640–1648
English MPs 1661–1679