Giles Strangways (3 June 1615 – 20 July 1675) of

Melbury House Melbury House is an English country house in the parish of Melbury Sampford near Evershot, Dorset. The Grade I listed mansion is the home of the Honourable Charlotte Townshend, a major landowner in east Dorset, through her mother, Theresa Fox ...

in Somerset, 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 ...

variously between 1640 and 1675. He fought on the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

side during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

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 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

. He was elected MP for

Bridport Bridport is a market town and civil parish in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the River Asker, Asker. Its origins are Anglo-Saxons, Saxon and it has a long history as a ...

, Dorset, in 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 ...

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 The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

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 The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

, he stayed at Trent Manor, the home of Francis Wyndham, who consulted his cousin Strangways (both were descended from

John Wadham Sir John Wadham (c.1344–1412) was a Justice of the Common Pleas from 1389 to 1398, during the reign of King Richard II (1377–1399), selected by the King as an assertion of his right to rule by the advice of men appointed of his own choice, ...

(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 Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

.) In 1661 Strangways was elected an MP for

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

for the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

remaining until his death in 1675.

Marriage and children

Strangways married Susanna Edwards, a daughter of Thomas Edwards, of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, a member of the

Worshipful Company of Mercers The Mercers' Company, or the Worshipful Company of Mercers, is a livery company of the City of London in the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. Mercer comes from the Latin for merch ...

, by whom he had issue including: * Thomas Strangways (1643–1713), MP; * John Strangways (died 1676), MP; *

Wadham Strangways Wadham may refer to: Education * Wadham College, Oxford – a constituent college of the University of Oxford * Wadham College Boat Club – the rowing club of Wadham College, Oxford * Wadham School – a school for children near Crewkerne, Some ...

, MP. * Grace Strangways. m. Francis Dyves. * Judith Strangways. m. (1665) George Ayliffe of Grittenham, Wilts. * Susanna Strangways (1651-1686). m. (1672/3) James Long of

Athelhampton Athelhampton (also known as Admiston or Adminston) is a settlement in the civil parish of Athelhampton and Puddletown, in Dorset, England, situated approximately east of Dorchester. It consists of a manor house and a former Church of England p ...

, Dorset. He was the eldest son and heir of

Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet (c. 1617 – 22 January 1692) was an English politician and Royalist soldier. Born at South Wraxall, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, the son of Sir Walter Long and Anne Ley (daughter of James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlbor ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Strangways, Giles 1615 births 1675 deaths Cavaliers English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1661–1679 Giles 1615 Members of the Parliament of England for Bridport Members of the Parliament of England for Dorset Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis