Henry Henley (c. 1612–1696) 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 ...

at various times between 1653 and 1681. He supported the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

cause 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 ...

Geograph 3061309 Entrance to Leigh House

Henley was the eldest surviving son of Henry Henley of

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

and his wife Susan Bragge, daughter of William Bragge of Sadborow, Thorncombe, Devon. On his father's death in 1639 he inherited estates at

, Winsham, Somerset and Colway, Lyme Regis, Dorset. He became a colonel in the Parliamentary army in around 1643 and was a commissioner for sequestrations, assessment and levying of money for Somerset in 1643. In 1644 he was assessment commissioner for Somerset and Dorset and in 1646 became J.P. for Somerset until 1654. He was commissioner for rebuilding at Beaminster in 1647 and was JP for Devon from 1647 to 1657. He became High Sheriff of Dorset in 1648. History of Parliament Online - Henry Henley
/ref> In 1653, Henley was nominated Member of Parliament for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

in the

Barebones Parliament Barebone's Parliament, also known as the Little Parliament, the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints, came into being on 4 July 1653, and was the last attempt of the English Commonwealth to find a stable political form before the inst ...

. He was commissioner for execution of ordinances for Somerset and Dorset and commissioner for scandalous ministers for Somerset in 1654 and also was elected 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 First Protectorate Parliament. In 1659 he was elected MP for

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 the

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a po ...

. Henley was commissioner for assessment for Dorset from January 1660 to 1680 and a JP for Dorset from March to -July 1660. He was commissioner for militia for Dorset in March 1660. In April 1660 he was elected MP for Bridport for the Convention Parliament. In 1661 he was elected MP for Lyme Regis 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 ...

where he sat until 1679. He was commissioner for assessment for Somerset from 1664 to 1680. He was commissioner for recusants for Dorset in 1675. In 1679 he became a freeman of Lyme Regis. He was elected MP for Lyme Regis in two parliament in 1679 and again in 1681. In 1688 he became a JP for Somerset in February, a commissioner for inquiry into recusancy fines for Somerset in March and a JP for Dorset in June. Henley died at the age of 83 and was buried at Winsham on 10 June 1696. Henley married firstly Susan Moggridge, daughter of Thomas Moggridge, merchant, of Exeter on 28 September 1636. They had two sons. He married secondly to Bridget Bampfield, daughter of John Bampfield of Poltimore, Devon and had two daughters. His son Henry predeceased him in 1683, but Henry jnr's son, another Henry, was also an MP for Lyme Regis. Henry snr's second son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, was likewise an MP for Lyme Regis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henley, Henry 1610s births 1696 deaths People from Bridport People from Axminster Roundheads High sheriffs of Dorset English MPs 1653 (Barebones) English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lyme Regis Members of the Parliament of England for Bridport Members of the Parliament of England for Dorset