Sir Henry Spiller (c. 1570 – 16 April 1649) was an English office-holder, landowner and 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 ...

between 1614 and 1629. He supported 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 ...

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 ...

Biography

Spiller was born in about 1570, fifth son of John Spiller of

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...

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 ...

. His only known education was as a law student at

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in 1606, but he was already employed in government service as clerk to the Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer by 1594.
History of Parliament, article by Alan Davidson and Rosemary Sgroi. He was later responsible for deriving income from recusancy, recusants and his policies led to the sale of

baronetcies A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

from 1611. In 1612

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granted him the manor of

Laleham Laleham is a village on the River Thames, in the borough of Spelthorne, about west of central London, England. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Laleham is downriver from Staines-upon-Thames a ...

. 'Spelthorne Hundred: Laleham', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2: General; Ashford, East Bedfont with Hatton, Feltham, Hampton with Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Laleham, Littleton (1911), pp. 396-401. Date accessed: 4 January 2012
/ref> In 1614, Spiller was elected member of parliament for

Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much la ...

. He was knighted at

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on 20 July 1618. He obtained the manor of Colquire in Cornwall in 1618 and was one of those granted the advowson of

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

in 1620. He was re-elected MP for Arundel in 1621, 1624 and 1625. In 1628 he was elected MP for

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and chose to sit for Middlesex until 1629 when

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decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. He sought re-election, to 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 ...

of 1640, at

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

but was defeated by Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper (who was then a minor but was backed by the influence of Lord Coventry). Ashley Cooper called Spiller "a crafty, perverse, rich man" and "a great enemy to the town and the puritans". In 1623 he had made a map of his estate at Laleham which has survived to this day.

Family

Spiller was twice married. Firstly, by 1592, to Dorothy Dicons, by whom he had two sons and two daughters, who died in 1624. His subsequent second marriage was to a woman named Anne, of unknown family, but they had no children. Both wives were reported to be

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. In 1640 Spiller's wife, Lady Anne Spiller, was charged with recusancy and she was pronounced guilty on 5 May. Spiller supported the King in the Civil War as a commissioner. He was taken prisoner at

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

where he had gone to convalesce, and incarcerated 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 ...

. In 1646 he proposed to compound for his estates for £8,611 but the fine was unpaid when he died. Spiller was the father of Robert Spiller, MP for Thetford; and Katherine who married Sir Thomas Reynell of Weybridge.

References

External links

Portrait of Sir Henry Spiller by Cornelis Johnson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiller, Henry 1649 deaths English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1628–1629 Year of birth uncertain