Sir John Fitzjames (31 December 161921 June 1670) 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 1654 and 1670. He was the son of Leweston Fitzjames of Leweston, Dorset and matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, on 4 March 1636, aged 16. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Faber-Flood', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 480-509. Date accessed: 17 March 2011
/ref> He was the brother of Thomas Fitzjames and

Henry Fitzjames Henry FitzJames (6 August 1673 – 16 December 1702), titular 1st Duke of Albemarle in the Jacobite peerage, was an illegitimate son of King James II of England and VII of Scotland by Arabella Churchill, sister of the first Duke of Marlborou ...

. He succeeded his father to the Leweston estate in 1638. He was a Parliamentarian Colonel of horse in 1644–46, 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 ...

. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Dorset The High Sheriff of Dorset is an ancient high sheriff title which has been in existence for over one thousand years. Until 1567 the Sheriff of Somerset was also the Sheriff of Dorset. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Governmen ...

for 1645–46 and was a Justice of the Peace for Dorset from 1648 to 1652 and from 1656 to his death. In 1654 he was elected Member of Parliament 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 ...

in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the H ...

and was re-elected MP for Dorset in 1656 for the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first sess ...

. In 1659, he was elected MP for

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

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 ...

until his election was declared void on 23 March. History of Parliament Online - Fitzjames, John
/ref> In April 1660 Fitzjames was elected MP for Dorset in the Convention Parliament. He was knighted on 9 July 1660.Knights of England
/ref> In 1661 he was re-elected MP for Poole in 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 ...

and sat until his death in 1670. Fitzjames was buried at Long Burton on 23 June 1670. He had married Margaret, the daughter of Nathaniel Stephens of Eastington, Gloucestershire, with whom he had 2 sons (who both predeceased him) and 5 daughters. The Leweston estate was divided between his daughters, but reconsolidated by Sir George Strode, one of Fitzjames' sons-in-law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzjames, John 1619 births 1670 deaths Politicians from Dorset Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford High sheriffs of Dorset English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 Members of the Parliament of England for Dorset Members of the Parliament of England for Poole