Sir John Merrick (1584–1659) 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 ...

from 1640 to 1648. He fought in the

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army 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 ...

Military career

John Merrick joined the 3rd earl of Essex's expedition to

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

in 1620. In 1624, he fought as a soldier in the

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and fought in

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in 1625; he was also knighted that year.BBC - Parliamentary Generals in the 1640s - Sir John Merrick
/ref> He fought in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

under

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

and was wounded on 17 August 1632 before

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

. In 1639-40, he commanded a regiment in the

Bishops' Wars The Bishops' Wars were two separate conflicts fought in 1639 and 1640 between Scotland and England, with Scottish Royalists allied to England. They were the first of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which also include the First and Second En ...

. When the Irish rebellion broke out in October 1641, the Commons recommended Sir John for a commission in Ireland. On the outbreak of the Civil War Merrick was appointed Sergeant-Major-General in the Parliamentary Army commanded by the Earl of Essex. He commanded an infantry regiment Sir John Merrick's Foot, which took part in the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill, Warwickshire, Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitution ...

. After the Battle of Stratton, Merrick was appointed general of the Artillery, leading them at the Battles of Gloucester and Newbury.

Political career

In April 1640, Sir John was elected Member of Parliament for

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

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 re-elected MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme for 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. In 1647, he served as assessment commissioner for Pembrokeshire. However, his disapproval of the execution of the king in 1649 led to his retirement during the Interregnum.

Personal life

Sir John is a member of the

Meyrick family The Meyrick family (later spelling Merrick) of Bodorgan, Anglesey, Wales is descended from Cadafael, lord of Cedewain, Powys. Notable family members Llewelyn ap Heylin fought at the battle of Bosworth for Henry Tudor. Meurig ap Llewelyn, s ...

. He married Alice Fitton of Gawsworth and had a son and two daughters. He later married a widow Jane Wyche, who bore him no children. Merrick died at the age of 75 and was portrayed in Bush church wearing black armour. This portrait is now located at the family seat of Slebech.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrick, John 1584 births 1670 deaths Roundheads Members of the Parliament of England for Newcastle-under-Lyme Place of birth missing English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648