John Norden (c. 1612 – 20 June 1669) was an English lawyer 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 ...

at various times between 1654 and 1669. Norden was the second son of William Norden of Rowde and his wife Mary Lybbe, daughter of Richard Lybbe of Hardwick, Whitchurch, Oxfordshire. He was educated at

Hart Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

and was awarded BA in 1631. He entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1630 and was called to the bar in 1638. in 1641, he succeeded to the family estates on the death of his brother. He was J.P. for Wiltshire from 1646 to 1653. In 1654, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

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 ...

. In 1657, he was JP for Wiltshire again and commissioner for assessment. He was commissioner for assessment from January 1660 to his death and commissioner for militia in March 1660. He was JP for Wiltshire again from March 1660 until his death. History of Parliament Online - John Norden
/ref> In April 1660, Norden was elected MP in double returns for both

Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest recor ...

and

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

in the Convention Parliament and chose to sit for Old Sarum. He was proposed as a

Knight of the Royal Oak The Knights of the Royal Oak was an intended order of chivalry in England. It was proposed in 1660 at the time of the restoration of Charles II of England to be a reward for those Englishmen who had faithfully and actively supported Charles dur ...

with an income of £800. In 1662, he became an alderman of Devizes and remained until his death. In December 1666 he was elected MP for Devizes in a by-election to 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 ...

. He was solicitor for aids for Wiltshire from 1667. Norden married at the age of 30 by licence dated 29 May 1647 to Elizabeth Skinner, daughter of Edmund Skinner of Cradley, Herefordshire and had six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norden, John 1610s births 1669 deaths Alumni of Hart Hall, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Politicians from Wiltshire People from Devizes English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679