Ralph Assheton (1596 – 17 February 1650) 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 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 parliament. ...

from 1640 to 1649. He was a general in the

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

army in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

. Assheton was eldest son of Sir Richard Assheton of Middleton (who died 1618) and a descendant of

Ralph de Ashton Sir Ralph de Ashton or Assheton ( fl. 1421–1486), was an officer of state under Edward IV of England. Early life Ashton was the half-brother of Sir Thomas de Ashton ('' fl.'' 1446) the alchemist, and the son of the Sir John de Ashton mentioned ...

of Middleton.William Duncombe Pink, Alfred B. Beaven ''The parliamentary representation of Lancashire, (county and borough), 1258-1885, with biographical and genealogical notices of the members, &c.'' (1889)
/ref> He was admitted at

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wif ...

on 22 May 1614 and was also admitted at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wa ...

on 24 May 1614. He was awarded MA at Cambridge in 1615 on the visit of the King, and was incorporated at Oxford University in 1616. In November 1640, Assheton was elected MP for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

. He was an energetic supporter of parliament and the avowed leader of the Presbyterian party in Lancashire. In the Civil War he became a colonel-general in the parliamentary army and was commander in chief of the parliamentary forces in Lancashire. He was excluded from parliament in 1648. Assheton died aged 54. His

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the pa ...

in the Church of St Leonard, Middleton is the only brass in the UK of a Civil War officer in full armour.Church website
/ref> Assheton's eldest son, Sir Ralph Assheton, 1st Baronet of Middleton, was created a

baronet 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 ...

after the restoration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assheton, Ralph 1596 births 1650 deaths English MPs 1640–1648 Roundheads Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn People from Middleton, Greater Manchester Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lancashire