Ralph Freman (1627–1714), of

Aspenden Aspenden is a village and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is just to the south of Buntingford. The Prime Meridian passes just to the east of it. Its name, which means 'valley of aspen trees', was fir ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, 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 ...

between 1685 and 1695. Freman was baptized on 29 May 1627, the eldest son of Ralph Freman of Aspenden and his wife Mary Hewett, daughter of Sir William Hewett of Pishiobury, Sawbridgeworth. He was educated privately under Seth Ward. He married Elizabeth Aubrey, daughter of Sir John Aubrey, 1st Baronet of Llantrithyd, Glamorganshire on 10 February 1662. He succeeded his father in 1665. Offices Held in October 1660, Freman was appointed Commissioner for sewers for Essex. He was appointed Commissioner for assessment for Hertfordshire in 1661 and held the post until 1680. In 1663 he became a JP for Hertfordshire. In 1681 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for Hertfordshire. He was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament (MP) for

in 1685. In 1687 he lost his position as Deputy Lieutenant and his seat on the commission of the peace. However he was restored to these positions in 1689 and also became Commissioner for Assessment again. He was elected Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire at the 1690 general election and though he was not invited to stand in 1695, he was a candidate, but unsuccessful. After leaving Parliament Freman continued in politics supporting the Tories locally. He made improvements to his house at Aspenden, casing the house with brick and beautifying the gardens. He may have built up an extensive library, mainly of devotional works. He encouraged Bonnell to translate Erasmus’ paraphrases into English. He was treated by Dr Sloane for loss of appetite and swollen legs but died on 17 November 1714. He and his wife had three sons and seven daughters. His eldest son

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

, who became an MP, inherited Aspenden and erected a monument to his parents describing them as having been ‘amiable and delightful’. His daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

married Charles Caesar.

References

1627 births 1714 deaths English MPs 1685–1687 People from East Hertfordshire District English MPs 1690–1695 Members of the Parliament of England for Hertfordshire {{1690-England-MP-stub