Sir Richard Harrison (31 August 1583 – 5 May 1655) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 ...

variously between 1621 and 1640. He supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

side 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 ...

. Harrison was the son of Richard Harrison of

Hurst Hurst may refer to: Places England * Hurst, Berkshire, a village * Hurst, Cumbria, a location * Hurst, Dorset, a location * Hurst, Greater Manchester, a location * Hurst, North Yorkshire, a hamlet * Hurst, Somerset, a settlement within the vi ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Anton of

Stratfield Saye Stratfield Saye is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane and the English county of Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of West End Green, Fair Oak Green and Fair Cross. In 2021 the parish had a popula ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, the Clerk of the Court of Wards and Liveries. His father died in 1587 and his mother remarried to Robert Marsh of

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Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and

Finchampstead Finchampstead is a village and civil parish in the Wokingham Borough in the shire of Berkshire, England. Bordering northeastern Hampshire to the south, its northern extremity is south of Wokingham, west of Bracknell, south-east of Reading, ...

in Berkshire. Harrison matriculated at

St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic halls of the University of Oxford, academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College, Oxford, Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it ...

on 1 July 1603 aged 19. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714: Harmar-Hawtayne', Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 652–678. Date accessed: 24 February 2011
/ref> He inherited the estates of Hurst and East Court at Finchampstead from a grand uncle Richard Warde (the son of Richard Warde Senior MP). ''Parishes: Hurst'', A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3 (1923), pp. 247–260. Date accessed: 27 February 2011
/ref> He was knighted on 31 August 1621. In 1621 Harrison was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for

Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 13,570 at the 2021 Census. In the north of the county, it lies to the west of the town of Swindon and northeast of ...

. He was elected MP for

in 1624 and again in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. Harrison lived at his manor-house at Hurst, and was a friend of

Archbishop Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms; he was arrested by Parliament in 164 ...

, who referred to him in his diary in 1625 and 1626 when Laud visited Sir

Francis Windebank Sir Francis Windebank (1582 – 1 September 1646) was an English politician who was Secretary of State under Charles I. Biography Francis was the only son of Sir Thomas Windebank of Hougham, Lincolnshire, who owed his advancement to the Ce ...

at Haines Hill in Hurst. He is said to have been created a baronet but the patent was lost. He was

High Sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff#United King ...

in 1636. In April 1640, Harrison was elected MP for

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in the

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. In the civil war, his son Richard fought on the Royalist side and the family suffered in the royal cause. Harrison married Frances, the daughter of George Garrard, of

Dorney Dorney is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It borders the River Thames to the west and south, and is bisected by the Jubilee River. In 2011 it had a population of 752. It is west of neighbouring Eton, which is a slight ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, and his wife, Margaret Dacres. John Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland''"> John Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the commoners of Great Britain and Ireland''
/ref> They had two sons and three daughters. Harrison died at the age of 72 and was buried in Hurst parish church.
/ref>

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Richard 1583 births 1655 deaths High sheriffs of Berkshire People from Hurst, Berkshire People from Finchampstead Cavaliers Members of the Parliament of England for Berkshire English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) Alumni of St Mary Hall, Oxford