Sir Robert Hitcham (1572? – 1636) was a Member of Parliament and Attorney General under King James I.

Early life

Robert was born of lowly origin in

Levington Levington is a small village in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. The population of the parish including Stratton Hall at the 2011 Census was 259. It was located in Colneis Hundred.John Blatchly, ''John Kirby's Suffolk: His Maps ...

, near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, and educated at the Free School at Ipswich and later

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, studying law. He was admitted to

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 Wale ...

on 3 November 1589 from

Barnard's Inn Barnard's Inn is a former Inns of Chancery, Inn of Chancery in Holborn, London. It is now the home of Gresham College, an institution of higher learning established in 1597 that hosts public lectures. Over the centuries, it has served as a sch ...

and was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1595.

Political career

He became a Member of Parliament for West Looe,

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

from 1597 to 1598; for

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

, Norfolk from 1604 to 1611; for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1614 and for Orford,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

from 1624 to 1626. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

on 29 June 1604 by King James I. Hitcham held a number of posts including:

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

Queen Consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

(1603–1614); Sergeant-at-law (1614); and King's Senior Sergeant-at-law (1616).

Later life

On 14 May 1635 he purchased

Framlingham Castle Framlingham Castle is a castle in the market town of Framlingham, Suffolk, England. An early motte and bailey or ringwork Norman castle was built on the Framlingham site by 1148, but this was destroyed (Slighting, slighted) by Henry II of Engl ...

, Suffolk from Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk for the sum of £14,000. He died on 15 August 1636 and now lies in a tomb in the

Church of St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham St Michael's Church in Framlingham, Suffolk is a Church of England church dedicated to Saint Michael. It was the burial site of the Howard family. The church was designated a Grade I listed building in 1966. Currently the Church accepts monetar ...

Legacy

His will stated that the castle, save for the outer walls, be demolished and the stone used to build a poor house. The inner buildings were duly demolished and a poor house, Sir Robert Hitcham's Almshouses, was built in its place. He also endowed a school for local children (originally boys only), which was the foundation of the current Framlingham Sir Robert Hitcham primary school. His also left money in his will to fund a school in both

Debenham Debenham is a village and civil parish located north of Ipswich in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Pub ...

Coggeshall Coggeshall ( or ) is a town and civil parish in the Braintree district, in Essex, England, between Braintree and Colchester on the Roman road Stane Street and the River Blackwater. In 2001 it had a population of 3,919. It has almost 300 li ...

. With the school in Debenham being named after him; Sir Robert Hitcham CEVA Primary School. He bequeathed the site of the castle to the Master, Fellows and Scholars of

. Some of the land he left was later given by the College as the site for

Framlingham College Framlingham College is a public school ( boarding and day school) in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school and nursery at Brandeston Hall, it serves pupils from 3 to 18 years of age ...

, a school built as a memorial to

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

. Hitcham's Cloister in Pembroke College (built 1666) was named after him as is the Hitcham House at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitcham, Robert 1570s births 1636 deaths Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Serjeants-at-law (England) Members of Gray's Inn Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge People educated at Ipswich School Politicians from Ipswich English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 16th-century English lawyers