Sir Robert Wroth (c. 1540 – 27 January 1607) was an English politician.

Life

Robert, born in

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 ...

about 1540, was eldest son of Sir

Thomas Wroth (died 1573) Sir Thomas Wroth (c. 1518 – 9 October 1573) was an English courtier, landowner and politician, a supporter of the Protestant Reformation and a prominent figure among the Marian exiles. Family origins The Tudor-age family of Wroth of Enfiel ...

by his wife Mary, daughter of Richard, Lord Rich. He was admitted a pensioner of

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, on 21 April 1553, but, owing to the religious changes consequent on the accession of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

, he left the university without a degree soon after his admission. Accompanying his father in his exile, he returned to England soon after the accession of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. He afterwards entered public life, and the rest of his career was devoted to politics and the administration of a large estate. He was elected for the first time to parliament for

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

on 11 January 1563; he was returned for

Bossiney Bossiney (, meaning ''Kyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 the village, ...

on 2 April 1571; he took his seat as member for the important constituency of

on 8 May 1572, and was re-elected to seven later parliaments (1584, 1586, 1589, 1593, 1597, 1601, and 1604). Meanwhile, his father's death on 9 October 1573 had placed him in possession of large estates in Middlesex,

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 ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, and

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

; but he lived chiefly at Loughton Hall, Essex, which he acquired through his wife, and devoted much time to the affairs of the county of Essex. He was

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

in 1587. He was appointed to the command of two hundred untrained men, forty

harquebusier The harquebusier was the most common form of cavalry found throughout Western Europe during the early to mid-17th century. Early harquebusiers were characterised by the use of a type of carbine called a "harquebus". In England, harquebusier was ...

s, and forty

musketeers A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the riflem ...

of Essex in the army which was raised in 1588 to resist the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

. He was knighted in 1597. During the closing years of Queen Elizabeth's reign he, as a staunch

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and loyal supporter of the queen's government, was nominated to serve on many special commissions for the trial of persons charged with high treason, including Dr. William Parry (20 February 1584–5),

Anthony Babington Anthony Babington (24 October 156120 September 1586) was an English gentleman convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, for which he was hanged, drawn and quartered ...

(5 September 1586), Patrick O'Cullen (21 February 1593), many Jesuits and suspected coiners (26 March 1593), and

Valentine Thomas Valentine Thomas (died 1603) was an English servant or soldier whose confession in 1598 as a would-be assassin of Elizabeth I caused tension between England and Scotland. Thomas's confession implicated James VI of Scotland, who wrote several letters ...

(22 July 1598). In 1599 he wrote to Michael Hicks of Ducketts in

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

about robbers or highwaymen who gathered in the evening at

Snaresbrook Snaresbrook is a district in the London Borough of Redbridge, in East London. It is located east of Charing Cross. The name derives from a corruption of Sayers brook, a tributary of the River Roding that flows through Wanstead to the East. ...

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

Heath, and Temple Mill. He hoped Colstone, Hicks's brother-in-law who lived nearby at Forest House, could catch them. Wroth retained the favour of the government under James I. On 22 May 1603 the new king granted him a walkership in

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an outer London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Leyton, Walthamstow and Chingford. The borough's administrative headquarters are at Waltham Forest Town Hall, wh ...

for life, and on 19 February next year he and others were directed to see to the erection of bridges across the

river Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

between Hackney and

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

for the king's convenience when hawking. On 18 and 19 July 1605 he entertained James I at his residence at Loughton in Essex for two days. His estates in Essex were increased by the death of Francis Stonard, his father-in-law, on 13 September 1604. He was a juryman at the trial of Sir Walter Ralegh on 15 September 1603, when through some misunderstanding he incurred the displeasure of the attorney-general. He was in the special commission of

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French , which literally means 'to hear and to determine') was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the commission was also ...

for Middlesex issued 16 January 1606 for the trial of

Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educate ...

and the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

conspirators. Wroth died on 27 January 1607, and was buried on the following day at Enfield. His obsequies were formally celebrated on 3 March.

Family

Sir Robert married Susan, daughter and heiress of John Stonard of Loughton, through whom he acquired the estate of Loughton. He seems to have had at least four surviving sons: * Sir Robert (1576?–1614) who married

Lady Mary Wroth Lady Mary Wroth (née Sidney; 18 October 1587 – 1651/3) was an English noblewoman and a poet of the English Renaissance. A member of a distinguished literary family, Lady Wroth was among the first female English writers to have achieved an e ...

. * John, who was admitted a student of the Inner Temple, 1596, was afterwards described as a captain, and succeeded to Durrants (also spelt Durants), the family's estate at Enfield in Middlesex,See *Thomas. *Henry, who is styled "of Woodbury in Herefordshire".

Sir Henry Wroth Sir Henry Wroth (died 1671), second son of Henry, Sir Robert Wroth's youngest son, acquired some fame as a royalist during the civil wars, was a 'pensioner' of Charles I, and was knighted at Oxford on 15 September 1645. He compounded with the p ...

(died 1671), second son of Henry, Sir Robert's youngest son, acquired some fame as a royalist during the civil wars.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wroth, Robert 1540s births 1607 deaths Politicians from Essex Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 16th-century English knights High sheriffs of Essex English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1571 English MPs 1572–1583 English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 17th-century English knights