Rowland Berkeley (about 1548 – 1 June 1611) of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

and

Spetchley Spetchley Hall Spetchley is a hamlet and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, that lies in the district of Wychavon, half a mile from Worcester, along the A44 road. Spetchley contains Spetchley Park, a country mansion with extensive gardens ...

was an English clothier and 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 ...

at various times between 1593 and 1611. Berkeley was the eighth son of William Berkeley, mayor and MP for Hereford, great-nephew of William, 1st Marquess of Berkeley.

Worcester and Spetchley

Rowland Berkeley became a successful clothier at Worcester. He bought

Spetchley Park Spetchley Park is a country mansion standing in 4500 acres of gardens and parkland in the hamlet of Spetchley, near Worcester, England. The house and park are separately Grade II* listed. The house is built in two storeys of Bath stone with a ...

from Philip Sheldon. He was bailiff of Worcester in 1585 and 1587. He was appointed first master of the Clothers Company of Worcester under the Clothers Charter of 23 September 1590. W R Williams ''Parliamentary History of the County of Worcester''
/ref> After his death his eldest son acquired extensive property in

Cotheridge Cotheridge is a village and civil parish in the district of Malvern Hills in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is west of the city of Worcester and a mile north-east of the Leigh Court railway station on the Great Western Railway o ...

House of Commons

In 1593, he was elected Member of Parliament for

. He was re-elected MP for Worcester in 1597 and 1601. In 1605 he was elected MP for Worcester again in a by-election and sat until his death in 1611.

Family

Berkeley married 15 April 1574 Catherine Hayward, daughter of Thomas Hayward. Their children included: * William Berkeley (1582–1658) of Cotheridge * Robert Berkeley (1584–1656) of Spetchley * Dorothy, eldest daughter, who married in 1593 Thomas Wylde (1558–1610, grandson of

Thomas Wylde Thomas Wylde (c. 1670 – 12 April 1740) was an English politician and administrator. His residence was The Commandery, Worcester. He was the eldest son of Robert Wylde (c. 1622 – 1689) of The Commandery and his wife Elizabeth (née Dennis) ...

) of

The Commandery The Commandery is a historic building open to visitors and located in the city of Worcester, England. It opened as a museum in 1977 and was for a while the only museum in England dedicated solely to the Civil Wars. The Commandery ceased to be ...

and was mother of Margaret, who married Samuel Fell * Joan, sixth daughter, who married firstly Henry Bright and secondly Edward Annesley

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Rowland 1611 deaths Businesspeople from Worcester, England Place of birth missing English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 Year of birth uncertain Members of the Parliament of England for Worcester