Sir Sampson Eure (died 1659) was an English lawyer 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 1621 and 1643. 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 ...

cause 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 ...

Eure was the son of Sir Francis Eure of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, and his first wife, Elizabeth. He was admitted at

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 10 August 1610 and

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1617.W R Williams ''The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> In 1621, Eure was elected Member of Parliament for

Beaumaris Beaumaris (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community on the Anglesey, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey fro ...

.Browne Willis ''Notitia parliamentaria, or, An history of the counties, cities, and boroughs in England and Wales: ... The whole extracted from mss. and printed evidences'' 1750 pp 229-239
/ref> He was made Kings Attorney for Wales for life on 11 April 1622 and, together with Ralph Goodwin, was granted the office of Examiner in the Court of the Marches of Wales on 19 November 1625 . In 1638 he became a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of his Inn and in 1640 was elevated to Serjeant-at-law and then King's Serjeant. In November 1640, Eure was elected MP for

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

. and was knighted on 7 August 1641. When the Civil War was taking shape he made his way to join King Charles at Oxford and was created DCL (Doctor of Civil Law) there on 7 February 1643. He was also made Speaker of the King's Parliament in Oxford (as distinct from the de facto Parliament in Westminster). In consequence he was disabled from sitting in the House of Commons on 22 January 1644 and made to suffer, although not excessively, for his support of the King's cause. Eure died at his home at Gatley Park, Herefordshire in 1659. He had married in 1633 Martha, the daughter of Anthony Cage of Longstow, Cambridgeshire and had one son, who predeceased him. He had bought Gatley Park in 1632 and built a new house there, which he left to his widow.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eure, Sampson Year of birth missing 1659 deaths Serjeants-at-law (England) Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales English MPs 1621–1622 Oxford Parliaments Speakers of the House of Commons of England Knights Bachelor Members of the Parliament of England for Beaumaris