Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
soldier, courtier and Whig politician.
Background
Born at WroxeterWroxeter
Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington and is located in the Severn Valley about south-east of Shrewsbury.-History:...
, he was the eldest son of Richard Newport, 1st Baron Newport
Richard Newport, 1st Baron Newport
Richard Newport, 1st Baron Newport was an English peer, politician and royalist.He was the son of Sir Francis Newport and his wife Beatrix Lacon, daughter of Rowland Lacon. Newport was educated in Brasenose College, Oxford from 1604 to 1607 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts...
and his wife Rachael Leveson, daughter of Sir John Leveson. His younger brother was Andrew Newport
Andrew Newport
Andrew Newport JP , styled The Honourable from 1642, was an English Tory politician, courtier and royalist.-Background:...
. In 1651, he succeeded his father as baron. Newport was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
.
Career
He represented ShrewsburyShrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Shrewsbury was a parliamentary constituency in England, centred on the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.It was founded in 1290 as parliamentary borough, returning two members to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the...
in both the Short Parliament
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
and Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
. A royalist during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, he fought 1644 in the Battle of Oswestry on the side of King Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
and was then imprisoned. After the restoration in 1660, Newport became Custos Rotulorum of Shropshire
Custos Rotulorum of Shropshire
This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Shropshire.* Thomas Holte bef. 1544–1546* Sir Thomas Bromley 1546–1555* Humphrey Onslow bef. 1562 – aft. 1564* George Bromley bef. 1573–1589* Sir George Mainwaring bef...
, fulfilling this office for his lifetime. In the same year, he had been appointed also Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire
Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Shropshire was always held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, but after the Restoration, its lieutenants were appointed separately...
, however on command of King James II of England was replaced by George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, PC , also known as "The Hanging Judge", was an English judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor .- Early years and education :Jeffreys was born at the family estate of Acton Hall, near Wrexham,...
in 1687. After whose death and the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
in 1689, Newport was returned to this position until 1704.
Newport was Comptroller of the Household
Comptroller of the Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...
between 1668 and 1672. Subsequently he was appointed Treasurer of the Household
Treasurer of the Household
The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...
, a post he held a first time until 1686, and three years later again until his death in 1708. Newport was also Cofferer of the Household
Cofferer of the Household
The Cofferer of the Household was formerly an office in the English and British Royal Household.The holder had special charge over other officers of the household and was an officer of state and a member of the Privy Council and the Board of Green Cloth....
from 1691 until 1702, when it became vacant on the death of King William III of England
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. In 1668, he was sworn of the Privy Council of England
Privy Council of England
The Privy Council of England, also known as His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England...
. Newport was expelled for his opposition to the government in 1679, however was readmitted in 1689. On 11 March 1675, he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Newport, of Bradford, in the County of Shropshire, and on 11 May 1694, he was further honoured when he was created Earl of Bradford.
Family and death
On 28 April 1642, Newport married Lady Diana Russell, fourth daughter of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of BedfordFrancis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford
Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford PC was an English politician. About 1631 he built the square of Covent Garden, with the piazza and church of St. Paul's, employing Inigo Jones as his architect...
at St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, is a church in the London Borough of Camden, in the West End. It is close to the Centre Point office tower and the Tottenham Court Road tube station. The church is part of the Diocese of London within the Church of England...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and had by her five daughters and four sons. Newport died aged 88 in Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
and on his deathbead, he wailed in anguish:
Oh, that I could lie for a thousand years upon the fire that is never quenched, to purchase the favor of God and be united to Him again. But it is a fruitless wish. Millions and millions of years will bring me no nearer the end of my torments than one poor hour. Oh, eternity, eternity forever and forever! Oh, the insufferable pangs of Hell!
He was buried in St Andrew's Church, Wroxeter
St Andrew's Church, Wroxeter
St Andrew's Church, Wroxeter, is a redundant Church of England parish church in the village of Wroxeter, Shropshire, England . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust...
, two weeks later and was succeeded in his titles by his oldest son Richard
Richard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford
Richard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford PC , styled The Honourable from 1651 to 1694 and subsequently Viscount Newport until 1708, was an English peer and Whig politician.-Background:...
. His younger son Thomas
Thomas Newport, 1st Baron Torrington
Thomas Newport, 1st Baron Torrington PC , styled The Honourable from 1675 until 1716, was an English peer, barrister and Whig politician.-Background:...
was raised to the Peerage of England
Peerage of England
The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain....
in his own right.