Sir John Strangways was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

  variously between 1614 and 1666. He supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

Strangways was a member of the Strangways family of Melbury

Melbury House

Melbury House in Melbury Sampford near Evershot, Dorset, has been the seat of the Strangways family of Dorset since the estate was sold in 1500 by William Bruning to Henry Strangways. The present house was rebuilt after 1546 by his son, Sir Giles Strangways , using ham stone from a quarry nine...

 in Somerset. In 1614 he was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Dorset

Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)

Dorset was a county constituency covering Dorset in southern England, which elected two Members of Parliament , traditionally known as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of England from 1290 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of...

. He was re-elected MP for Dorset in 1621 and 1624. In 1625 he was elected MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis (UK Parliament constituency)

Weymouth and Melcombe Regis was a parliamentary borough in Dorset represented in the English House of Commons, later in that of Great Britain, and finally in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was formed by an Act of Parliament of 1570 which amalgamated the existing boroughs of Weymouth and...

 and was re-elected MP for Weymouth in 1626. He was elected MP for Dorset again in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.

In April 1640, Strangways was re-elected MP for Weymouth in 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 was re-elected for the 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...

 in November 1640. He supported the King's cause with great vigour and was disabled form sitting in parliament in September 1642. In 1645 he was captured at Sherborne Castle

Sherborne Castle

Sherborne Castle is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne in Dorset, England. The park formed only a small part of the Digby estate.-Old castle:Sherborne Old Castle is the ruin of a 12th-century castle in the grounds of the mansion...

 and was committed to the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

. He was allowed to compound for his liberty, and offered £7000 which was refused. In 1648 he was released from imprisonment and his son Giles

Giles Strangways

Giles Strangways was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1675. He fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War...

 remained as an hostage until his fine was paid.

In 1661 Strangways was elected MP for Weymouth for the Cavalier Parliament

Cavalier Parliament

The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter century reign of Charles II of England...

remaining until his death in 1666.

Strangways died at the age of 81.