Michael Oldisworth 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 1624 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentary 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...

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Oldisworth was the son of Arnold Oldsworth

Arnold Oldsworth

Arnold Oldsworth was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1593 and 1611.Oldsworth was the eldest son of Edward Oldsworth and his wife Tacy Porter, daughter of Arthur Porter. He was educated under Alexander Nowell, dean of St. Paul’s and...

 and his wife Lucy Barty daughter of Francis Barty of Antwerp. He was a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...

 and became secretary to the 3rd

William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke

William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...

 and 4th

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery KG was an English courtier and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I...

 Earls of Pembroke. He entered parliament in the interest of the Earls.

In 1624 Oldisworth became 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 Old Sarum

Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)

Old Sarum was the most infamous of the so-called 'rotten boroughs', a parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which was effectively controlled by a single person, until it was abolished under the Reform Act 1832. The constituency was the site of what had been...

 after Sir Arthur Ingram

Arthur Ingram

Sir Arthur Ingram was an English investor, landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1624 and 1642. Responsible for the construction, purchase and sale of many manor houses and estates in Yorkshire, the Ingram family are most associated with Temple Newsam which became the...

 chose to sit for York instead. He was re-elected MP for Old Sarum in 1625, 1626 and 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.

In April 1640, Oldsiworth was elected MP for Salisbury

Salisbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Salisbury is a county constituency centred on the city of Salisbury in Wiltshire. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system....

 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....

. In November 1640 he was returned as MP for Salisbury and Plympton Erle

Plympton Erle (UK Parliament constituency)

Plympton Erle, also spelt Plympton Earle, was a parliamentary borough in Devon. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-1295-1640:-1640-1832:...

 and chose to sit for Salisbury. His patron was a puritan and had broken with the King, and Oldisworth continued to support the parliamentarian cause. He was appointed keeper of Windsor Great Park

Windsor Great Park

Windsor Great Park is a large deer park of , to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century...

 in 1650 and master of the prerogative office. He was satirised by royalist pamphleteers and praised by Herrick.

Oldisworth married Jane Thomas, widow of William Thomas and daughter of Sir John Stradling, 1st Baronet

Sir John Stradling, 1st Baronet

Sir John Stradling, 1st Baronet , was a British politician.He was born the son of Francis Stradling of St. George, Bristol and adopted by a relative, Sir Edward Stradling. He inherited the family estate at St Donat's on the death of Sir Edward in 1609.Educated at Oxford , he was Sheriff of...

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