Heneage Finch (speaker)

Sir Heneage Finch
Sir Heneage Finch
	Finch wearing the scarlet robes of a serjeant-at-law.
Speaker of the English House of Commons
	In office; 1625–1626
Preceded by	Sir Thomas Crewe
Succeeded by	Sir John Finch
Member of Parliamentfor theCity of London
	In office; 1624–1626 Serving withSir Thomas Myddelton; Sir Robert Bateman
Preceded by	Robert Heath
Succeeded by	Christopher Clitherow
Member of ParliamentforWest Looe
	In office; 1621–1621 Serving withChristopher Harris
Preceded by	John Harris; Sir Edward Lewkenor
Succeeded by	George Mynn; James Bagg
Member of ParliamentforRye
	In office; 1610–1614 Serving withJohn Young
Preceded by	Thomas Hamon
Succeeded by	Edward Hendon
Personal details
Born	Heneage Finch; 15 December 1580
Died	5 December 1631(aged 50)
Spouses	; Frances Bell; (died 1627) ; Elizabeth Cardock Bennett; (m.1629)
Relations	Sir Thomas Finch(grandfather); Sir Thomas Heneage(grandfather)
Children	Earl of Nottingham,Viscountess Conway
Parent(s)	Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet; Elizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilsea
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

Arms of Finch:*Argent, a chevron between three griffins passant sable*

Sir Heneage Finch(15 December 1580 – 5 December 1631) was anEnglish lawyer,Member of Parliament, and politician who sat in theHouse of Commonsat various times between 1607 and 1626. He wasSpeaker of the English House of Commonsin 1626.

Early life

Finch was born on 15 December 1580 at The Moat, his father's house nearCanterbury.He was the fifth of seven sons ofSir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet(c. 1550–1614) and the formerElizabeth Heneage(1556–1634).^[1]Among his siblings wereTheophilus,ThomasandFrancis Finch.His sisterAnnewas a noted writer who marriedSir William Twysdenand his sister Catherine marriedSir John Wentworth, 1st BaronetofGosfield.^[2]

He was the second to be named after his maternal grandfather, and godparent,Sir Thomas Heneage,theChancellor of the Duchy of LancasterandVice-Chamberlain of the Household.His paternal grandfather wasSir Thomas Finch,the prominent military commander.^[3]

After his father's death in 1614, his mother, Lady Finch, was elevated to the peerage in her own right asViscountess Winchilseain 1623 and was further honoured when she was madeCountess of Winchilseain 1628. His mother died in 1634 and was succeeded by his elder brotherThomas,who had already succeeded their eldest brother Theophilus in the baronetcy.^[2]

He matriculated intoTrinity College, Cambridgein about 1592, along with his elder brother Thomas, and was awarded B.A. in 1596.^[4]

Career

He was admitted atInner Templein 1597 and called to the bar in 1606.^[5]In December 1607, Finch was elected aMember of ParliamentforRyein a by-election following the death of sitting Member, Thomas Hamon.^[3]His return was secured by his brother-in-law (Sir William Twysden), who used his influence to obtain a letter of recommendation fromHenry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton.Parliament was in recess, however, so Finch was unable to take his seat until February 1610. He was not returned to Parliament and in 1614 was replaced by Edward Hendon.^[4]

After he left Parliament, Finch entered the service ofPrince Charles.Through Charles, Finch was nominated by theduchy of Cornwallfor a parliamentary seat atHelstonin December 1620.William Noyobtained the seat, however, the duchy found him an alternative place as MP forWest Looe.^[4]A few weeks after Parliament began in 1621, Finch also succeeded asRecorder of Londonfollowing the death ofRobert Shute.He held this post until his death in 1631.^[3]

Between 1621 and 1624 Parliaments, Finch's legal career prospered. After serving as summer reader at the Inner Temple in 1622, he was knighted and made a serjeant. He was knighted on 22 June 1623 and becamesergeant-at-law.^[5]

As Recorder of London, he enjoyed an almost automatic right to represent the City and was not dependent upon the duchy of Cornwall for a seat in Parliament. Therefore, he was elected forCity of Londonin 1624, serving until the formal dissolution of Parliament.^[4]AfterCharles Ibecame King, he was re-elected MP for the City of London in 1625 and in 1626 and was chosen to serve as Speaker of the House for his last term in 1626.^[5]

Personal life

Finch was twice married. Finch was first married to Frances Bell (d. 1627) sometime after 1607. Frances was a daughter ofSir Edmond BellofBeaupre Hall,Norfolk.^[6]Together, they were the parents of three sons and one daughter, including:^[4]

Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham(1620–1682), who married Elizabeth Harvey, a niece of Dr.William Harvey.^[7]
Francis Finch (1623–1679), who married the widowed Elizabeth Parkhurst, daughter ofSir Robert Parkhurst.^[7]
Elizabeth Finch (b. 1625), who married Edward Maddison (1594–1672), a son of Sir Ralph Maddison.^[8]
John Finch (b. 1627)^[9]

On 16 April 1629, Sir Heneage was married to Elizabeth (néeCradock) Bennett (d. 1661). Elizabeth, a daughter of William Cradock, was the widow of Richard Bennett (d. 1628), a wealthy London merchant.^[9]Together, Lady Finch and Sir Heneage were the parents of several children, including:^[4]

Frances Finch (b. 1630), who marriedSir Clifford Clifton MP.^[7]^[10]
Anne Finch(1631–1679), aphilosopherin the tradition of theCambridge Platonistsand an influence onLeibnizwho marriedEdward Conway, Viscount Conway(later 1stEarl of Conway).^[9]

After a lengthy illness, Sir Heneage died on 5 December 1631, at the age of 51, and was buried atRavenstone, Buckinghamshire.^[5]His widow died in 1661.^[11]

References

^George E. CokayneComplete Baronetage, Vol. 1(1900)
^^a ^b"Winchilsea, Earl of (E, 1628)".cracroftspeerage.co.uk.Heraldic Media Limited.Retrieved31 January2020.
^^a ^b ^cThrush, Andrew (2004). "Finch, Sir Heneage (1580–1631), speaker of the House of Commons".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9432.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f"FINCH, Heneage (1580-1631), of St. Bartholomew's and the Inner Temple, London; later of Kensington House, Kensington, Mdx. and Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street, London".histparl.ac.uk.The History of Parliament.Retrieved31 January2020.
^^a ^b ^c ^d"Finch, Heneage (FNC592H)".A Cambridge Alumni Database.University of Cambridge.
^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Finch, Heneage".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 824.
^^a ^b ^cPeck, Linda Levy (2018).Women of Fortune: Money, Marriage, and Murder in Early Modern England.Cambridge University Press.pp. 92, 300.ISBN 978-1-107-03402-0.Retrieved31 January2020.
^Collins (Genealogist), Arthur (1768).The Peerage of England... The third edition, corrected and enlarged in every family, with memoirs, not hitherto printed.H. Woodfall. p. 236.Retrieved31 January2020.
^^a ^b ^cHutton, Sarah (2004).Anne Conway: A Woman Philosopher.Cambridge University Press.p. 14.ISBN 978-1-139-45605-0.Retrieved31 January2020.
^Todd, Janet (2018).The Works of Aphra Behn: v. 1: Poetry.Routledge. p. 582.ISBN 978-1-351-25946-0.Retrieved31 January2020.
^Debrett, John (1819).The Baronetage of England: containing their descent and present state; their collateral branches, births, marriages and issues, from the institution of the order, in 1611; a complete and Alpha betical arrangement of their mottos, with correct translations; a list of extinct baronets, and of those who have been advanced to the peerage; a list of persons who have received the honour of knighthood, and of British subjects possessing foreign orders of knighthood.F.C. and J. Rivington. p. 11.Retrieved31 January2020.

External links

Heneage Finch, Speaker in First Parliament of Charles I,byJohn Hoskins,c. 1625-1630.
Sir Heneage Finch (1580-1631), Speaker of the House of Commonsat theNational Portrait Gallery, London.
Hutchinson, John (1892)."Sir Heneage Finch".Men of Kent and Kentishmen(Subscription ed.). Canterbury: Cross & Jackman. p. 45.

Parliament of England
Preceded by John Harris Sir Edward Lewkenor	Member of ParliamentforWest Looe 1621 With:Christopher Harris	Succeeded by George Mynn James Bagg
Political offices
Preceded by Robert Shute	Recorder of London 1621-1631	Succeeded by Edward Littleton
Preceded by Sir Thomas Crewe	Speaker of the House of Commons 1625-1626	Succeeded by Sir John Finch

[Cockayne-1] George E. CokayneComplete Baronetage, Vol. 1(1900)

[EarlWinchilsea-2] "Winchilsea, Earl of (E, 1628)".cracroftspeerage.co.uk.Heraldic Media Limited.Retrieved31 January2020.

[oxforddnb-3] Thrush, Andrew (2004). "Finch, Sir Heneage (1580–1631), speaker of the House of Commons".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9432.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)

[histparl-4] "FINCH, Heneage (1580-1631), of St. Bartholomew's and the Inner Temple, London; later of Kensington House, Kensington, Mdx. and Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street, London".histparl.ac.uk.The History of Parliament.Retrieved31 January2020.

[Venn-5] "Finch, Heneage (FNC592H)".A Cambridge Alumni Database.University of Cambridge.

[6] Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Finch, Heneage".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 824.

[Peck2018-7] Peck, Linda Levy (2018).Women of Fortune: Money, Marriage, and Murder in Early Modern England.Cambridge University Press.pp. 92, 300.ISBN 978-1-107-03402-0.Retrieved31 January2020.

[Collins1768-8] Collins (Genealogist), Arthur (1768).The Peerage of England... The third edition, corrected and enlarged in every family, with memoirs, not hitherto printed.H. Woodfall. p. 236.Retrieved31 January2020.

[Hutton2004-9] Hutton, Sarah (2004).Anne Conway: A Woman Philosopher.Cambridge University Press.p. 14.ISBN 978-1-139-45605-0.Retrieved31 January2020.

[Todd2018-10] Todd, Janet (2018).The Works of Aphra Behn: v. 1: Poetry.Routledge. p. 582.ISBN 978-1-351-25946-0.Retrieved31 January2020.

[Debrett1819-11] Debrett, John (1819).The Baronetage of England: containing their descent and present state; their collateral branches, births, marriages and issues, from the institution of the order, in 1611; a complete and Alpha betical arrangement of their mottos, with correct translations; a list of extinct baronets, and of those who have been advanced to the peerage; a list of persons who have received the honour of knighthood, and of British subjects possessing foreign orders of knighthood.F.C. and J. Rivington. p. 11.Retrieved31 January2020.

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