Francis Godolphin of Godolphin

Francis Godolphin of Godolphin (1605-1667)

Sir Francis Godolphin of Godolphin (* 1605 ; † March 22, 1667 ) was an English aristocrat and royalist during the reign of Charles I of England .

Life

Francis Godolphin of Godolphin was the first son of Sir William Godolphin of Godolphin (1567-1613) and came from an old family from the county of Cornwall , whose family seat, the Godolphin House was near Helston in the former Kerrier district . The family Godolphin , whose wealth stemmed from the tin mining was their lineage to the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066 by William I. traced. He had two younger brothers, Sidney Godolphin (1610-1643) and William Godolphin (1611-1636).

In the House of Commons he represented the constituency of Helston from 1625 to 1626 and in the Long Parliament from 1640. He was well acquainted with Thomas Hobbes , who addressed the foreword to his state-theoretical work Leviathan directly to him. In the English Civil War he fought on the side of the royalist troops for Charles I of England . After his brother Sidney was killed in fighting in Devon in 1643, he succeeded him as Governor of the Isles of Scilly and helped defend the Isles against the MPs. After the king's capture, he negotiated an honorable surrender for the Isles of Scilly.

In the period of the Stuart Restoration from 1660 he was elected again for Helston in parliament . On the occasion of the coronation of Charles II of England he was made Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath and was allowed to prefix his name with a Sir .

He had a total of 13 children with Dorothy Berkley, whom he married in 1634. His son Sidney Godolphin later became the 1st Earl of Godolphin and was Lord High Treasurer several times . Francis Godolphin of Godolphin died in 1667 at the age of 61.

Web links

Commons : Sir Francis Godolphin of Godolphin  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Sir Francis Godolphin, on thepeerage.com , accessed August 18, 2015.