Henry Champernown

Coat of arms of the Champernown family

Henry Champernown (also Champernowne ) (* around 1538, † May 28, 1570 ) was an English adventurer and politician who was once elected as a member of the House of Commons .

Origin and youth

Henry Champernown was the eldest son of John Champernown and his wife Katherine Blount, daughter of William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy . His father died in 1541 when he was on the way from Turkey to Vienna with Peter Carew . After the death of his grandfather Philip Champernowne in 1545, young Henry inherited his estates near Modbury in Devon , which were administered by his uncle Arthur Champernowne when he was a minor . In 1551 he studied at Pembroke College , Cambridge .

Activity as a politician and military

From about 1561 Champernown was Justice of the Peace in Devon, and in 1563 he represented the Borough of Plymouth in the House of Commons. He certainly owed his choice to the influence of his uncle Arthur Champernowne. However, Champernown was less a politician than a soldier. There is no evidence of his activity in the House of Commons. Instead, he took part in the Turkish War in Hungary and in 1567 informed Minister Cecil with a report on the political situation on mainland Europe. In September 1568 he was in England again before he left for France as a volunteer to support the Huguenots in the Third Huguenot War. From France he again sent reports to Cecil and the Earl of Leicester in November . Appreciated by Huguenot leaders like Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery , he was killed in battle in France in May 1570. In June 1570 , Queen Joan of Navarre , who was inclined to the Huguenots, asked Queen Elizabeth I of England to support his widow and children.

Family and offspring

Champernown had married Catherine, a daughter of Sir Richard Edgcumbe . With her he had two sons and four daughters, including his son Richard (1558-1622), who became his heir. Until Richard came of age, Arthur Champernowne again took over the administration of his possessions, which he had exercised since Henry left for France.

Web links

• PW Hasler: CHAMPERNOWN, Henry (c.1538-70), of Modbury, Devon. (History of Parliament Online, Ref Volumes: 1558–1603)