Matthew Cradock (1584–1636) was an English wool merchant and politician [1] who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1629.
Cradock was the son of George Cradock of Stafford.[2] He was the first mayor Stafford in 1614.[3] In 1615 he purchased the neglected Caverswall Castle. He built a mansion house retaining the old castle walls, to a design, it is said, of Robert Smythson or John Smythson. The three storey house has five bays each with stone mullioned and transomed windows. There is a castellated parapet and an entrance porch.[4]
In 1621, Cradock was elected Member of Parliament for Stafford. He was re-elected MP for Stafford in 1624 and 1625. He was elected MP for Stafford again in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles dispensed with parliament for eleven years.[5]
Cradock died in 1636 and was buried in the church of St Peter at Caverswall.[6]
Cradock married Elizabeth Fowler daughter of Richard Fowler of Harnedge Grange, Shropshire on 28 April 1612. They had a daughter Mary and a son George, who entered the Inner Temple in 1632, and died in 1643.[6] Cradock was said to be cousin of Matthew Cradock, a financial supporter of the Puritan migration.
References edit
- ^ The History of Parliament Trust, CRADOCK, Matthew (1584-1636), of Stafford and Caverswall Castle, Staffs retrieved December 2017
- ^ 'Castle Church', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 5: East Cuttlestone hundred (1959), pp. 82-100. Date accessed: 25 February 2012
- ^ Stafford Borough Council - In Touch with the Past
- ^ Heritage Gateway, architectural description of listed building - Caverswall Castle
- ^ Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. pp. 176–239.
- ^ a b Caverswall St Peter's Archived 20 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine