Christopher Harris (died 1623)

Last updated March 20, 2019

Arms of Harris of Lanrest: Sable, three crescents argent a bordure of the last. These are the arms of Harris of Radford differenced by a bordure argent HarrisArms.png — Arms of Harris of Lanrest: *Sable, three crescents argent a bordure of the last*. These are the arms of Harris of Radford differenced by a *bordure argent*

Christopher Harris (1590–November 1623) of Lanrest in the parish of Liskeard in Cornwall, was a Member of Parliament for West Looe in Cornwall (1621). He should not be confused with his great-uncle Christopher Harris (c.1553-1625) of Radford in the parish of Plymstock in Devon, MP for Plymouth in 1584, whose heir apparent he was.

Liskeard is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

West Looe, often spelt Westlow or alternative Westlowe, was a rotten borough represented in the House of Commons of England from 1535 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It elected two Members of Parliament (MP) by the bloc vote system of election. It was disfranchised in the Reform Act 1832.

Sir Christopher Harris of Radford in the parish of Plymstock in Devon, was a Member of Parliament for Plymouth in Devon in 1584. He was knighted in 1607. He should not be confused with his great-nephew and heir apparent Christopher Harris (d.1623) of Lanrest in the parish of Liskeard in Cornwall, a Member of Parliament for West Looe in Cornwall (1621).

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of John Harris (1564- June 1623) of Lanrest, Recorder of the Borough of West Looe in Cornwall and MP for West Looe in Cornwall in 1614,^[2] by his wife Joane Harte, daughter and sole heiress of Robert Harte of Plimston in the parish of Stoke Climsland in Cornwall.^[3]

Stoke Climsland is a village in the valley of the River Tamar, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom within the civil parish of Stokeclimsland. The population of the parish including Luckett at the 2011 census was 1,703. An electoral ward in the same name also exists. At the same census the population was 3,703.

Career

He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 15 November 1605, aged 15 and was awarded BA on 7 July 1608 and MA on 2 July 1611. He was a law student at Lincoln's Inn in 1611. In 1621 he was elected Member of Parliament for West Looe ^[4] in Cornwall.

Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University.

The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. Lincoln's Inn is recognised to be one of the world's most prestigious professional bodies of judges and lawyers.

Marriage

He married Gertrude Grenville, a daughter of Sir Bernard Grenville (1567-1636), MP, lord of the manors of Bideford in Devon and of Stowe in the parish of Kilkhampton, Cornwall. The marriage was without progeny.

Sir Bernard Grenville (1567–1636) was an English politician.

Lord of the manor title from the feudal system of manorialism

In English and Irish history, the lordship of a manor is a lordship emanating from the feudal system of manorialism. In modern England and Wales, it is recognised as a form of property, one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined, and may be held in moieties:

the title ;
the manorial, comprising the manor and/or its land; and
the seignory, rights granted to the titular holder of the manor.

Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.

Death, burial & succession

Harris died at the age of 33 and was buried at Plymstock on 27 November 1623.^[4] He was succeeded by his younger brother John Harris (c.1596-1648), four times elected MP for Liskeard, who also inherited the estates of their great-uncle Sir Christopher Harris (c.1553-1625), MP for Plymouth in 1584,^[5] of Radford in the parish of Plymstock in Devon.^[6]

John Harris (1596–1648) of Lanrest in Cornwall and of Radford in the parish of Plymstock in Devon, was an English gentleman who was elected four times as a Member of Parliament for Liskeard in Cornwall, between 1628 and 1644. He supported the Royalist side in the Civil War.

Plymouth was a parliamentary borough in Devon, which elected two members of parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in 1298 and again from 1442 until 1918, when the borough was merged with the neighbouring Devonport and the combined area divided into three single-member constituencies.

Radford in the parish of Plymstock in Devon is an historic manor, the oldest recorded seat of the prominent Harris family. It is today a low-cost housing suburb of the City of Plymouth. The 16th century manor house of the Harris family was remodelled in the 18th century and was demolished in 1937. However, various traces of the estate remain, including most notably the deerpark, now a public amenity known as Radford Park, with its large lake, an early 19th century gate-lodge at the entrance drive to the former mansion house, with gatepiers, on Radford Park Road, a bridge and boathouse with follies of a sham castle and another sham-ruin.

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References

↑ It is assumed by Gilbert (Gilbert, Charles Sandoe, An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall, Volume 2, Part 1, p.136 & footnote) that the family of Harris of Lanrest was a junior branch of Harris of Radford, whose heirs they became. Harris of Lanrest was not a family long-established in Cornwall and no ancestry is recorded in the Heraldic Visitations of Cornwall.Gilbert states that Harris of Lanrest bore the same differenced arms as Harris of Hayne, i.e. with bordure argent, until they inherited Radford, when they adopted the undifferenced arms of the senior line
↑ History of Parliament biography
↑ Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.447,pedigree of "Harris of Radford"
1 2 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Harmar-Hawtayne', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 652-678. Date accessed: 19 November 2011
↑ Vivian, p.447
↑ Vivian, p.448

Parliament of England
Preceded by John Harris Sir Edward Lewkenor	Member of Parliament for West Looe 1621 With: Heneage Finch	Succeeded by George Mynn James Bagg

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[1] It is assumed by Gilbert (Gilbert, Charles Sandoe, An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall, Volume 2, Part 1, p.136 & footnote) that the family of Harris of Lanrest was a junior branch of Harris of Radford, whose heirs they became. Harris of Lanrest was not a family long-established in Cornwall and no ancestry is recorded in the Heraldic Visitations of Cornwall.Gilbert states that Harris of Lanrest bore the same differenced arms as Harris of Hayne, i.e. with bordure argent, until they inherited Radford, when they adopted the undifferenced arms of the senior line

[2] History of Parliament biography

[3] Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.447,pedigree of "Harris of Radford"

[Alumni-4] 1 2 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Harmar-Hawtayne', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 652-678. Date accessed: 19 November 2011

[5] Vivian, p.447

[6] Vivian, p.448