Edward Bysshe
Encyclopedia
Sir Edward Bysshe FRS (1615?–1679) was an English barrister, politician and officer of arms
. He sat in the House of Commons
variously between 1640 and 1679 and was Garter King of Arms during the Commonwealth period.
, Surrey
, the eldest son of Edward Bysshe a barrister of Lincoln's Inn
, and his wife Mary Turnor, daughter of John Turnor of Ham, Bletchingley
Surrey. His ancestors were lords of the manors of Burstow and Horne, and some of them owners also of the manor of Bysshe, or Bysshe Court, in Surrey. In 1633 he became a commoner of Trinity College, Oxford
, but before he took a degree he entered Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar.
Bysshe was elected Member of Parliament
(M.P.) for Bletchingley
to the Short Parliament
which met at Westminster in April 1640 and to the Long Parliament
which met on 3 November 1640. He took the covenant
. In about 1643 he was made Garter King of Arms in the place of Sir John Borough, who had followed King Charles I to Oxford. On 20 October 1646 votes were passed in the House of Commons that Bysshe should be Garter King of Arms, and likewise Clarenceux King of Arms
, that William Ryley should be Norroy King of Arms, and that a committee should be appointed to regulate their fees. In 1654 Bysshe was chosen burgess MP for Reigate
, Surrey, to serve in First Protectorate Parliament
which met at Westminster on 3 September 1654. He was returned as member for Gatton
Sussex to the Third Protectorate Parliament
which assembled on 27 January 1659.
After the Restoration
he was required to leave the office of Garter in favour of Sir Edward Walker, but he obtained a patent dated 10 March 1661 for the office of Clarenceux King of Arms. The latter office was void by the lunacy of Sir William Le Neve, and was given to Bysshe because he had preserved the library of the College of Arms
during the Interregnum. The appointment was made in spite of Walker, who alleged that Bysshe had not only usurped, but maladministered the office of Garter, and that if he were created Clarenceux it would be in his power to confirm the grants of arms previously made by him.
Bysshe was knighted on 20 April 1661, and he was elected M.P. for Bletchingley to the Cavalier Parliament
which met at Westminster on 8 May. During that parliament, which lasted seventeen years, he is said to have become a pensioner, and to have received £100 every session. Anthony Wood
speaks very harshly of Bysshe. In June, 1663 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Byshhe died in the parish of St. Paul, Covent Garden, at the age of 64. He was buried in the church of St. Olave, Jewry.
Bysshe married Margaret Green, daughter of John Green of Boyshall, Essex
, serjeant-at-law. She survived him.
At one time he contemplated writing the ‘Survey or Antiquities of the County of Surrey,’ but the work never appeared. He treated heraldry as an antiquary and historian.
Officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...
. He sat in the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
variously between 1640 and 1679 and was Garter King of Arms during the Commonwealth period.
Life
Bysshe was born at Smallfield, BurstowBurstow
Burstow is a parish in Tandridge, Surrey, England. It is one of the largest parishes in the local government district of Tandridge and its principal settlement is the village of Smallfield...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, the eldest son of Edward Bysshe a barrister of Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, and his wife Mary Turnor, daughter of John Turnor of Ham, Bletchingley
Bletchingley
Bletchingley is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone.-History:The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....
Surrey. His ancestors were lords of the manors of Burstow and Horne, and some of them owners also of the manor of Bysshe, or Bysshe Court, in Surrey. In 1633 he became a commoner of Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, but before he took a degree he entered Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar.
Bysshe was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(M.P.) for Bletchingley
Bletchingley (UK Parliament constituency)
Bletchingley was a parliamentary borough in Surrey. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1295 to 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1832, when the constituency was...
to the Short Parliament
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
which met at Westminster in April 1640 and to the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
which met on 3 November 1640. He took the covenant
Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....
. In about 1643 he was made Garter King of Arms in the place of Sir John Borough, who had followed King Charles I to Oxford. On 20 October 1646 votes were passed in the House of Commons that Bysshe should be Garter King of Arms, and likewise Clarenceux King of Arms
Clarenceux King of Arms
Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial kings of arms and his jurisdiction is that part of England south of the River Trent. The office almost certainly existed in 1420, and there is a fair degree of...
, that William Ryley should be Norroy King of Arms, and that a committee should be appointed to regulate their fees. In 1654 Bysshe was chosen burgess MP for Reigate
Reigate (UK Parliament constituency)
Reigate is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, Surrey, to serve in First Protectorate Parliament
First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....
which met at Westminster on 3 September 1654. He was returned as member for Gatton
Gatton (UK Parliament constituency)
Gatton was a parliamentary borough in Surrey, one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1450 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act...
Sussex to the Third Protectorate Parliament
Third Protectorate Parliament
The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons...
which assembled on 27 January 1659.
After the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
he was required to leave the office of Garter in favour of Sir Edward Walker, but he obtained a patent dated 10 March 1661 for the office of Clarenceux King of Arms. The latter office was void by the lunacy of Sir William Le Neve, and was given to Bysshe because he had preserved the library of the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
during the Interregnum. The appointment was made in spite of Walker, who alleged that Bysshe had not only usurped, but maladministered the office of Garter, and that if he were created Clarenceux it would be in his power to confirm the grants of arms previously made by him.
Bysshe was knighted on 20 April 1661, and he was elected M.P. for Bletchingley to the Cavalier Parliament
Cavalier Parliament
The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter century reign of Charles II of England...
which met at Westminster on 8 May. During that parliament, which lasted seventeen years, he is said to have become a pensioner, and to have received £100 every session. Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood
Anthony Wood or Anthony à Wood was an English antiquary.-Early life:Anthony Wood was the fourth son of Thomas Wood , BCL of Oxford, where Anthony was born...
speaks very harshly of Bysshe. In June, 1663 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Byshhe died in the parish of St. Paul, Covent Garden, at the age of 64. He was buried in the church of St. Olave, Jewry.
Bysshe married Margaret Green, daughter of John Green of Boyshall, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, serjeant-at-law. She survived him.
Works
Bysshe edited:- ‘Nicolai Vptoni de Studio Militari Libri Quatuor. Iohan. de Bado Aureo Tractatus de Armis. Henrici Spelmanni Aspilogia. Edoardus Bissæus e Codicibus MSS. primus publici juris fecit, notisque illustravit,’ Lond. 1654. An edition of Nicholas UptonNicholas UptonNicholas Upton , was an English cleric, precentor of Salisbury, and writer on heraldry and the art of war.-Life:He is said to have been the second son of John Upton of Portlinch, Devon, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Barley of Chencombe in the same county...
, dedicated to John SeldenJohn SeldenJohn Selden was an English jurist and a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law...
. The notes, originally written in English by Bysshe, were translated into Latin by David Whitford, an ejected student of Christ Church, Oxford. - ‘Palladius, de Gentibus Indiæ et Bragmanibus. S. Ambrosius, de Moribus Brachmanorum. Anonymus, de Bragmanibus,’ Lond. 1665. In Greek and Latin. Dedicated to Lord Clarendon.
At one time he contemplated writing the ‘Survey or Antiquities of the County of Surrey,’ but the work never appeared. He treated heraldry as an antiquary and historian.