Sir John Leigh was an English politician who 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...

 at various times between 1640 and 1660.

Leigh was the eldest son of Barnaby Leigh of Northcourt and his first wife Elizabeth Bampfield, daughter Hugh Bampfield of North Cadbury, Somerset. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

 on 25 October 1616, aged 18. He was knighted at Bewley or Southwick on 1 September 1628.

In 1640, Leigh 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,...

 for Yarmouth (Isle of Wight)

Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)

Yarmouth was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

 in 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...

. He was a colonel of the militia for the Isle of Wight, which was unaffected by the Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, from 1642 to 1647 and a Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 in 1643. He was a commissioner for sequestrations for Hampshire and a commissioner for levying money in 1643. He was a commissioner for assessment for the Isle of Wight from 1647 to 1648. He did not sit in parliament after Pride's Purge

Pride's Purge

Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...

 in 1648. He was commissioner for assessment for Hampshire in 1648, 1652, 1657 and 1660 and a JP

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for Hampshire.

In April 1660, Leigh was re-elected MP for Yarmouth for the Convention Parliament. He was commissioner for assessment for the Isle of Wight from 1664 until his death which probably occurred in 1666.

Leigh married Anne Bulkeley, daughter of William Bulkeley of Nether Burgate, Fordingbridge, Hanmpshire and had two sons and three daughters.