John Swinfen was an English politician who sat in the
House of CommonsThe 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 1645 and 1691. He supported the Parliamentary cause in a civil capacity in the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
Swinford was probably the son of Richard Swinfen, of
SwinfenSwinfen is a small community about two miles south of Lichfield in the civil parish of Swinfen and Packington, Staffordshire.Swinfen is referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086 when the Manor was held by the Bishop of Lichfield....
, Staffordshire. He was educated at
Pembroke College, CambridgePembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
and graduated BA in 1632. In 1645, Swinfen was elected
Member of ParliamentA 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
StaffordStafford is a county 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. The sitting MP is the Conservative Jeremy Lefroy....
in the Long Parliament. He was excluded in
Pride's PurgePride’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 one of the Parliamentary Commissioners for Staffordshire.
In 1659, Swinfen was elected MP for
TamworthTamworth is a parliamentary 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.- History :...
in the
Third Protectorate ParliamentThe 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...
. He was elected MP for Stafford in 1660 in the Convention Parliament. In 1661 he was elected MP for Tamworth for the
Cavalier ParliamentThe 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...
and sat until 1679. He was re-elected MP for Tamworth in 1681 and sat until 1685. In 1690, he was elected MP for
Bere AlstonBere Alston or Beeralston was a parliamentary borough in Devon, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1584 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act as a rotten borough.-History:...
and sat until 1691.
Swinfen lived at
Swinfen HallSwinfen Hall is an 18th century country mansion house, now converted into an hotel, situated at Swinfen, in the Lichfield District of Staffordshire in England...
near Freeford. He was commonly called " Russet-coat," from his affected plainness of dress. He died at the age of 81 and was buried at
WeefordWeeford is a village and civil parish located in the Lichfield District of Staffordshire in England. It has a population of 202.The name Weeford is believed to come from the Old English Wēohford or Wēoford, and to mean "Holy ford", or "ford by a heathen temple".The medieval church is dedicated to...
, Staffordshire.
Swinfen married Ann Brandreth, daughter of John Brandreth and Jane Weston.