Richard Croke was an English lawyer and 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...

  in 1654.

Croke was the son of Unton Croke

Unton Croke

Unton Croke was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1628 and 1640. He supported the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War....

 of Marston, Oxfordshire and his wife Anne Hore, daughter of Richard Hore of Marston. He was educated at Winchester College

Winchester College

Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...

 in 1636, aged 11 and entered Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 in 1636. He was called to the Bar in 1646. He was a commissioner for the sale of Woodstock manor in 1649. In 1653 he became deputy recorder of Oxford and became freeman of the city of Oxford.

In 1654, Croke became 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 Oxford

Oxford (UK Parliament constituency)

Oxford was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. It comprised the city of Oxford in the county of Oxfordshire, and elected two Members of Parliament from its creation in 1295 until 1881...

 in the 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....

 after the elected member chose to sit for another constituency. He was J.P.

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 Oxford from 1655 to August 1660, and JP for Abingdon in 1655. He was commissioner for security for Oxfordshire from 1655 to 1656 and was a JP for Woodstock from 1656 to August 1660. In 1656 he was elected MP for Oxford in the Second Protectorate Parliament

Second Protectorate Parliament

The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...

. He was commissioner for assessment for Oxfordshire in 1657. In 1659, he was re-elected MP for Oxford in 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...

. He was commissioner for militia for Oxfordshire in 1659. He was commissioner for assessment for Oxfordshire in January 1660, commissioner for militia for Oxford in March 1660 and JP for Oxfordshire from March 1660 until his death.

Croke stood unsuccessfully for parliament in the general election of 1660. He became Recorder of Oxford in June 1660 and remained until his death. In 1661 he was elected MP for Oxford again in 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...

. He was commissioner for assessment for Oxfordshire from 1661 to 1663 and commissioner for assessment for Oxford from 1661 to 1680. In 1662 he was bencher of his Inn. He was commissioner for assessment for Oxfordshire from 1664 to 1680, and became JP for Oxford again in 1665 until his death. He was reader of his Inn in 1670. In 1671 he succeeded his father in the estates at Marston. He was commissioner for recusants for Oxfordshire in 1675 and also became Serjeant-at-law

Serjeant-at-law

The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...

in 1675 until his death. He was knighted on 16 March 1681 after drafting the address approving of the dissolution of Parliament.

Croke died at the age of 57 and was buried at Marston.

Croke married by 1654, Elizabeth Wright daughter of Martin Wright, goldsmith of Oxford and had five sons.