Edward Hungerford

Sir Edward Hungerford, KB (20 October 1632 – 1711), was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1659 and 1702. He was famous for his profligate ways and sold thirty manors, including the family seat at Farleigh Hungerford, to fund his extravagant lifestyle. He founded Hungerford Market at Charing Cross as a commercial venture. Origins Hungerford was the son and heir of Anthony Hungerford (1607/8-1657) by his wife Rachel Jones, daughter of Rice Jones of Asthall, Oxfordshire and was baptised at Black Bourton, Oxfordshire. His father was a supporter of the royalist cause in the Civil War. Hungerford was a student of Queen's College, Oxford, in 1649. He succeeded to the family estates on the death of his father in 1657. Career In 1658 Hungerford was elected Member of Parliament for Chippenham in the Third Protectorate Parliament. He was elected MP for Chippenham in 1660 for the Convention Parliament. He was made a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of King Charles II on 23 April 1661. In 1661, he was elected for Chippenham again in the Cavalier Parliament but the election was declared void. He was then re-elected in the by-election later in 1661 and also in the two elections in 1679. In January 1680 he presented a petition for the summoning of a parliament, and his avowed opposition to the court party of King Charles II led to his removal as Lord Lieutenant of his county in May 1681.