Sir Christopher Hilliard (1567 - November 1634) was an English landowner 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...

 at various times between 1589 and 1629.

Hilliard was the eldest son of Richard Hilliard of Routh, Yorkshire and his wife Jane Thweng, daughter of Marmaduke Thweng of Weaverthorpe. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

 in 1584 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 1586. In 1589, he 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 Hedon

Hedon (UK Parliament constituency)

Hedon, sometimes spelt Heydon, was a parliamentary borough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons briefly in the 13th century and again from 1547 to 1832.-History:...

. He was re-elected MP for Hedon in 1593 and 1597. He was a 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 the East Riding of Yorkshire by 1601. In 1601 he was re-elected MP for Hedon. He succeeded to the estates of his father and his uncle Christopher Hilliard in 1602. He was knighted in 1603 and was a member of the council in the north from July 1603 to November 1634. He was High Sheriff of Yorkshire

High Sheriff of Yorkshire

The High Sheriff of Yorkshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. A list of the sheriffs from the Norman conquest onwards can be found below...

 from 1612 to 1613. In 1621 he was elected MP for Beverley

Beverley (UK Parliament constituency)

Beverley has been the name of a parliamentary constituency in the East Riding of Yorkshire for three separate periods. From medieval times until 1869, it was a parliamentary borough, consisting solely of the market town of Beverley, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons...

. He was elected MP for Hedon again in 1624 and was re-elected in 1625 1626 and 1628, sitting until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.

Hilliard died at the age of about 66 and was buried at Winestead on 23 November 1634.

Hilliard married Elizabeth Welby, daughter of Henry Welby of Goxhill, Lincolnshire and his wife Alice White of Wallingwell on 13 July 1598. They had five sons and six daughters.