Sir Francis Godolphin, K.B. (25 December 1605 – 22 March 1667), of Godolphin

Godolphin Estate

The Godolphin Estate is a National Trust property situated in Godolphin Cross, a few miles north-west of Helston in Cornwall, United Kingdom....

 in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, was an English 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,...

. His chief claim to fame is that he was the dedicatee of Hobbes'

Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...

 Leviathan

Leviathan (book)

Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...

.

Godolphin was the eldest son of Sir William Godolphin and brother of the poet Sidney Godolophin

Sidney Godolphin (poet)

Sidney Godolphin , was an English poet, courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1628 and 1643. He died fighting in the Royalist army in the English Civil War.-Biography:...

, both of whom were also members of Parliament. He succeeded his father in 1613, inheriting estates which included the lease of the Scilly Isles.

He represented Helston

Helston (UK Parliament constituency)

Helston, sometimes known as Helleston, was a parliamentary borough centred on the small town of Helston in Cornwall.Using the bloc vote system of election, it returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and...

 in the Parliament of 1625-6, again 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...

 and was appointed High Sheriff of Cornwall

High Sheriff of Cornwall

High Sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list:Note: The right to choose High Sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall, rather than the Privy Council, chaired by the Sovereign, which chooses the Sheriffs of all other English counties, other than those in the Duchy of...

 in 1638.

Being a Royalist, when the Civil War

English Civil War

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

 broke out he returned to Cornwall, where he secured the Scilly Isles for the King and raised a regiment of which his brother, William, took command. In consequence, he was disbarred from sitting in Parliament in January 1644, and his estates were sequestered. However, after the capture of the King

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 he negotiated an honourable capitulation of the Scilly Isles to Parliament, the House of Commons voting "that Mr Godolphin, governor of Scilly, upon his surrender of that island, with all forts &c, should enjoy his estate and be free from arrest for any acts of war".

He was elected once more for Helston in the Convention Parliament of 1660, and following the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

 he was knighted at Charles II's

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 coronation. He died in 1667.

Sir Francis married Dorothy, daughter of Sir Henry Berkeley

Henry Berkeley (MP for Ilchester)

Sir Henry Berkeley was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1626 and 1640. He supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War...

 of Yarlington

Yarlington

Yarlington is a village and civil parish, near the source of the River Cam, in the English county of Somerset.Administratively, Yarlington shares a parish council with nearby North Cadbury and forms part of the district of South Somerset....

 in Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, and they had numerous children, including:

• Sir William Godolphin
  Sir William Godolphin, 1st Baronet
  Sir William Godolphin, 1st Baronet , of Godolphin in Cornwall, was an English Member of Parliament. He was the eldest son of Sir Francis Godolphin, KB, who had been a Member of Parliament until being barred from sitting because of his Royalist sympathies during the Civil War, and who after the...
  
   (c. 1640-1710), Sir Francis's heir, MP for Helston 1665-1679, created a baronet in 1661
• Sidney Godolphin
  Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin
  Sir Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, KG, PC was a leading English politician of the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
  
   (1645–1712), First Lord of the Treasury
  First Lord of the Treasury
  The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister...
  
   and Secretary of State, also MP for Helston and St Mawes, created a peer in 1684 and Earl of Godolphin in 1706
• Dr Henry Godolphin
  Henry Godolphin
  Henry Godolphin was an English Provost of Eton College and Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, a position in which he clashed with Sir Christopher Wren in the period when the new cathedral had reached the finishing touches.-Life:...
  
  , Dean of St Paul's
  Dean of St Paul's
  The Dean of St Paul's is the head of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London, England in the Church of England. The most recent Dean, Graeme Knowles, formerly Bishop of Sodor and Man, was installed on 1 October 2007 and resigned on 31 October 2011...
  
   and Provost of Eton College

External links

• Leviathan, complete text and PDF