John Norden 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...

  at various times between 1654 and 1669.

Norden was the second son of William Norden of Rowde and his wife Mary Lybbe, daughter of Richard Lybbe of Hardwick, Whitchurch, Oxfordshire. He was educated at Hart Hall, Oxford and was awarded BA in 1631. He entered Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

 in 1630 and was called to the bar in 1638. in 1641, he succeeded to the family estates on the death of his brother. He was J.P. for Wiltshire from 1646 to 1653. In 1654, 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 Wiltshire

Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Wiltshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of England from 1290 to 1707, of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote...

 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....

. In 1657, he was JP for Wiltshire again and commissioner for assessment. He was commissioner for assessment from January 1660 to his death and commissioner for militia in March 1660, He was JP for WIltshire again from March 1660 until his death.

In April 1660, Norden was elected MP in double returns for both Old Sarum

Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)

Old Sarum was the most infamous of the so-called 'rotten boroughs', a parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which was effectively controlled by a single person, until it was abolished under the Reform Act 1832. The constituency was the site of what had been...

  and Devizes

Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)

Devizes is a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is now represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 in the House of Commons of England....

 in the Convention Parliament and chose to sit for Old Sarum. He was proposed as a Knight of the Royal Oak with an income of £800. In 1662, he became an alderman of Devizes and remained until his death. In December 1666 he was elected MP for Devizes in a by-election to 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 solicitor for aids for Wiltshire from 1667.

Norden married at the age of 30 by licence dated 29 May 1647 to Elizabeth Skinner, daughter of Edmund Skinner of Cradley, Herefordshire and had six children.