Sir Peter Riddel was an English 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 1624 and 1640.

Riddel was Sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1604. He was knighted at Newcastle on 4 May 1617. In 1619 he was mayor of Newcastle. In 1624, 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 Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK Parliament constituency)

Newcastle-upon-Tyne was a borough constituency in the county of Northumberland of the House of Commons of England to 1706 then 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 1918...

. He was re-elected MP for Newcastle in 1626 and in 1628, and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.

Riddel was Mayor of Newcastle again in 1635. He was re-elected MP for Newcastle in 1640 for the Short Parliament

Short Parliament

The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....

. In the Second Bishops' War

Bishops' Wars

The Bishops' Wars , were conflicts, both political and military, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of the Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the Crown...

, the Scottish army invaded England in August 1640 and the English army withdrew from Newcastle to Durham. Riddel at Newcastle had no option but to admit the Scottish army to the town.

Riddel died in 1641 and was buried in the church of St Nicholas, Newcastle.