Robert Jenner was an English merchant in the City of London 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...

 variously between 1628 and 1648.

Jenner was a citizen and goldsmith of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

. By 1627 he acquired the manor of Widhill in WIltshire. He also acquired the manor of Eysey.

In 1628, Jenner 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 Cricklade

Cricklade (UK Parliament constituency)

Cricklade was a parliamentary constituency named after the town of Cricklade in Wiltshire.From 1295 until 1885, Cricklade was a parliamentary borough, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously to the House of Commons of...

 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In April 1640, he was re-elected MP for Cricklade in 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....

. He was re-elected MP for Cricklade in November 1640 for 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 held the seat until he was excluded under Pride's Purge

Pride's Purge

Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...

 in 1648. Jenner was in favour of taking a milder course with Charles I at the end of the Civil War, and was reprimanded by Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

for his tenderness. In 1648 he acquired the manor of Marston Meysey.

Jenner died at the age of 67 and was buried in Cricklade St Sampson’s Church. He left money for eight almshouses in Malmesbury and for the building and maintenance of a free school at Cricklade. In 1652 a school was built backing onto St Sampson's Churchyard. Later the building became the parish workhouse before going back into use as a school until 1959. It became the Cricklade parish hall and was renamed the Jenner Hall.

Jenner married Elizabeth Longston, daughter of Thomas Longston, citizen and grocer of London.