Francis Barrington

[11] Barrington graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1580, then travelled to Geneva, birthplace of John Calvin, where he was joined by his Puritan cousin Francis Hastings.

[12] After Elizabeth I died in March 1603, Barrington was invited to Theobalds House in Hertfordshire to greet the new king James I on his progress from Edinburgh to London, and wrote to his tailor for advice on what clothes he should wear.

[15] Barrington compiled a report for Parliament detailing Essex clergy considered religiously unsound and sat on various commissions for regulating the Church of England.

[16] His status was recognised in 1606 when he became an honorary member of Gray's Inn, but in 1607 he was removed as a local JP for his opposition to the political union between England and Scotland, the centrepiece of James' legislative agenda.

[12] Like Barrington's son John, many English contemporaries fought in the Thirty Years War and were concerned by James' pro-Spanish policy and failure to support his son-in-law Frederick V of the Palatinate.

As MP for Essex, Barrington backed the Duke of Buckingham, who wanted to declare war on Spain; he was appointed to the committee charged with its preparation and initiated action against the pro-Spanish Earl of Middlesex.

However, this session saw the start of conflict over taxes such as Ship Money that dominated Charles' reign and ultimately lead to the First English Civil War in August 1642.

Although not directly involved, his son Thomas sat on several committees set up to review Buckingham's conduct of the war; Barrington was clearly seen as an opponent since he was removed as Deputy Lieutenant of Essex and once again lost his position as a Justice of the Peace.

[19] Barrington was appointed a Commissioner for its collection in Essex, effectively making him liable for the entire amount; when he refused, he was arrested and held in the Marshalsea prison, along with his wife and daughter Ruth.