William Strode

He was one of the Five Members whose impeachment and attempted unconstitutional arrest by King Charles I in the House of Commons in 1642 sparked the Civil War, during which he fought on the Parliamentarian side.

On 7 May a fresh warrant was issued, and a month later, to prevent his release on bail, he was sent by Charles with two of his fellow members to the Tower.

Refusing to give a bond for his good behaviour, he was sentenced to imprisonment during the king's pleasure, and was kept in confinement in various prisons for eleven years.

In January 1640, in accordance with the king's new policy of moderation, Strode was released and on 13 April took his seat as MP for Bere Alston in the Short Parliament.

The body was exhumed after the Restoration and thrown into a pit in the churchyard of St Margaret's, Westminster, with about twenty other rebels.

Relief sculpture of William Strode (1594–1645), MP, detail from mural monument in St Mary's Church, Plympton, of his father Sir William Strode (d.1637) of Newnham
Arms of Strode: Argent, a chevron between three conies courant sable