Sir Oliver Luke (1574–c.1651) of Woodend, Cople and Hawnes, Bedfordshire was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1614 to 1648.

Oliver Luke
Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire
In office
1614–1629
1640-1648
High Sheriff of Bedfordshire
In office
1617–1618
Personal details
Born1574 (1574)
Cople, Bedfordshire, England
Diedc. 1651 (aged 76–77)
Spouse(s)
Elizabeth Knightley
(m. 1599)

Maud Trenchard
Children4+, including Samuel
EducationKing's College, Cambridge

Biography

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Luke was born at Cople, Bedfordshire, the son of Sir Nicholas Luke and his wife Margaret St John.[1] He was educated at King's College, Cambridge and entered the Middle Temple in 1592 to study law. He was knighted in 1603 and succeeded his father in 1613.[2]

In 1614, Luke was elected Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in the Addled Parliament. He was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1617. He was elected for succeeding parliaments until King Charles dispensed with parliament in 1629. He was subsequently elected for the Short Parliament in April 1640 and for the Long Parliament in November 1640. He remained a supporter of the parliamentary forces but was excluded under Pride's Purge in 1648.[3]

Luke probably died around the age of 76 after he was excluded from the Long Parliament.[4]

He had married Elizabeth Knightley, daughter of Sir Valentine Knightley and Anne Unton on 17 August 1599. He remarried by 1616, Maud, the daughter of William Trenchard of ‘Cutheridge’, Wiltshire. He had at least 3 sons and a daughter. His son Samuel Luke was also an MP.

References

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  1. ^ Bedfordshire County Council Manors Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "LUKE, Oliver (1574-c.1651), of Woodend, Cople and Hawnes, Beds". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  3. ^ Willis, Browne (1750). Notitia Parliamentaria, Part II: A Series or Lists of the Representatives in the several Parliaments held from the Reformation 1541, to the Restoration 1660 ... London. pp. 229–239.
  4. ^ 'Parishes: Cople', A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3 (1912), pp. 238-242 Date accessed: 27 September 2010
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Parliament of England
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire
1614–1629
With: Sir Henry Grey 1614
Sir Beauchamp St John 1621–1622
Oliver St John 1624–1629
Parliament suspended until 1640
Vacant Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire
1640–1648
With: The Lord Wentworth 1640
Roger Burgoyne 1641–1648
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Roger Burgoyne
High Sheriff of Bedfordshire
1617–1618
Succeeded by
Sir Edmund Conquest