Sir Allen Apsley | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:AllHallowsByTheTowerChurch.jpg) All Hallows-by-the-Tower, where Apsley was baptised in September 1616 | |
| Member of Parliament for Thetford | |
| In office May 1661 – January 1679 | |
| Master of the Hawks | |
| In office 1660–1675 | |
| Royalist Governor of Barnstaple | |
| In office May 1645 – April 1646 | |
| Royalist Lieutenant-Governor of Exeter | |
| In office December 1642 – April 1645 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 August 1616 East Smithfield |
| Died | 15 October 1683 (aged 67) St James's Square |
| Resting place | Westminster Abbey [1] |
| Nationality | English |
| Political party | Royalist |
| Spouse | Frances Petre (1645-his death) |
| Children | Frances (1653–1727), Isabella (after 1697), Peter (after 1691) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Soldier and politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  England |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars |
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Sir Allen Apsley (28 August 1616 – 15 October 1683) was an English landowner who was a Royalist soldier and administrator during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Following the 1660 Stuart Restoration, he took part in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and sat as MP for Thetford from 1661 to 1679. One biographer describes him as having an "ability to maintain friendly contact with figures across a wide range of affiliations, which helped to make him a successful political fixer".[2]
Born in London, his family came from West Sussex, an area solidly Parliamentarian at the outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642. As a result, Apsley spent most of it in Devon, serving as deputy governor of Exeter from 1643 to 1645, then governor of Barnstaple until the war ended in 1646. This brought him into close contact with senior figures including Queen Henrietta Maria of France, Charles II and Clarendon, connections which became important in later years.
His younger sister Lucy was married to the Parliamentarian John Hutchinson, who used his influence to obtain Apsley favourable terms for regaining his estates. In return, he avoided involvement in Royalist conspiracies during the Protectorate, and after the Restoration in May 1660, Apsley intervened to save Hutchinson from execution as a regicide.
He became treasurer for James, Duke of York, and his political manager in the Commons until losing office in 1679. He died in October 1683 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.