Francis Rous

Francis Rous
Francis Rous
Member of Parliament
for Cornwall
In office
1656 – 1659  
Member of Parliament
for Truro
1626: 1640
In office
1654–1655
Speaker of the House of Commons
In office
1653–1653
Provost, Eton College
In office
1644–1659
Member of Parliament
for Tregony
In office
1628–1629
Personal details
Borncirca 1581[1]
Dittisham, Devon
Died7 January 1659(1659-01-07) (aged 77)
Acton
Resting placeEton College Chapel
NationalityEnglish
SpousePhilippa (1619–1657)
ChildrenFrancis Rous (1615–1643)
Parent(s)Sir Anthony Rous (c.1555–1620)
Elizabeth Southcote (1547–1585)
RelativesJohn Pym (stepbrother)
Alma materPembroke College, Oxford
Leiden University
OccupationPolitician and theologian

Francis Rous, also spelled Rouse (c. 1581 to 1659), was an English politician and Puritan religious author, who was Provost of Eton from 1644 to 1659, and briefly Speaker of the House of Commons in 1653.

Stepbrother of Parliamentary leader John Pym, he joined him in opposing Arminianism in the Church of England, and played a leading role in the impeachment of Archbishop Laud. When the First English Civil War began in 1642, he supported the 1643 Solemn League and Covenant, and was appointed to the Westminster Assembly.

Under the Protectorate, he moved away from his Presbyterian colleagues, becoming closer to the religious Independents, and Oliver Cromwell. He died in January 1659, and was buried in Eton College Chapel.