Sir Charles Le Grosse (c.1596 – 1650) of Crostwight Hall near North Walsham in Norfolk, England, was a politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1653.

Origins

Le Grosse was the son of Sir Thomas Le Grosse / Le Gros (died 1613) of Crostwight and of Sloley, both in Norfolk, by his wife Elizabeth Cornwallis, a daughter of Sir Charles Cornwallis, of Brome, Suffolk, MP.[1] The Le Grosse family probably descended from William Gross of Norfolk, a land-holder mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.[1][2] The chest tomb of Oliver le Gros (died 1435) survives in St Bartholomew's Church, Sloley,[3] displaying the arms of Le Gross: Quarterly argent and azure, on a bend sable three martlets or,[4] which also survive on the "Crostwight Flagon", a silver wine flagon made in 1585 by Peterson of Norwich, presented to Crostwight Church probably by Thomas Le Gross, now in Norwich Castle Museum.[5]

Career

He was knighted on 6 December 1616[6] and served as Sheriff of Norfolk for 1626–27. In 1628 he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Orford in Suffolk, and sat until 1629 when King Charles I decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.[7] In April 1640, Le Grosse was re-elected MP for Orford in the Short Parliament and was re-elected MP for Orford for the Long Parliament in November 1640, retaining his seat until 1653.[7] In 1637, together with Dr. Thomas Lushington, he was instrumental in persuading the physician and philosopher Thomas Browne, to re-locate to Norwich.[8] In 1658 Browne dedicated his Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial to Thomas Le Grosse, his eldest son. Le Grosse died before 31 May 1660.

Marriage and issue

He married Muriel Knyvet, a daughter of Sir Thomas Knyvet (died 1605) by his wife Elizabeth,[9] and by the marriage settlement he acquired a moiety of the manor of Eccles, which allowed him to hold courts there.[9] By his wife he had two sons and six daughters,[10] including:

  • Thomas Le Grosse, eldest son and heir.

Poem by Ralph Knevet

The poet Ralph Knevet dedicated the following poem to him:[11]

The King of Pyrrhus shewd the Muses nine
And Phoebus portraited by sculpture fine:
But thou faire Knight-hoods fairer ornament
Conspicuously dost to our eyes present
Phoebus, the Muses nine, the Graces three,
Mercurie, and Mars, yea more Gods then bee
In Homers Iliads; or at least much greater:
For thy mind's a Pantheon, or a Theater,
Wherein all vertues, and all graces stand,
In decent order link'd, with hand in hand.
The[e] 'mongst the chiefest of the Arts few friends
I list: and so adore thy noble ends,
That if my Quill to vertue can life give,
Thy honourd fame shall Nestors age outlive.

References

  1. 1 2 History of Parliament
  2. ↑ Possibly "WILLIAM SON OF GROSS", who held 5 manors in Essex and 1 in Suffolk
  3. ↑ See image
  4. ↑ Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p.431 "Grosse of Norfolk"
  5. ↑ "Crostwight Flagon", item no. NWHCM : 1954.218, Inscription: in centre on raised circular boss: coat of arms of Le Groos inset with enamel, shield flanked by initials “T. G.”
  6. ↑ Knights of England
  7. 1 2 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.
  8. ↑ The Life of Sir Thomas Browne Kt
  9. 1 2 'Hundred of Shropham: Eccles', An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: volume 1 (1805), pp. 405-411. Date accessed: 30 May 2011
  10. ↑ "LE GROS (GROSS), Sir Charles (c.1596-1650), of Crostwight, Norf". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  11. ↑ The Shorter Poems of Ralph Knevet
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