Anthony Hungerford of Black Bourton

Sir Anthony Hungerford (1567–1627) of Black Bourton in Oxfordshire, Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire until 1624, was a member of parliament and a religious controversialist. Origins Hungerford was born in 1567 at Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, the son of Anthony Hungerford (died 1589) of Down Ampney in Gloucestershire, a descendant of Sir Edmund Hungerford, second son of Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford of Farleigh and Heytesbury. His mother was Bridget Shelley, daughter of John Shelley, and granddaughter of Sir William Shelley, Justice of the Common Pleas. His father was a Puritan, but his mother was a devout Roman Catholic, the religion in which Hungerford was raised. Career On 12 April 1583 aged 16, Hungerford matriculated at St John's College, Oxford, which he left without taking a degree. However, he was granted the degree of M.A. on 9 July 1594. After being uncertain regarding his religious beliefs and Catholic upbringing, in 1588 at the time of the Spanish Armada and the threat from Catholic Spain, Hungerford embraced the reformed religion. He was knighted on 15 February 1608, and served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire until 1624, when he resigned the office in favour of his son Edward. He was elected Member of Parliament for Marlborough in Wiltshire, for Queen Elizabeth I's 8th Parliament in 1593, and sat for Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, in the next three consecutive Parliaments, in 1597, 1601, and the first Parliament of King James I in 1604. Marriages and children Hungerford married twice: Firstly to Lucy Hungerford, a daughter of Sir Walter Hungerford (died c.1596) of Farleigh Castle in Wiltshire, by whom he had children including: Sir Edward Hungerford (1596–1648), eldest son and heir, a Roundhead commander during the Civil War. Bridget Hungerford, who married three times, firstly to Alexander Chocke (1594–1625) of Shalbourne, secondly to John Rudhale and thirdly to John Vaughan, of Herefordshire, a Roman Catholic. Secondly he married Sarah Crouch, daughter of John Crouch of the City of London, by whom he had several further children, including: Anthony Hungerford, a Cavalier during the Civil War. John Hungerford. Giles Hungerford.