Charles le Grosse

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. 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. 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. '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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