Giles Strangways

Who was Giles Strangways?

Giles Strangways was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1640 and 1675. He fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War

Strangways was the son of Sir John Strangways of Melbury in Somerset. In April 1640, he was elected Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in the Short Parliament. He was elected MP for Bridport in the Long Parliament in November 1640. He supported the King and was a Colonel in a regiment of horse. He was disabled from sitting in parliament in January 1644 and was fined £10,000 for the service of the navy in August 1644. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for two and a half years, partly as a hostage for his father. When he was set free, he had a very large gold medal struck, to commemorate his imprisonment.

In 1651, as Charles was trying to get out of England after losing the Battle of Worcester, while Charles II stayed at Trent Manor, the home of Francis Wyndham, Wyndham consulted with Strangways about finding a ship to carry Charles to France. Strangways was unable to help find a boat, but was able to provide 300 gold pieces to Charles, and encouraged Wyndham to search further in the area around Lyme