Peter Fretchville

Who was Peter Fretchville?

Sir Peter Fretchville was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1601 and from 1621 to 1622.

Fretchville was the son of Peter Fretchvile of Staveley and his second wife Margaret, daughter of Arthur Kaye of Woodsome, Yorkshire. He matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge in 1587. He entered Middle Temple in 1591 but in 1596 petitioned his Inn to be allowed to keep his chamber since the business of managing his several estates in Derbyshire prevented him from occupying it for the statutory eight weeks.

In 1601, Fretchville was elected Member of Parliament for Derbyshire. While serving he was appointed Sheriff of Derbyshire for c.1601. Although it was illegal to stand for parliament while serving as Sheriff, it was legal to become Sheriff while serving as an MP, as the discussions of the time concluded. He was knighted at Sir Edward Stanhope’s house at Grimston on 19 April 1603 while King James was on his journey from Scotland. He was a J.P. by 1604. In 1604 he was a collector of the loan. He was awarded MA at Cambridge University in 1613, probably on the visit of Prince Charles. He was commissioner for musters by 1618.