Manuscripts and Special Collections

Biography of Sir Clifford Clifton (1626-1670)

Clifford was the eldest son of Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet, by his second wife Lady Frances Clifford. He entered Grays Inn in 1647. His elder half-brother Gervase, later 2nd Baronet, was disinherited from the family estates in the 1650s in favour of Clifford.

Clifford was knighted in 1661. The previous year he had acted as a Commissioner for the Militia in Nottinghamshire. He was a Justice of the Peace for the county from 1660-1670, Deputy Lieutenant from 1661-1670, and Commissioner for Assessment in Nottinghamshire 1661-1670. He served as M.P. for East Retford in 1659 and again from 1661 until his death in 1670, and was active in many committees.

In 1666 Sir Clifford succeeded his father to the Clifton estates. The estates passed after his death to his son William. In 1676, on the death of his uncle Sir Gervase Clifton, William also inherited the Clifton baronetcy.

Family

He married in 1654 Frances, daughter of Sir Heneage Finch, Recorder of London and Speaker of the House of Commons, and had:

  • William, later 3rd Baronet
  • Katherine, m c.1686 Sir John Parsons, 2nd Baronet
  • Arabella (d 1720), m 1685 Admiral Sir Francis Wheeler
  • others, died in infancy

Archive Collections

  • Title deeds, settlements, estate and legal papers relating to Sir Clifford Clifton's ownership of his estates are part of the Clifton collection held in Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham

Published Sources

  • Basil Duke Henning (ed), 'Sir Clifford Clifton', in The House of Commons, 1660-1690 (London: Published for the History of Parliament Trust by Secker & Warburg, 1983)

 

 

Manuscripts and Special Collections

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