Francis Drake (died 1634)

Not to be confused with Francis Drake.

Francis Drake (c. 1580-1634), of Esher Place and Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, was an English Member of Parliament (MP).

He was the only son of Richard Drake of Esher Place and Ursula Stafford. He matriculated at New College, Oxford in July 1593, aged 13. Four years later he was admitted to the Inner Temple. He married his first wife Joan Tothill in 1603, shortly before his father's death. From his father he inherited a protracted and expensive lawsuit over the estate of his kinsman Francis Drake, the privateer, which was abandoned 3 years later. Although he became a gentleman pensioner to James I and a gentleman of the Privy chamber extraordinary to Charles I, he did not succeed in emulating his father's success as a courtier. His wife was a considerable heiress, but her health was poor. At her instigation the couple moved from Esher to Walton-on-Thames.

He was a Member of the Parliament of England for Amersham in 1625 and 1626. He was MP for Sandwich in 1624 and Bridport in 1628. His activities as an MP indicate his puritan religious inclinations.

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