Henry Ley, 2nd Earl of Marlborough

Henry Ley, 2nd Earl of Marlborough (3 December 1595 – 1 April 1638), was an English hereditary peer and Member of Parliament.

He was baptised on 3 December 1595, the eldest son of James Ley, a barrister and his first wife, Mary (née Petty). His father became a judge in 1603. Following in his father's footsteps, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in January 1610 and was called to the bar in 1616.

Ley was knighted in 1611 by James I. He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Westbury in 1614 and 1624, for Devizes in 1621 and 1626 – 2 March 1626 and for Wiltshire in 1625. He a Justice of the peace in Somerset from 1618 and Wiltshire from 1622, he was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Somerset for life in 1625.

His father had been created Baron Ley in 1624. When his father was created Earl of Marlborough in 1628, as his eldest son he entered the House of Lords by a writ of acceleration as Baron Ley. He succeeded his father as Earl of Marlborough the following year.

Ley married Mary, daughter of Sir Arthur Capell of Little Hadham, by whom he had two children:

By the time of his death he was estranged from his wife, who subsequently married his estate steward.

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