John Sparke

John Sparke (c. 1574 – 1640) of The Friary, in the parish of St Jude, Plymouth, Devon, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1628 to 1629. Origins Sparke was the son of John Sparke (died 1603) of Plymouth, Devon, Mayor of Plymouth in 1583 and 1591, by his wife Juliana Cock (died 1583), daughter of Gregory Cock, mayor of Plymouth. In the 1580s John Sparke (died 1603) acquired the former Whitefriars Priory in the parish of St Jude, Plymouth (dissolved a few decades before during the dissolution of the monasteries), which he made his residence. Career He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 13 December 1594, aged 19. He was a student of Lincoln's Inn in 1623. In 1628, probably due to the influence of his wife's family the Rashleighs, he was elected member of parliament for Mitchell and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. Residence