Sir Nicholas Parker (1547 – 9 March 1620), eldest son of Thomas Parker of
Ratton and Eleanor, daughter of William Waller of
Groombridge, was a military commander during the reign of
Elizabeth I.[1][2] He was
Sheriff of Sussex in 1586-87, again in 1593-94, and was elected
MP for
Sussex in 1597.[3]
Parker was master of the ordnance for Willoughby's forces In France in 1589, and was dispatched to
Brittany in 1594. He was elected MP for
Sussex in 1597.[3] In 1597 he commanded a company of troops in the islands' voyage under
Essex, and in October of that year was appointed to command in Sussex, on threat of invasion.[2]
In 1598, he was appointed deputy lieutenant of Cornwall and governor of
Pendennis Castle. In 1602, he was named in the charter of the
Virginia Company as one of the adventurers, and another of them, Adrian Moore, married his daughter, Anne.[2]
Anne Parker, married firstly, Adrian Moore of
Odiham,
Hampshire and secondly, Sir John Smith.[1]
Mary Parker
Death
He died 9 March 1620 at the age of 73 and was buried in the family chapel in Willingdon church.[3] Following his death, a monument was erected in the Willingdon parish church, showing an effigy of him and his three wives.[8][9] It is one of a group of monuments to the Parker family spanning nearly 150 years.