DAWLEY, Henry (c.1646-c.1703), of Lainston House, Sparsholt, Hants.

Dawley’s great-grandfather bought the manor of Lainston in 1613. Nothing is known of the family’s politics before Dawley stood as a court supporter at the Lymington by-election in 1680. He again defeated an exclusionist at the next general election, but in neither the second nor the third Exclusion Parliaments was he appointed to any committee. He was probably a high Anglican, since he was removed from local office in 1687. But he accepted the Revolution, and stood for Stockbridge in 1693. The date of his death is unknown, but his name does not appear on either the assessment commission or the Winchester electorate after 1702. He was the only member of the family to sit in Parliament. His son sold Lainston in 1711.VCH Hants, iv. 445.