KIGHLEY, Sir Philip (1567-1605), of South Littleton, Worcs. and St. Stephen’s, Westminster.

Kighley was the fourth generation of his family to live at South Littleton, three miles north-east of Evesham. Vis. Worcs. (Harl. Soc. xxvii), 84. His father, a country attorney, was steward of the Evesham court leet in the 1580s. C3/131/31; E134/29Eliz/East12. After his death a friend deposed that Kighley’s lands and those of his second wife were worth £400 p.a. As a teller in the Exchequer, Kighley exploited his position to lend out his receipts, causing him to borrow to make official payments. E178/3832.

Kighley probably owed his election for Evesham in 1604 to the role he played in securing the borough its charter earlier that year. Although returned without incident, he became embroiled in a dispute over the remaining seat, which was coveted by Sir Francis Egioke, the brother of Kighley’s first wife. Indeed, Egioke had Kighley indicted for riot, presumably for supporting Sir Thomas Bigg*. Ibid.

In the 1604 session Kighley was appointed to four committees. The first was to consider the motion of Sir Francis Hastings concerning religion (16 April). The remainder were legislative, concerning the bill against brokers (16 June), a measure to assign money for the Household (18 June), and the bill concerning the attorneys and clerks of King’s Bench and Common Pleas (22 June 1604). CJ, i. 172b, 240a, 241b, 244b. He made no recorded speeches.

In the last months of his life Kighley, whose lands were by now held by trustees, was in serious financial difficulties. He declined to make a will, but instead left his personal estate to Sir Francis Egioke by deed of gift. E178/3832. He died at the Angel inn without Temple Bar and was buried in St. Clement Danes on 8 Apr. 1605. E178/3832; WCA, St. Clement Danes par. reg. After his death it was found that he owed the Crown over £6,400 and, although £900 was quickly recovered by the Exchequer, the remainder was still outstanding more than a year later. E112/132/172; E403/2659/9, f. 1; E178/3832. None of Kighley’s descendants sat in Parliament.