RIVETT, Francis (c.1596-1669), of Kings Somborne, Hants.

Rivett was born into a Derbyshire gentry family of modest social status but some wealth. His father, William Rivett, was listed in 1598 for contribution to the Forced Loan.1HMC Rutland, i. 348. Even though he was a younger son, Francis was sent to both Cambridge, where he graduated from the puritan Emmanuel College in 1616, and the Middle Temple, where he was admitted in 1619 and called to the bar in 1626.2M. Temple Admiss. i. 109; MTR ii. 639, 714. He then settled in Hampshire, having acquired in 1630 the manor of Hannington Lancelevy in Kingsclere. Thereafter, he established himself among the local gentry, and was appointed in 1633 to the sewers commission, before his (probably financially advantageous) marriage in 1634 to the daughter of a London Draper.3C181/4, f. 148; Reg. St Olave Hart Street, 45, 168, 266.

An assessment commissioner on the eve of the civil war, Rivett was among those named by Parliament to rally the county for its cause in July 1642, and was still among those who enjoyed confidence in this regard at Westminster in February 1643.4SR; LJ v. 233b-234a, 691b; CJ ii. 686b But between his naming to the commission for the defence of Hampshire that November and March 1644 something occurred to occasion his exclusion from it, although judging by further appointments from June onwards it was no more than a passing cloud over his service.5A. and O.; CJ iii. 412b; LJ vi. 450a; Add. 24860, f. 145. Perhaps it was related to the (temporary) expulsion from Parliament of the man he later described as ‘my ancient, dear and constant friend’, Sir John Evelyn of Wiltshire*.6Hants RO, 1669A85/1. Evelyn may have helped Rivett to secure the position of master of St Nicholas Hospital, Salisbury, agreed by the Commons on 25 June 1646, but not confirmed until May 1647, perhaps owing to factional divisions.7CJ iv. 586a; v. 187b; VCH Wilts. iii. 352; HMC 6th Rep. 178; Wordsworth, St Nicholas’ Hospital, lxxvii, lxxxiv. Two months later Rivett was added to the Wiltshire commission of the peace.8C231/6, p. 95.

However, Rivett’s association with Wiltshire was soon eclipsed again by his interests in Hampshire. Possibly this stemmed from his association with the important local parliamentarian leader Robert Wallop*, for whom Rivett was estate steward by 1648, and from whom he purchased the manor of Kings Somborne in January 1650.9Hants RO, 5M58/25-30; C54/3460/32; C54/3642/9. That year he was appointed to the Hampshire commission of the peace in addition to his regular appearances as an assessment commissioner.10C231/6, pp. 286; The Names of the Justices, 50; A. and O.; CSP Dom. 1651, p. 196. He had evidently gained the confidence of the powers-that-be: in January 1652 his name was among those put forward by the Commons committee for law reform as potential commissioners to address the issue, while after the dissolution of the Rump he was also nominated to commissions for debtors and for ejecting scandalous ministers.11CJ vii. 67b; A. and O.

Perhaps with the backing of Wallop, Rivett secured one of the county seats in the first Protectorate Parliament in 1654, but made no impression on the records of the assembly. He was not re-elected in 1656. This might be attributed to disillusionment with the Cromwellian regime on his part, although that September there was also suspicion regarding his possible involvement in a local plot against the government.12TSP v. 396-7. He was returned to Parliament again, however, in 1659, as one of the members for Stockbridge, just three miles north of his home. Once again, he made no visible contribution to proceedings. Re-elected to the Convention in 1660, he was marked as a friend to Philip Wharton†, 4th Baron Wharton, but otherwise had no higher profile than previously. He was not returned to Parliament again.13HP Commons 1660-1690.

Rivett probably spent his final years in retirement on his estates in Hampshire.14Hants RO, 36M66/59. He drew up his will in December 1668, making bequests to local charities, as well as to the poor of Kings Newton in Derbyshire ‘the place of my birth’, and mentioning his old friend Evelyn.15Hants RO, 1669A85/1. Rivett died in April 1669, aged 74, leaving no male heir, although his two sons-in-law, William Strode† of Barrington in Somerset, and Oliver St John† of Farley Chamberlayne in Hampshire, both entered Parliament in 1679.16HP Commons 1660-1690.