| Constituency | Dates |
|---|---|
| Lyme Regis | 1429 |
The surname Parker was a very common one in the fifteenth century, but it was rare for it to be coupled with the first name Hugh. Even so, this MP has proved difficult to identify. There is a possibility that he was a kinsman of William Parker, who had attested the electoral return for Lyme Regis in 1407, or of John Parker, who attested those for Dorset and its boroughs in 1422 and 1429, the latter occasion also marking Hugh’s election to Parliament.1 C219/10/4; 13/1; 14/1.
Otherwise, a Hugh Parker crossed to France in 1442 with his own troop, composed of a man-at-arms and 20 archers, in the force led by John, Lord Talbot, and in the following year he served in Normandy under John Beaufort, duke of Somerset. The same man or a namesake joined the retinue of Sir William Peyto‡ in the expeditionary army commanded by Beaufort’s successor, Duke Edmund, in the summer of 1449.2 E101/54/2; 54/5, m. 2; 54/11. A man of seemingly lower status had been a beneficiary of the will of Sir Giles Daubeney* in 1445: Som. Med. Wills 1501-30 (Som. Rec. Soc. xix), 342. But no evidence has been found to link this soldier with Lyme Regis or its county.