DRAKE, Sir Francis, 2nd Bt. (1617-62), of Buckland Abbey, Devon.

Drake’s great-uncle, the famous admiral, sat in three Elizabethan Parliaments. By upbringing and family connexions Drake was unsympathetic to the Court, and his marriage to Pym’s daughter brought him even closer to the leaders of the parliamentary Opposition to Charles I. On the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the parliamentary army and became colonel of the Plymouth regiment, but was forced to sue out a pardon in 1644. Elected as recruiter for Bere Alston, where he owned some of the burgages, he abstained from sitting after Pride’s Purge. He played no active part in politics during the Interregnum, but signed the Exeter declaration for a free Parliament on 11 Jan. 1660.1W. H. Black, Docquets of Letters Patent, 156; Devon RO, 346M/T1-20.

In April 1660, Drake stood again for Bere Alston, but the double return was decided in favour of George Howard. However, he had been returned for Newport, where as former lord of the manor of Werrington he retained a property interest. He was totally inactive in the Convention, though Lord Wharton listed him as a friend. Drake was re-elected for Newport in 1661, but his health was failing, and apart from an application for leave in June he left no trace on the records of the Cavalier Parliament. He died on 6 Jan. 1662, and was buried at Buckland, leaving his estates to his nephew, Sir Francis Drake, 3rd Bt.