Manwood, Peter, Sir (1571 -1625)

Sir Peter Manwood, of St Stephen's or Hackington in Kent, was the eldest son of Sir Roger Manwood, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and his first wife, Dorothy, daughter of John Theobald, of Sheppey. In 1583, he became a student of the Inner Temple. He married Frances, daughter of Sir George Hart of Lullingstone in Kent, and was Member of Parliament for Sandwich 1588 1589, Saltash in Cornwall 1603 1604, for the County of Kent 1614, and for New Romney in 1621. Sheriff of Kent in 1602, he was made a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of James I, 25 July 1603. An antiquary of some repute he was a member of the Elizabethan Society of Antiquaries in 1617 when they petitioned for a charter. His lavish life style involved him in financial difficulties, and he had to flee abroad in August 1621. He returned to Dover in failing health in 1624 hoping to persuade his creditors to allow him to die in his own country. He seems to have been successful in this and was buried in the Church at St Stephens.