Nicholas Martyn
Sir Nicholas Martyn (12 April 1593 – 25 March 1653) was an English politician from Devon. He served as High Sheriff of Devon in 1639 and later as Member of Parliament for Devon from 1646 to 1648, during the Long Parliament. He was knighted in 1624 by King James I.
He was the son of Sir William Martyn and Susan Prestwood of Exeter. He studied at Broadgates Hall, Oxford, matriculating in 1611 at age 17, and became a member of the Middle Temple in 1613.
Martyn owned land at Oxton and Kenton. In 1641, amid political turmoil, the king proclaimed him a traitor and he was excluded from a general pardon; he was later cleared in December 1642.
In June 1646 he was elected MP for Devon. In 1648 he joined the Devon militia committee but was excluded from Parliament in Pride’s Purge at the end of the year.
He died at Nether Exe in March 1653 at the age of 59. It is said a church bell tolled by itself as he lay dying, and a monument was later placed in Kenton church. He was married to Elizabeth Symes of Pounsford, Somerset. Their daughter married a woollen draper on Watling Street and is noted for providing sanctuary to the Five Members that King Charles tried to arrest in the House of Commons.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:20 (CET).