Mountnorris, Francis Annesley, Lord

Mountnorris, Francis Annesley, Lord (1585–1660), best known for his struggle with Wentworth. Arriving in Ireland in 1606, he accumulated lands and offices, becoming secretary of state in 1618. He opposed Lord Deputy Falkland (1622–9), gaining control of the treasury and eventually engineering Falkland's recall. By adopting moderate views on the Graces, he courted popularity.

Wentworth initially used Mountnorris, one of the symbols of New English corruption, to make overtures to the Catholics and attack Richard Boyle, a rival planter. When charges were brought against him in 1635, Mountnorris and his relatives launched a tirade of abuse against the lord deputy. Wentworth court‐martialled Mountnorris (a military officer in his capacity as treasurer‐at‐wars) and condemned him to death for insulting his commanding officer. The English privy council then stripped him of his offices.

The English Long Parliament made Mountnorris's case a prime instance of Wentworth's arbitrary government. He succeeded a distant kinsman as Viscount Valentia (1643), and regained his secretaryship of state from Henry Cromwell (1655).

Hiram Morgan