Sir Hugh Pollard

Politician and Royalist army officer Sir Hugh Pollard, 2nd Baronet of King's Nympton in Devon, died in Whitehall on 27th November 1666 and was buried in Westminster Abbey in early December but the exact location is not given in the registers.

His life

He was born in 1603, a son of Sir Lewis Pollard (died 1641) and his wife Margaret (Berkeley) and was in the militia regiment of another Hugh Pollard from 1629. He was Member of Parliament for Bere Alston. But due to his involvement in an army plot in 1641 he was imprisoned, then released, but he was expelled from parliament. He became Governor of Dartmouth 1644. The forces of Cromwell stormed Dartmouth and Pollard was wounded but remained in Devon.

After the Restoration of Charles II he became Vice Admiral of Devon and was Governor of the island of Guernsey, as well as Controller of the Royal Household and Privy Councillor. He also returned to Parliament. He was very extravagant which led to debts but he received money from the King.

His first wife was Lady Bridget de Vere, daughter of Edward, 17th Earl of Oxford and widow of the 1st Earl of Berkshire and they had a daughter. His second wife (from about 1650) was Mary, daughter of William Stevens and widow of Henry Rolle but their son pre-deceased his father.

Hugh's brother Amyas, therefore, succeeded to the title but had to sell the family estate as soon as he inherited due to debts.

Further reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

History of Parliament online

Occupation

Politician; soldier

Died

27th November 1666

Engraving of the north side of Westminster Abbey in 1654.
Westminster Abbey north side in 1654

This image can be purchased from Westminster Abbey Library

Image © 2025 Dean and Chapter of Westminster