Francis Blake

Sir Francis Blake (October 1638 – 8 January 1718) was an English politician, landowner, and magistrate who served as a Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed and Northumberland in several Parliaments between 1689 and 1705. A prominent country Whig, he played an active role in local government in Middlesex and Northumberland, acquired the Ford Castle estate through marriage after lengthy legal disputes, and was knighted by William III of England in 1689.

Early life and family background Francis Blake was born in 1638, the eldest son of Francis Blake (died c. 1692) of Highgate, Middlesex, and his wife Catherine, daughter and heiress of Sir Bartholomew Vincent of Highgate. His father was a successful London merchant and financier who accumulated considerable wealth through money lending, enabling the family to purchase lands in Middlesex and Oxfordshire, including the manor of Cogges.

In 1657, Blake was admitted to the Middle Temple to receive a legal education. Through his father's financial ventures and strategic investments, the family expanded their interests into northern England, laying the groundwork for Blake's later political and territorial influence in Northumberland. He stood for election, unsuccessfully, in the 1705 English general election and the 1708 British general election.

Because all three of his sons died before him, Sir Francis Blake was succeeded in his estates by his grandson, Francis Blake, who was later created a baronet (the Blake baronets of Twizell) in 1774. Blake died in 1718 at the age of 80 and was succeeded in his Northumberland and Middlesex estates by his grandson.