Family and Education

bap. 7 Aug. 1631, 2nd but 1st surv. s. of John Kendall of Treworgey by w. Mary. educ. L. Inn 1649. suc. fa. 1641.1

Offices Held

J.p. Cornw. 1653-July 1660, June 1688-?1700, commr. for poor prisoners 1653, assessment 1657, Jan. 1660, 1663-80, 1689-700, militia Mar. 1660, lt.-col. of militia ft. Apr. 1660; freeman, West Looe 1672, East Looe 1678.2

Biography

Kendall’s ancestors were established at Treworgey, two miles from Looe, early in the 14th century, first entering Parliament for Launceston in 1330. Kendall held local office under the Protectorate, and sat for East Looe in Richard Cromwell’s Parliament. He transferred to West Looe in 1660 but left no trace on the records of the Convention, though he probably opposed the Court, since he lost his place on the commission of the peace at the Restoration. He is unlikely to have stood in 1661, but he joined his cousin Thomas Kendall of Killigarth in challenging the Trelawny interest in the exclusion elections. He was twice defeated at East Looe in 1679, but won the seat in 1681 after the death of Jonathan Trelawny I, probably without a contest. Presumably an exclusionist, he again left no trace on the records of the Oxford Parliament. He may have become a Whig collaborator, since he was restored to the commission of the peace in February 1688 and recommended as court candidate for East Looe. It is unlikely that he ever stood again, however, since his circumstances were now embarrassed and after the Revolution he was compelled to part with his whole estate. He was not named to the Cornish tax commission of 1701, though he was still alive, for in July 1702 his cousin James Kendall left him a small legacy. He died childless, the last of this branch of the family.3

Ref Volumes: 1660-1690

Authors: M. W. Helms / Paula Watson

Notes

• 1. Vivian, Vis. Cornw. 259.
• 2. Parl. Intell. 9 Apr. 1660; A. L. Browne, Corp. Chrons. 189.
• 3. Paroch. Hist. Cornw. i. 302; Westminster Abbey Reg. (Harl. Soc. x), 264.