Sir Norton Knatchbull, 1st Baronet (26 December 1602 – 3 February 1685) was an English scholar and politician who represented Kent and New Romney in the House of Commons of England between 1640 and 1679.
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Life
Knatchbull was born on 26 December 1602, the second son of Thomas Knatchbull (d. 1623) of Maidstone and Eleanor Astley (d. 1638), daughter and coheir of John Astley, of Maidstone.
He was a student at St John's College, Cambridge in 1516 and was admiited to the Middle Temple in 1624.
On the death of his uncle, Sir Norton Knatchbull, in 1536, he succeeded to the family estate, Mersham Hatch, 15 miles north of New Romney. His uncle had founded the free school at Ashford in 1530, and the younger Norton ″confirmed the deed of endowment for the school of £30 per annum″ and added to its buildings.
In April 1640, Knatchbull was elected MP for Kent in the Short Parliament. He was elected MP for New Romney for the Long Parliament in November 1640. He sat until 1648 when he was excluded under Pride's Purge.
In April 1660, Knatchbull was re-elected MP for New Romney in the Convention Parliament. He was re-elected MP for New Romney again in 1661 for the Cavalier Parliament and sat until 1679. Knatchbull was knighted, and on 4 August 1641, he was created a Baronet, of Mersham Hatch, in the County of Kent.