CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

Christopher Martyn

English politician

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ5112828 ↗
Source-derived summary

Christopher Martyn (c. 1617 – 26 January 1678) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1646 and 1660. He fought in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War

Martyn was a gentleman of Plympton and became a captain in the parliamentary army. In April 1644, he was commanding the Plymouth garrison and attacked the Royalists at New Bridge taking 200 prisoners. Two days later he repulsed a counter-attack and chased the Royalist cavalry to Plympton Bridge near where their army was stationed.

In 1646, Martyn was elected Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle in the Long Parliament. He resumed his seat in the Rump Parliament after Pride's Purge with some hesitation. In 1653, he was nominated as one of the representatives for Devon in the Barebones Parliament. He was elected as MP for Plympton Erle again in 1659 for the Third Protectorate Parliament, and was re-elected for Plympton Earle in 1660 in the Convention Parliament.

Martyn married Jane Snelling who brought him property at Plympton.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Christopher Martyn” as english politician. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Christopher, Martyn and English.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1617, 1678, 1646, 1660—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1617-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Christopher, Martyn and English providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Christopher Martyn”, the useful work is to connect “english politician” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5112828. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1617, 1678, 1646 and 1660.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Christopher Martyn”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Christopher Martyn primary sources, Christopher Martyn archive and Christopher research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Christopher Martyn”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Christopher Martyn” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.