Walter Yonge
1581–1649
Devon diarist.
Biography
Of the gentry family of Colyton in Devon, Yonge kept a remarkable manuscript diary from 1604 to 1645 — one of the most useful single sources for the religious and political history of Devon and of the Long Parliament's early years (the parliamentary section printed by the Camden Society, 1848). MP for Honiton, then Dartmouth; he served on numerous Commons committees through the early 1640s. A moderate Puritan lay assessor at the Assembly; his diary entries on Assembly business are uniquely informative for the gentry vantage. Died in 1649.
Principal works
- Diary (1604–1628; 1642–1645)
Lay Assessor — House of Commons
Parliament seated lay assessors alongside the divines to represent its interest and keep it informed of the Assembly's progress. The ordinance of 1643 named thirty members of the House of Commons as assessors; they could take part in debate but were not among the voting divines, and their attendance was often occasional as the war and parliamentary business pressed on them.