Sir Allen Apsley (28 August 1616 - 15 October 1683) was a Royalist soldier and administrator during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, who took part in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. He was also MP for Thetford from 1661 to 1679. One biographer describes him as having an "ability to maintain friendly contact with figures across a wide range of affiliations, which helped to make him a successful political fixer". Born in London, his family came from West Sussex, an area solidly Parliamentarian at the outbreak of the First English Civil War in August 1642. As a result, Apsley spent most of it in Devon, serving as deputy governor of Exeter from 1643 to 1645, then governor of Barnstaple until the war ended in 1646. This brought him into close contact with senior figures like Queen Henrietta Maria of France, Charles II and Clarendon, connections which became important in later years. His younger sister Lucy was married to the Parliamentarian John Hutchinson, who used his influence to obtain Apsley favourable terms for regaining his estates. In return, he avoided involvement in Royalist conspiracies during the Protectorate and after the Stuart Restoration in May 1660 Apsley intervened to save Hutchinson from execution as a regicide. He became treasurer for James, Duke of York, and his political manager in the Commons until losing office in 1679. He died in October 1683 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Personal details Allen Apsley was born 28 August 1616 in East Smithfield near the Tower of London, eldest son of Sir Allen Apsley (1567–1630) and his third wife Lucy St John (1600–1659). His father was Surveyor of Marine Victuals, while the St Johns owned large estates in Lydiard Tregoze and Ireland and were connected by marriage to the powerful Villiers family. George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was a favourite of both James VI and I and his son Charles I and with his help the elder Apsley was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London in 1617. He died in May 1630 leaving huge debts and when Lucy's second marriage ended after less than a year, the result was a series of bitter property disputes; until he reached the age of 21 in 1637, Apsley was a Royal ward and so these often had to be settled by Charles himself. Of Apsley's siblings, the best known was his younger sister Lucy (1620–1681), who married