John_Byron,_1st_Baron_Byron
John Byron, 1st Baron Byron
English nobleman, Royalist, politician, peer and knight
John Byron, 1st Baron Byron KB (1599 – 23 August 1652) was an English nobleman, Royalist, politician, peer, knight, and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War.
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2013) |
John Byron, Lord Byron | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by William Dobson | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office October 1643 – 23 August 1652 Hereditary peerage | |
| Preceded by | Peerage established |
| Succeeded by | Richard Byron, 2nd Baron Byron |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1599 Newstead, Nottinghamshire |
| Died | 23 August 1652 (aged 53) Paris |
| Spouse(s) | Cecilia West, Eleanor Needham |
| Parents |
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Byron was the son of Sir John Byron of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, and Anne Molyneux. His grandfather, another Sir John Byron, had represented Nottinghamshire in Parliament. The future first baron was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge.[1] He succeeded his father when the latter died on 28 September 1625.
He was elected as MP for Nottingham in 1624 and 1626. He was knighted (KB) in 1626 and was then elected as knight of the shire (MP) for Nottinghamshire in 1628. He also served as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire for 1634 and then as Lieutenant of the Tower of London, from December 1641 to February 1642.
When the Civil War started, he joined the king at York and soon afterwards was commanding a troop of Nottinghamshire Trained Band Horse at Newark-on-Trent.[2] He was engaged in the Royalists' cause throughout the Civil Wars and afterwards. After Byron distinguished himself at the First Battle of Newbury King Charles created him Baron Byron in October 1643 and made him commander of the Royalist forces in Lancashire and Cheshire. However, he was defeated at the Battle of Nantwich in 1644 and forced to withdraw to Chester. He then marched with Prince Rupert's forces into Yorkshire and commanded the royalist right flank at the Battle of Marston Moor in July 1644, but after his troops were routed by numerically superior parliamentarian forces he retreated to Carnarvon and resigned his command. He did, however, defend Carnarvon Castle ably for the Royalist cause, withstanding long sieges before finally surrendering it to Parliamentary forces in 1646.
Lord Byron died in 1652, childless, in exile in Paris, and was succeeded by his next eldest brother Richard Byron, 2nd Baron Byron (born 1606).
Lord Byron married firstly Cecilia West, daughter of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr and secondly Eleanor Needham (1627–1664) daughter of Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey. Eleanor was famous for her beauty; Peter Lely painted her as St. Catherine, as depicted here; and according to the diarist Samuel Pepys she was the 17th mistress of Charles II.[3] One of Lord Byron's younger brothers was the Royalist soldier Sir Robert Byron.
- "Byron, John (BRN615J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- Lowe, p. 6.
- Browne, Richard Charles (1886). "Byron, John (d.1652)" . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 8. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 157–161.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Byron, John Byron, 1st Baron" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 906.
- Cokayne, G.E. (1912). Gibbs, Vicary (ed.). The [New] Complete Peerage. Vol. 2. London: The St. Catherine Press. pp. 545–455.
- Capt A.E. Lawson Lowe, Historical Record of the Royal Sherwood Foresters; or Nottinghamshire Regiment of Militia, London: Mitchell, 1872
- Watson, Paula; Ferris, John. P. (2010). "Byron, John (1599–1652), of Newstead Abbey, Notts.". In Thrush, Andrew; Ferris, John P. (eds.). The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604–1629. Cambridge University Press.
- Wheatley, Henry, ed. (1893). "Diary of Samuel Pepys: 26 April 1667 & endnote 6" . Diary of Samuel Pepys. London: George Bell & Sons.
- Plant, David. "Sir John Byron, Lord Byron". British Civil Wars website. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2005.
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Nottingham 1624–1625 With: Sir Charles Cavendish |
Succeeded by Robert Greaves John Martyn |
| Preceded by Robert Greaves John Martyn |
Member of Parliament for Nottingham 1626 With: Sir Gervase Clifton |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire 1628–1629 With: Sir Gervase Clifton |
Parliament suspended until 1640 |
| Peerage of England | ||
| New creation | Baron Byron 1643–1652 |
Succeeded by |