John Byron, 1st Baron Byron

For other people named John Byron, see John Byron (disambiguation).

For other people titled Lord Byron, see Baron Byron.

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.

John Byron, Lord Byron KB
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	John Byron (father) Anne Molyneux (mother)

Life

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. 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. 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).

Family

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. One of Lord Byron's younger brothers was the Royalist soldier Sir Robert Byron.

References

• 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.

External links

• Plant, David. "Sir John Byron, Lord Byron". British Civil Wars website. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2005.