Christopher Hatton, 1st Baron Hatton KB PC FRS (28 June 1605 – 4 July 1670) was a distant relation of the Elizabethan politician, Sir

Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton KG (1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early years Sir ...

and a prominent

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

during the reign of King

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

Life

He was the son of

Sir Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton KG (1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early years Sir ...

of Barking, Essex and Alice Fanshawe, daughter of

Thomas Fanshawe Sir Thomas Fanshawe KB (1580 – 17 December 1631) was an English government official and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1601 and 1629. Fanshawe was the second son of Thomas Fanshawe and first son by his second wife Jo ...

; and was educated at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. He trained for the law at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. He was a noted antiquarian and compiled, together with

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...

and others, the Book of Seals, a volume of 529 medieval charters, of which 240 are reproduced in facsimiles drawn by a highly talented draftsman. Sir Christopher Hatton's Book of Seals has been edited by Lewis C. Loyd and Doris Mary Stenton (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1950). Hatton entered Parliament as MP for

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

in 1625, though legally too young to sit, and

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

in that of 1626. On reaching the age of 21 in 1626, he was created a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

, as had been his father before him. He was elected a member of the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

in 1640 for both

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated populati ...

and

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The River Babingley skirts the north of the village separating C ...

, choosing to sit for the former where he was High Steward; he was one of the few candidates supported by

Queen Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

to secure election. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Hatton was a partisan of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. In 1643 he was created Baron Hatton of Kirby; and, acting as

comptroller of the royal household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

, he represented the king during the negotiations at

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

in 1645. Later he lived for some years in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and after the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

was made a

privy counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

and

governor of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British crown dependency off the coast of France. Holders of the post of Governor of Guernsey, until the role was abolished in 1835. Since then, only Lieutenant-Governors have been appointed (see Lieutenant Gover ...

. In 1663 he became a founding Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. He died at Kirby, Northamptonshire on 4 July 1670, and was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

Family

He married at

Hackney, Middlesex Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail areas to the north ...

, on 8 May 1630, Elizabeth (died 1672), eldest daughter and coheiress of Sir Charles Montagu, of

Boughton, Northamptonshire Boughton is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. It is situated approximately from Northampton town centre along the A508 road between Northampton and Market Harborough. The parish area straddles both sides of the r ...

.''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Hatton, Christopher, first Baron Hatton (1605?–1670), by Gordon Goodwin. Published 1891. She died when lightning struck a powder magazine at

Castle Cornet Castle Cornet is a large island castle in Guernsey, and former tidal island, also known as Cornet Rock or Castle Rock. Its importance was as a defence not only of the island, but of the roadstead. In 1859 it became part of one of the breakwaters ...

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

. They had two sons:

Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton (1632–1706) was an English aristocrat and diplomat. Career He succeeded his father, Christopher Hatton, 1st Baron Hatton, as Baron Hatton and also as governor of Guernsey in 1670. He and his family ...

and Charles Hatton, who married Elizabeth, daughter of

William Scroggs Sir William Scroggs (c. 162325 October 1683) was Lord Chief Justice of England from 1678 to 1681. He is best remembered for presiding over the Popish Plot trials, where he was accused of showing bias against the accused. Youth and early career S ...

as her second husband—and three daughters.

References

;Attribution * *

Sources

*D. Brunton & D. H. Pennington, ''Members of the Long Parliament'' (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatton, Christopher 1st Baron Hatton of Kirby Hatton of Kirby, Christopher Hatton, 1st Baron Hatton of Kirby, Christopher Hatton, 1st Baron Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Oxford Hatton of Kirby, Christopher Hatton, 1st Baron Original Fellows of the Royal Society Cavaliers Chistopher English antiquarians English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Knights of the Bath Burials at Westminster Abbey