Sir John Atherton (c. 1514 – 1573), of Atherton Hall,

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

, Lancashire, was a landowner and an English politician. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

in 1550, 1554, and 1560, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) of the Parliament of England for Lancashire in 1559. He was 6th in descent from Sir William Atherton MP for the same county in 1381. Atherton first comes to notice in 1536, when he was under the employ of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby during the expedition against the rebels in the north, known as the pilgrimage of Grace. Between October 1542 and May 1544 he was in charge of troops in northern England and in Scotland, where the Earl of Hertford knighted him at Leith in May 1544 following the Burning of Edinburgh and the sacking of Leith. He served as

in 1551 under the reign of Edward VI; again in 1554 during the reign of

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

. During the final years of the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, and under Edward VI, Atherton was active in raising and training men for the musters in

Lancashire Militia The Lancashire Militia was an auxiliary military force in Lancashire in North West England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 and their service in the Williamite War in Ireland and against the Jacobite Risings, the Militia reg ...

, after the legal basis of a militia was updated by two acts of 1557 ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. cc. 2 and 3). During September that year, he led a number of his tenants to join the Earl of Derby's forces against the Scots. Atherton kept up this work in the Lancashire militia until after the ascension of Elizabeth I. His second wife, Margaret was a known recusant, and this led to suspicions on matters of his faith, which eventually curtailed his political career at the start of the reign of Elizabeth I, with the Act of Uniformity 1558. He last served as High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1561 under Elizabeth I.

Personal

He was the firstborn son of George Atherton by his 1st wife Anne, daughter of Richard Assheton of Middleton, Lancashire. His grandfather was Sir John de Atherton ( Aðerton or Aderton), Lord of Atherton (1438-1488), who had served as

High Sheriff of Durham This is a list of the High Sheriffs of County Durham, England. In most counties the High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. In the Palatinate of Durham the officeholder was appointed by and was accountable to the Bishop of D ...

in 1461. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Alexander Radcliffe or Ratcliffe of Ordsall when they were both children. Elizabeth was a relative of

John Ratcliffe (soldier) Sir John Ratcliffe or Radcliffe (22 February 1582 – 5 November 1627
History of Parliamen ...

. Due to her infidelity, they were divorced in 1535 and he went on to marry Margaret, daughter of Thomas Catterall of Catterall, Lancs. They had 6 children. His former father in law, Sir Alexander served as High Sheriff in 1547. On 18 April 1573 he made his will, settling his property on his eldest son, John Atherton (died 1617), John Atherton. He died between 30 June and 4 July in that year and was buried at Leigh on 8 July 1573.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atherton, John 1513 births 1573 deaths Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lancashire English MPs 1559