Sir John de Ashton, or Assheton (c. 1354 – c. 1398), of

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, was an English politician and military commander. He was the son of Sir John Ashton, who was reportedly a prominent soldier and died c. 1360). When he was about 15 years old, the younger Ashton entered military service: during 1369 he was in France for the Caroline phase of the Hundred Years War, as part of English forces led by

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

. John de Ashton was almost certainly ''not'' the "Sir John Assueton" who was said to have taken part in a siege at

Noyon Noyon (; pcd, Noéyon; la, Noviomagus Veromanduorum, Noviomagus of the Veromandui, then ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department, northern France. Geography Noyon lies on the river Oise (river), Oise, a ...

, in 1370 (according to

Froissart's Chronicles Froissart's ''Chronicles'' (or ''Chroniques'') are a prose history of the Hundred Years' War written in the 14th century by Jean Froissart. The ''Chronicles'' open with the events leading up to the deposition of Edward II in 1326, and cover th ...

). The ''

Oxford 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 ...

'' has described this identification as "suspect"; at the time, Ashton had not been knighted and was about 16 years old. He fought in Ireland in 1373 and was knighted by 1377, when he was retained by John of Gaunt. Ashton was elected as a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for

in October 1382, with Gaunt's support. He joined

Despenser's Crusade Despenser's Crusade (or the Bishop of Norwich's Crusade, sometimes just Norwich Crusade) was a military expedition led by the English bishop Henry le Despenser in 1383 that aimed to assist the city of Ghent in its struggle against the supporte ...

in Flanders in 1383, and campaigned in Scotland in 1385; however, he did not accompany Gaunt on his Spanish campaign in 1386. Ashton returned to Parliament in September 1388, and again in January 1390, though not much is known about his activity at them. His eldest son, John de Ashton, was MP for Lancashire in 1411, 1413 and 1416, as well as seneschal of Bayeux in 1417-18.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, John de English knights 1354 births 1398 deaths English MPs October 1382 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lancashire Year of death uncertain

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...