John Poulett, 1st Baron Poulett (1585 – 20 March 1649), of

Hinton St George Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 442. It has a wide main street lined with hamstone cottages, some t ...

, Somerset, was an English sailor and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1610 and 1621 and was later raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

Origins

Poulett was the son of Sir Anthony Poulett (1562–1600) (also spelt Paulet), of Hinton St George,

Governor of Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the la ...

, and Captain of the Guard to Queen Elizabeth by his wife Catherine Norris, daughter of

Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys {{Infobox noble, Baron , name = Henry Norris , title = Baron Norreys , image = Henry Norris 1st Baron Norris of Rycote.jpg , image_size = 240px , caption = Henry Norris, aged 60, 1585 , a ...

(1525–1601) of

Rycote Rycote is a hamlet southwest of Thame in Oxfordshire. The Oxfordshire Way long-distance path passes through. Saint Michael's chapel Richard and Sybil Quartermayne, lord and lady of the manor of Rycote, founded Saint Michael's chapel as a cha ...

in Oxfordshire.

Career

He was educated at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

and was admitted as a student of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1610. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Somerset by 1613 to at least 1640 and was appointed

Sheriff of Somerset The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...

for 1616–17. He was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in 1610 and 1614, and for

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Herita ...

in 1621. Poulett was raised to the peerage as Baron Poulett, of

in the County of Somerset, on 23 June 1627. He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

to secure English commerce and bullion ships from Dutch raiding expeditions. At the start of 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 ...

he put his signature, together with those of other Lords and Councillors, to a declaration disavowing any intention by King Charles I to wage war against the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, but as hostilities broke out he sided, on 15 June 1642, with the

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 ...

cause. He was one of the principal commanders at the

Siege of Lyme Regis The siege of Lyme Regis was an eight-week blockade during the First English Civil War. The port of Lyme Regis, in Dorset, was considered to be of strategic importance because of its position along the main shipping route between Bristol and ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. At war's end, Parliament gave him a pardon, but his house was constrained to settle a large sum in reparations. He died on 20 March 1649.

Marriage and children

Poulett married Elizabeth Kenn of Kenn Court in

, daughter of Florence Stallinge. They had the following children: *

John Poulett, 2nd Baron Poulett John Poulett, 2nd Baron Poulett DL (1615 – 15 September 1665), of Hinton St George in Somerset, was an English peer and Member of Parliament who fought on the Royalist side during the English Civil War. The son of John Poulett, 1st Baron Pou ...

*Florence Poulett, married Thomas Smith of

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a population ...

and was the mother of

Sir Hugh Smith, 1st Baronet Sir Hugh Smith, 1st Baronet (21 April 1632 – 26 July 1680) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660 and 1679. Smith was the son of Thomas Smith of Long Ashton, Somerset and his wife Florence Poulett, daughter of John ...

.John Burke, John Bernard Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies''
/ref> *Susan Poulett, married Michael Warton of Beverly Park, Esq., son of Michael Warton and Catherine Maltby (matrineal descendant of

Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in t ...

) *Margaret Poulett, married Denys Rolle (1614–1638) of

Stevenstone Stevenstone is a former manor within the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same r ...

and Bicton in Devon,

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1636. *Daughter, married Col. Richard Cholmondeley (1620–1644), of Grosmont, county York, Knight, a Royalist commander during the Civil War, and Governor of

Axminster Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England. It is from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Axmou ...

, who was killed at the

in Dorset in October 1644 and was buried at

Brixton, Devon Brixton is a village, parish and former manor situated near Plymouth in Devon, England. It is located on the A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about from Plymouth. Its population is 1207. It has views of the River Yealm. The church is ...

.Roberts, George, ''The History and Antiquities of the Borough of Lyme Regis and Charmouth'', London, 1834, p. 10

/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulett, John Poulett, 1st Baron 1585 births 1649 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple 1 Cavaliers English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 High Sheriffs of Somerset Burials at the Poulett mausoleum, Church of St George (Hinton St George) John, 1st Baron