John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton (19 May 1400 – 25 November 1462) of Stourton, Wiltshire, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

soldier and politician, elevated 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 ...

in 1448.

Origins

He was born on 19 May 1400 at

Witham Friary Witham Friary is a small English village and civil parish located between the towns of Frome and Bruton in the county of Somerset. It is in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the ancient Forest of ...

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_ ...

, the son of Sir William de Stourton (abt. 1373 – 18 September 1413),

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, by his wife Elizabeth Moigne, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Moigne of Ower Moigne, Dorset.

History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

biography
STOURTON, John II (1400–62) of Stourton, Wilts
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Career

Stourton served as

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gov ...

in 1426, 1433 and 1437, Somerset and Dorset in 1428 and of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1439. He was returned to Parliament as

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in Dec 1421, 1425 and 1432 and for

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 ...

in 1423. He was knighted c. 1430. He was also

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Ma ...

from 1445 to 1453 and fought for five years in the wars 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

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, acting as

Lieutenant of Calais The town of Calais, now part of France, was in English hands from 1347 to 1558, and this page lists the commanders of Calais, holding office from the English Crown, called at different times Captain of Calais, King's Lieutenant of Calais (Castle ...

from 1450 to 1451. He was custodian of the French Royal

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

Charles, Duke of Orleans at Stourton in 1438-9, towards the end of the Duke's long imprisonment in England. In 1448 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Stourton, of Stourton in the

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Marriage and children

Stourton married Margery Wadham, a daughter of Sir

John Wadham Sir John Wadham (c.1344–1412) was a Justice of the Common Pleas from 1389 to 1398, during the reign of King Richard II (1377–1399), selected by the King as an assertion of his right to rule by the advice of men appointed of his own choice, ...

(c. 1344 – 1412) of

Edge, Branscombe Edge, (originally, ''Egge''), is an ancient and historic house in the parish of Branscombe, Devon, England and is today known as Edge Barton Manor. The surviving house is grade II* listed and sits on the steep, south-facing side of a wooded valle ...

, Devon, of

Merryfield, Ilton Merryfield (''alias'' Merrifield, Murefeld, Merefeld, Muryfield, Merifield, Wadham's Castle, etc.) is a historic estate in the parish of Ilton, near Ilminster in Somerset, England. It was the principal seat of the Wadham family, and was called b ...

, Somerset, and of

Wadham, Knowstone The manor of Wadham in the parish of Knowstone in north Devon and the nearby manors of Chenudestane and Chenuestan (more anciently known as Cnudstone and Cnuston with the possible meaning "Canutestone") are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 ...

near

South Molton South Molton is a town in Devon, England. It is part of the North Devon local government district. The town is on the River Mole. According to the 2001 census the civil parish of South Molton had a population of 4,093, increasing to 5,108 at the ...

, Devon by his second wife Joan Wrottesley. Sir John Wadham was MP for Exeter in 1399 and for Devon, as a knight of the shire with

Sir Philip Courtenay ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, in 1401. He was a

Justice of the Common Pleas Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court of common law within England and Wales, dealing with "common" pleas ...

from 1389 to 1398, and ancestor to

Nicholas Wadham Nicholas Wadham may refer to: * Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609) * Nicholas Wadham (1472–1542) {{hndis, Wadham, Nicholas ...

, co-founder of

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

. Sir John and Margery Stourton had children as follows: *

William Stourton, 2nd Baron Stourton William Stourton, 2nd Baron Stourton (died 1478) was an English nobleman, politician and administrator. Origins Born before 1426, he was the son and heir of John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton, and his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir John Wadham ...

(1432 – c. 1477), married Margaret Chidiock (bef. 1428 – 12 March 1502/03), daughter of Sir John Chidiock and Catherine Lumley *Margaret Stourton (b. 1433), married Sir George Darell of Littlecote, Wiltshire. Their daughter, Elizabeth, would marry Sir John Seymour, Warden of Savernake Forest. Elizabeth and John were the grandparents of

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...

;

Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG, PC (20 March 1549) was a brother of Jane Seymour, the third wife of King Henry VIII. With his brother, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England, he vied for control of ...

;

Elizabeth Seymour, Marchioness of Winchester Elizabeth Seymour ( – 19 March 1568) was a younger daughter of Sir John Seymour of Wulfhall, Wiltshire and Margery Wentworth. Elizabeth and her sister Jane served in the household of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. The Seymours ...

; and

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

, third wife 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 mother of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. *Sir Reginald Stourton of Stourton (b. 1434),

in 1455–1456 and 1462–1463 *Nicholas Stourton *John Stourton *Joan Stourton (b. 1446), married Richard De La Warr

Death and succession

He died in November 1462 and was succeeded in the barony by his son William. He was outlived by his wife.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stourton, John Stourton, 1st Baron 1400 births 1462 deaths *01 English MPs December 1421 High Sheriffs of Wiltshire High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire High Sheriffs of Somerset High Sheriffs of Dorset English MPs 1425 English MPs 1432 English MPs 1423 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Wiltshire