John Lyttelton MP JP (1561–1601) was an English politician and member of the

Lyttelton family The Lyttelton family (sometimes spelled Littleton) is a British nobility, British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Lyttelton family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Lyttelton family inclu ...

who served as Member of Parliament for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

during the reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. He was the eldest son of Sir Gilbert Lyttelton. He entered

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

in 1576 and studied law at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

. He married Meriel, daughter of Sir

Thomas Bromley Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicito ...

, Lord Chancellor of England. They had three sons and eight daughters. He was elected 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

in 1584, 1586 and 1597. He was also JP for the country from about 1583 and was its

custos rotulorum ''Custos rotulorum'' (; plural: ''custodes rotulorum''; Latin for "keeper of the rolls", ) is a civic post that is recognised in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and in Jamaica. England, Wales and Northern Ireland The ''custos rotulorum'' is t ...

by 1601. He was involved in the Rebellion of

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

in 1601 and was subsequently tried for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, but died in the

Queen's Bench prison The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, England, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were hea ...

in July 1601, having been reprieved from execution. In consequence, his estates (in

Frankley Frankley is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire. The modern Frankley estate is part of the New Frankley civil parish in Birmingham, and has been part of the city since 1995. The parish has a population of 122. History Frankley is lis ...

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and from ...

Hagley Hagley is a large village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is on the boundary of the West Midlands and Worcestershire counties between the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Kidderminster. Its estimated population was 7,162 in 20 ...

and

Upper Arley Upper Arley () is a village and civil parish near Kidderminster in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, the village had a population of 741 at the 2011 census. Amenities The Arley railwa ...

) were forfeited to the Crown, but were restored to his widow, Meriel, on the accession of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

. She survived him (by 28 years) and cleared the estates of debt, bringing up her children as

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

s. Sir John was buried at

St. George the Martyr, Southwark St George the Martyr is a church in the historic Borough, London, Borough district of south London. It lies within the modern-day London Borough of Southwark, on Borough High Street at the junction with Long Lane, Southwark, Long Lane, Marshalse ...

Family

The children of John and Meriel Lyttleton included: *

Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 1st Baronet (1593 – 22 February 1650) was an English Royalist officer and politician from the Lyttelton family during the English Civil War. Biography Thomas Lyttelton, born in 1593, was the eldest son of Sir John Lyttelt ...

. *

Humphrey Littleton Humphrey Littleton, or Humphrey Lyttelton, died on 7 April 1606 at Red Hill outside Worcester. A member of the Lyttelton family, he was executed for his involvement in the Gunpowder plot. Robert Wintour and Stephen Littleton who had escaped fr ...

, who was executed for his part in the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought ...

. * Bridget Lyttelton, who married

Robert Tracy, 2nd Viscount Tracy Sir Robert Tracy, 2nd Viscount Tracy (c. 1593–1662) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England variously between 1620 and 1640. He fought for the Cavaliers, Royalists in the English Civil War. Tracy was the son of John ...

(died 1662)

References

History of Parliament LYTTELTON, John (1561-1601) of Frankley, Worcs
*''Burkes Peerage'' (1939 edition), s.v. Cobham, Viscount 1561 births 1601 deaths 16th-century births People convicted of treason against England English people who died in prison custody English knights John Lyttelton Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention English MPs 1584–1585 English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1597–1598 Members of the Parliament of England for Worcestershire {{16thC-England-MP-stub