John Byron, 1st Baron Byron KB (1599 – 23 August 1652) was an English nobleman,

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 ...

, politician, peer, knight, and supporter of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

Life

Byron was the son of Sir John Byron of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, and Anne Molyneux. His grandfather, another Sir John Byron, had represented

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

in Parliamant. The future first baron was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He succeeded his father when the latter died 28 September 1625. He was elected as MP for

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in 1624 and 1626. He was knighted (KB) in 1626 and was then elected as knight of the shire (MP) for

in 1628. He also served as

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuri ...

for 1634 and then as

Lieutenant of the Tower of London The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like the ...

, from December 1641 to February 1642. When the Civil War started, he joined the king at York. He was engaged on the Royalists' cause throughout the Civil Wars and afterwards. After Byron distinguished himself at the

First Battle of Newbury The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex. Followin ...

King Charles created him

Baron Byron Baron Byron, of Rochdale in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1643 by letters patent for Sir John Byron, a Cavalier general and former Member of Parliament. The peerage was created with ...

in October 1643 and made him commander of the Royalist forces in

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 ...

and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. However he was defeated at the

Battle of Nantwich The Battle of Nantwich was fought on 25 January 1644 in Cheshire during the First English Civil War. In the battle, Sir Thomas Fairfax in command of a Parliamentarian relief force defeated Lord Byron and the Royalists. The Parliamentari ...

in 1644 and forced to withdraw to Chester. He then marched with Prince Rupert's forces into Yorkshire and commanded the royalist right flank at the

Battle of Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...

in July 1644, but after his troops were routed by numerically superior parliamentarian forces he retreated to Carnarvon and resigned his command. He did, however, defend

Carnarvon Castle Caernarfon Castle ( cy, Castell Caernarfon ) – often anglicised as Carnarvon Castle or Caernarvon Castle – is a medieval fortress in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, north-west Wales cared for by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environ ...

ably for the Royalist cause, withstanding long sieges before finally surrendering it to Parliamentary forces in 1646. Lord Byron died in 1652, childless, in exile in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and was succeeded by his next eldest brother

Richard Byron, 2nd Baron Byron Richard Byron, 2nd Baron Byron (1606 – 4 October 1679) was an English nobleman, Royalist, politician, peer, knight, and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War. Life Byron was the son of John Byron (died 1625) and Anne Molyneux, an ...

(born 1606).

Family

Lord Byron married firstly Cecilia West, daughter of

Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr ( ; 9 July 1577 – 7 June 1618), was an English merchant and politician, for whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, a Native American people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named. He wa ...

and secondly Eleanor Needham (1627–1664) daughter of

Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey (c. 1587/88 – 12 September 1653) was an English Royalist and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War. Biography Robert Needham was born about 1598, the son of Sir Robert Needham, 1st Viscount Ki ...

. Eleanor was famous for her beauty;

Peter Lely Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 7 December 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. Life Lely was born Pieter van der Faes to Dutch ...

painted her as St. Catherine, as depicte
here
and according to the diarist Samuel Pepys she was the 17th mistress of Charles II.

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byron, John Byron, 1st Baron 1599 births 1652 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 16th-century English people 17th-century English nobility People from Newstead, Nottinghamshire Military personnel from Nottinghamshire

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 * Secon ...

High Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 Lieutenants of the Tower of London Barons Byron Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War