Nicholas Saunderson, 1st Viscount Castleton (1562–1631) was an English landowner 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. ...

in 1593 and 1625. Saunderson was the eldest son of Robert Saunderson of Saxby and Fillingham and his second wife Catherine Grantham, daughter of

Vincent Grantham Vincent Grantham (by 1496 – 1550), of Goltho and Lincoln, was an English Member of Parliament. He was born the eldest son of Edward Grantham of Lincoln and educated in the Law at Lincoln's Inn (1510). He was elected Mayor of Lincoln for 1527 ...

of St Katherine's, Lincoln. He was educated at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, being awarded BA in 1579, and also entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1579. He succeeded to the estates of Saxby and Fillingham at the age of 21 on the death of his father and became one of the leading landowners of Lincolnshire. By 1569 he was commissioner for sewers for Lincolnshire. He was J.P. for Lindsey Lincolnshire from 1591 and JP for Nottinghamshire from about 1592. He was

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. 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 centuries most of the responsibilitie ...

from 1592 to 1593. History of Parliament Online - Nicholas Saunderson
/ref> In 1593, Saunderson was elected

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

Great Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

, a seat which his uncle

Thomas Grantham Sir Thomas Grantham (bap. 1641 – 1718 non.br>‘Grantham, Sir Thomas (bap. 1641, d. 1718)’ rev. Peter Le Fevre, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 8 Sept 2008) was a ...

had held until his death. He was knighted in 1603 and purchased a baronetcy in 1611. He was High Sheriff of Lincolnshire again from 1613 to 1614. In 1624 he was commissioner for recusancy. He was elected MP for

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

in 1625. In 1627 he obtained a peerage as

Viscount Castleton A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a Title#Aristocratic titles, title used in certain European countries for a nobility, noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-he ...

. He was considered one of the leading "depopulators by enclosure" in Lincolnshire. He lived in style and employed the musician

Giles Farnaby Giles Farnaby (c. 1563 – November 1640) was an English composer and virginalist whose music spans the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque period. Life Giles Farnaby was born about 1563, perhaps in Truro, Cornwall or near London. ...

to teach his children. Saunderson died at the age of about 70. Saunderson married firstly a daughter of William Rokeby before 1593 and secondly Mildred Hiltofte, daughter of John Hiltofte of Boston before 1599. He had four sons and two daughters, two of whom married into the Bertie and Rutland families. His brother Robert Saunderson was also an MP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castleton, Nicholas Saunderson, 1st Viscount 1562 births 1631 deaths Members of Lincoln's Inn Alumni of the University of Oxford High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire Members of the Parliament of England for Great Grimsby Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Charles I English MPs 1593 English MPs 1625 Commissioners for sewers