![SmithsonAugmentedArms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/SmithsonAugmentedArms.JPG)
Sir Hugh Smithson, 1st Baronet (–1670) of
Stanwick St John, North Yorkshire, was a Royalist supporter during 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 ...
for which he was rewarded with a baronetcy by King Charles II on the
Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. His great-great-grandson was
Sir Hugh Smithson, 4th Baronet (1715-1786), who having inherited by his marriage half of the great
Percy
The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...
,
Earl of Northumberland
The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...
, estates, and the title 2nd
Earl of Northumberland
The title of Earl of Northumberland has been created several times in the Peerage of England and of Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders are the House of Percy (''alias'' Perci), who were the most po ...
by
special remainder
In property law of the United Kingdom and the United States and other common law countries, a remainder is a future interest given to a person (who is referred to as the transferee or remainderman) that is capable of becoming possessory upon the n ...
from his father-in-law
Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset
General Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (11 November 16847 February 1750), styled Earl of Hertford until 1748, of Petworth House in Sussex, was a British Army officer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 until 172 ...
(d.1750), changed his surname and arms to Percy and was created in 1766 1st
Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...
.
Origins
He was the son and heir of Anthony Smithson of
Newsham anciently "Newsham Broghton Lith", in the Parish of
Kirkby Ravensworth, North Riding of Yorkshire, by his wife Eleanor Catterick, daughter and heir of George Catterick of Stanwick.
Career
In 1638 he purchased the manor of Stanwick from his relative Anthony Catterick for the sum of £4000.
He was a Citizen of the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, a member of the
Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient merchant guild of London, England associated with the silk and velvet trades.
History and functions
The Haberdashers' Company follows the M ...
and "an adventurer in Irish lands".
According to Collins:
:"(He) eminently distinguished himself for his zeal and loyalty to his sovereign Charles II in whose service he liberally employed his fortune, seeking all occasions to promote his majesty's interest during his exile, for which he was at length no small sufferer, having his estate sequestered as a recusant after being twice fined for refusing to act as
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
to avoid taking the oaths imposed in those days of rebellion".
He was fined for recusancy by the
Committee for Compounding with Delinquents
In 1643, near the start of the English Civil War, Parliament set up two committees the Sequestration Committee which confiscated the estates of the Royalists who fought against Parliament, and the Committee for Compounding with Delinquents which a ...
.
Grant of augmented arms
As a further token of the king's gratitude, in order to distinguish him from the rest of his family, he was granted the honour of a
different coat of arms: ''Or, on a chief embattled azure three suns proper''.
Landholdings
His landholdings included:
*
Stanwick St John, Yorkshire
*
Airmyn
Airmyn is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated at the mouth of the River Aire with the River Ouse, approximately north-west of Goole. It lies to the west of the M62 motorway and the A614 road. ...
(anciently "Armin"), East Riding of Yorkshire
*
Tottenham Cross in Middlesex. The site of his mansion is thought to be where stands today a terrace of houses called Northumberland Terrace, built by Robert Plimpton in 1752 "built on land where previously stood some medieval mansions, one of which was called Percy House". The magnificent baroque gate piers and railings of Percy House survive.
*Estates in Suffolk.
[Collins Peerage, re Percy]
Marriage and children
He married Dorothy Rawstorne (''alias'' Royston), daughter of Jerom Rawstorne of
Plaistow in Essex. The will proved on 22 Nov. 1658 of "Jeramy Rawstorne" of London, a member of the
Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors
]
The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London.
The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...
survives in the Lancashire Archives (the family was also of New Hall, Preston Lancashire) summarised as follows:
:"To be buried at St. Lawrence Jury, near his father Jeremy. To sisters Elizabeth Baxter, Dorothy Smithson, Leah Shippard, and to cousin Hester Rawstorne £5 each. To brothers Heugh Smithson, Mathew Shippare, Robert Bardard, and to uncle Richard Halford and aunt Anne Harrise, and aunt Mary Younge £2 each. To Elizabeth and Grace daughters of brother Francis, decd. £20 each, etc."
By his wife he had four sons and two daughters, of which only three survived him:
*Sir Jerome Smithson, 2nd Baronet (d.1684), eldest son and heir, married Mary Wingate, daughter and heiress of
Edward Wingate (c.1606-1685) of Lockley's Hall in Hertfordshire, MP for
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
1640-42.
*Hugh Smithson, 2nd son, who inherited his father's Suffolk estates,
a haberdasher of Old Exchange Precincts in the City of London, who married Mrs Alice Yeane, by whom he had one daughter Anne Smithson, married to Sir
Henry Johnson (c.1659-1719) of Bradenham in Buckinghamshire, Blackwall in Middlesex and Friston in Suffolk, several times MP for
Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...
in Suffolk, 'the greatest shipbuilder and shipowner of his day', who had by her an only daughter Anne Johnson, the wife of
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (13 April 1593 ( N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1 ...
(1672-1739), KG,
First Lord of the Admiralty
The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
.
*Anthony Smithson (d.1688), 3rd son, a barrister at Gray’s Inn who inherited his father's estates at Tottenham Cross in Middlesex and at Armin in Yorkshire. He married Susanna Barkham, daughter of
Sir Edward Barkham, 1st Baronet (1591-1667), MP, of South Acre in Norfolk, by whom he had one son Hugh Smithson (1661-1740) of Tottenham in Middlesex, several times MP for
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, who inherited estates worth £3,000 p.a. in Middlesex and Yorkshire. He married firstly Hester Godfrey, daughter of Michael Godfrey of Woodford in Essex, by whom he had 7 children who all died unmarried. He married secondly Constantia Hare, only daughter of
Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine
Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine (21 April 1636 – 15 July 1708) was an English politician, peer and antiquary.
Life
Baptised at Totteridge, Hertfordshire, 21 April 1636, he was the eldest surviving son of Hugh Hare, 1st Baron Coleraine, by ...
(1636–1708), without children. His heir was his cousin
Sir Hugh Smithson, 4th Baronet, later 1st
Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...
.
Death and burial
He died on 21 October 1670, aged 72, at his home at Tottenham High Cross (which formerly belonged to the Hynningham family), Middlesex, and was buried in his parish church of St John the Baptist, Stanwick St John, where survives his elaborate monument showing two effigies, of himself and his wife, probably sculpted by
William Stanton (1639–1705) of London. It displays the following inscription:
:''Certa resurgendi fide cryptam subtus dormitoria sibi sulso(?) ad inhumandi ritus suo solius sumptu curari jussit Anno 1670 Hugo Smithson Miles et Baronett'' ("In certain faith of rising again, in the year 1670 Hugh Smithson, Knight and Baronet, ordered to be undertaken at his sole expense the rite of burial in the crypt below as his dormitory").
Sources
*Collins, Arthur, The English Baronetage, Vol.3, Part 1, pp. 126–8
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smithson, Sir Hugh, 1st Baronet
1598 births
1670 deaths