Sir John Lenthall (c. 1625–1681) was an English Member of Parliament. He was elected MP for Gloucester in 1645, knighted by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

in 1658 and made Governor of Windsor Castle from 1657 to 1660. After the 1660 Restoration of the Monarchy he was pricked Sheriff of Oxfordshire for 1672–73 and knighted a second time by Charles II in 1677.

Biography

John Lenthall was the only surviving son of

William Lenthall William Lenthall (1591–1662) was an English politician of the English Civil War, Civil War period. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons for a period of almost twenty years, both before ...

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 ...

, and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Ambrose Evans of Loddington in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. At the age of 14 he matriculated at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

on 12 September 1640 and entered Lincoln's Inn the same year. Lenthall 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 o ...

for

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

in 1645. He was one of the judges appointed for the

trial 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 ...

, but did not participate in the trial. He was one of the

Six Clerks The Six Clerks' Office was a public legal office that served the equitable jurisdiction of the English Court of Chancery in London, England, until the mid-19th century. The Office The Office was in Chancery Lane, near the Holborn end. The business ...

in Chancery, 9 March 1657. He was made Governor of Windsor Castle in 1657 and was knighted by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell on 9 March 1658. On 18 January 1660 he was made colonel of a regiment of foot. In 1660 Lenthall was returned to the Convention Parliament for Abingdon, but was expelled from the house on 12 May 1660. In 1662 he succeeded his father to his

Burford Priory Burford Priory is a Grade I listed country house and former priory at Burford in West Oxfordshire, England owned by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert Murdoch, together with Matthew Freud. History Origin The house is on the site of a 13th- ...

and Besselsleigh estates and in 1672 was selected Sheriff of Oxfordshire. As his Cromwellian knighthood was not recognised after the Restoration King Charles II knighted him a second time at Whitehall on 13 March 1677. He died at Besselsleigh on 9 November 1681, and was buried in the parish church at

Besselsleigh Besselsleigh or Bessels Leigh is an English village and civil parish about southwest of Oxford. Besselsleigh was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The village is just off the A420 road between ...

in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), adjoining his country estate. Wood terms him "the grand braggadocio and liar of the age he lived in". cites Wood, ''Athenæ'', iii. 902.

Family

His first wife was Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Bennet, an alderman of London. After her death, he married Mary Bluett, a daughter of Sir

John Bluett John Bluett (1603 – 28 November 1634) of Holcombe Court, lord of the manor of Holcombe Rogus in Devon, was MP for Tiverton from 1628 to 1629 when King Charles I embarked on his Personal Rule without parliament for eleven years. Origins Jo ...

(d.1634) of

Holcombe Rogus Holcombe Rogus is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. In 2001 the population of the parish was 503. The northern boundary of the parish forms part of the county boundary with Somerset and clockwise from the east it is bord ...

in Devon and widow of Sir James Stonhouse, Bt. They had three children: William, his successor, John and James (died 1686). Lenthall's third wife was Catherine, daughter of Eusebius Andrews, of Edmonton, Middlesex. They had no children.

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Biography

Family

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Further reading