Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon
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Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon (24 April 1586 – 14 November 1643), was a prominent
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
nobleman and literary patron in England during the first half of the seventeenth century.


Life

He was born at
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...
, Leicestershire, the one of three sons of
Francis Hastings, Baron Hastings Francis Hastings, Lord Hastings (1560 – 17 December 1595) was the son of George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon and Dorothy Port. He married Sarah Harington, daughter of Sir James Harington and Lucy Sydney. They had five children: * Catherine ...
, and Lady Sarah Harington. Henry was a great-great-great-grandson of
Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury (14 August 1473 – 27 May 1541), also called Margaret Pole, as a result of her marriage to Sir Richard Pole, was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, a brother ...
. Henry Hastings was educated at
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
. In 1595, Henry's father, Francis, died, and Hastings was next to succeed his grandfather,
George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon (1540 – 30 December 1604) was an English nobleman. He was a son of Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon and Catherine Pole, daughter of Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu and Jane Neville. He was a you ...
, which on 31 December 1604, he did. In 1607, at the age of 21, Hastings commanded forces in the suppression of the Midland Revolt. Throughout his maturity the 5th Earl served in a wide range of offices in the counties of Leicestershire,
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
Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...
, including Lord Lieutenant of Leicester and Rutland, 1614–42. He was also a member of the
Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Main ...
. The Earls of Huntingdon were traditionally patrons of the town of Leicester and involved in its governance. However, Huntingdon became involved in a lawsuit and in 1606 the town did not send him a customary New Year's gift. The Earl was offended, and in 1607 the townspeople sent his wife a gift of a horse to try to patch things up. The Earl, still offended, asked the Countess to refuse the horse, and the rift continued for a year.


Marriage

On 15 January 1601, he married Lady Elizabeth Stanley (1588–1633), the third and youngest daughter of
Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby (1559 – 16 April 1594), was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby, and Lady Margaret Clifford. Ferdinando had a place in the line of succession to Eliza ...
, and Lady Alice Spencer. His wife was a great-great-granddaughter of Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk. She, at one time, was third-in-line to succeed to the throne of England. However, Mary pre-deceased her brother
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
and her descendants were passed over for
James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
. They maintained their country seat at
Ashby-de-la-Zouch castle Ashby de la Zouch Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The castle was built by William, Lord Hastings, a favourite of Edward IV, after 1473, accompanied by the creation of a park. Cons ...
in
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
and together had four children:Collins, Arthur. ''The peerage of England, Volume 1'' (Google eBook), page 60
The Peerage of England
/ref> * Lady Alice Hastings (1606–1667), married
Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet, K.B. (25 November 1587 – 28 June 1666) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1666. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He was educa ...
; died childless. *
Ferdinando Hastings, 6th Earl of Huntingdon Ferdinando Hastings, 6th Earl of Huntingdon (18 January 1609 – 13 February 1656), was the son of Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon, and Lady Elizabeth Stanley, the daughter of Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, and Alice Spencer. He m ...
(18 January 1609 – 13 February 1655), married Lucy Davies, by whom he had issue. * Lord
Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough, 28 September 1610 to 10 January 1667, was the younger son of Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon, one of the most powerful landowners in Leicestershire. He fought with the Royalist army in the Wars of t ...
, of Loughborough (28 September 1610 – 10 January 1667), had issue. * Lady Elizabeth Hastings (born ca. 1605), married Sir Hugh Calverley; died childless.


Patronage

Though a recognized leader of the
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
movement and a critic of the policies of the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...
, Hastings was also a patron of stage drama, comparable to his contemporaries the Earls of Pembroke— William Herbert, 3rd Earl, and Philip Herbert, 4th Earl. Hastings was known as the most important aristocratic patron of the playwrights Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. (Hastings and Beaumont were distant cousins.) Hastings patronized other dramatists of the era as well, including John Marston, who wrote the masque at Ashby Castle performed in 1607. Upon his death in 1643, Henry Hastings was succeeded by his eldest son, Ferdinando Hastings, as 6th Earl.


Notes


Sources

* Doyle, James William Edmund. ''The Official Baronage of England.'' London, Longmans, Green, 1886. * Finkelpearl, Philip J. ''Court and Country Politics in the Plays of Beaumont and Fletcher.'' Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1990. * McMullan, Gordon. ''The Politics of Unease in the Plays of John Fletcher.'' Amherst, MA,
University of Massachusetts Press The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinar ...
, 1994.


Further reading

* Cogswell, Thomas. ''Home Divisions: Aristocracy, the State and Provincial Conflict''. Manchester,
Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with th ...
, 1998. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Huntingdon, Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Lord-Lieutenants of Leicestershire Lord-Lieutenants of Rutland 1586 births 1643 deaths Members of Gray's Inn Henry Hastings, 05th Earl of Huntingdon 17th-century English nobility 5 Barons Hastings Barons Botreaux Barons Hungerford