Gervase Clifton, 1st Baron Clifton (c. 1570 – 14 October 1618) was an English nobleman.

Origins

Clifton was a son of Sir John Clifton (d. 1593) of

Barrington Court Barrington Court is a Tudor architecture, Tudor manor house begun around 1538 and completed in the late 1550s, with a vernacular stable court (1675), situated in Barrington, Somerset, Barrington, near Ilminster, Somerset, England. The house w ...

, Somerset, by his wife Anne Stanley, daughter of Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Monteagle (1507–1560). Sir John Clifton's father was a London merchant, Sir William Clifton (d. 1564), who had purchased the manor of Barrington from

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (17 January 151723 February 1554), was an English courtier and nobleman of the Tudor period. He was the father of Lady Jane Grey, known as "the Nine Days Queen". Origins He was born on 17 ...

. Sir William Clifton was the son of Gervase Clifton of the Customs House, London, a younger son of Sir Gervase Clifton (d. 1508), KB (1494), of

Clifton Hall, Nottingham The Manor of Clifton was a historic Manorialism, manor situated near the City of Nottingham, England. The manor house, known as Clifton Hall is situated on the right bank of the River Trent in the village of Clifton, Nottingham, Clifton, Nottin ...

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests The Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests is a position established by the Normans in England. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in t ...

in 1502. From Robert Clifton, the eldest son of Sir Gervase Clifton (d. 1508), were descended the

Clifton baronets Two unrelated baronetcies have been created in the surname of Clifton. The Clifton Baronetcy, of Clifton in the County of Nottinghamshire, was created in the Baronetage of England on 22 May 1611 for Sir Gervas Clifton, of Clifton Hall, Notting ...

, which title was created in 1611.Debrett, John.
''The Baronetage of England'', revised, corrected and continued by G.W. Collen, London (1840), p. 119.
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Career

He was educated at

St Alban Hall St Alban Hall, sometimes known as St Alban's Hall or Stubbins, was one of the academic halls of the University of Oxford, medieval halls of the University of Oxford, and one of the longest-surviving. It was established in the 13th century, acqu ...

, Oxford (1586),

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 ...

(1588). In 1591, he became a

Knight of the Shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

, settled in Leighton Bromswold and married Katherine, a daughter of Sir Henry Darcy (a previous Knight of the Shire) that year and was knighted by 1597. From 1597 to 1598, and also in 1601, Clifton was MP for

. In 1605, he sold his paternal estate of Barrington Court and moved his seat to Leighton Bromswold, County Huntingdon. In 1608, he was raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

writ of summons A writ of summons is a formal document issued by the monarch that enables someone to sit in a Parliament under the United Kingdom's Westminster system. At the beginning of each new Parliament, each person who has established their right to attend ...

Baron Clifton, of Leighton Bromswold, County Huntingdon. This ancient form of creation by writ enabled the title to descend via female lines. On 30 December 1617, Lord Clifton was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

for threatening

Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General for England and Wales, Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under James VI and I, King ...

when the latter ordered a survey of Clifton's land. He was then prosecuted by the

Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...

on 17 March 1618 and moved to

Fleet Prison Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was rebuilt several times, and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846. History The prison was built in 1197 off what is now ...

, where he stabbed himself to death the following October. His only son had died in 1602 as a result of wounds received from a

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

, which had broken free during a

bear-baiting Bear-baiting was a historical blood sport in which a chained bear and one or more dogs were forced to fight one another. It also sometimes involved pitting a bear against another animal. Until the 19th century, it was commonly performed in Gr ...

show at

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 south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, and so Clifton's title passed to his daughter,

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

References

Sources

History of Parliament

Burke's Peerage & Gentry, 107th edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, Gervase Clifton, 1st Baron 1570s births 1618 deaths Alumni of St Alban Hall, Oxford Suicides in the City of London Suicides by sharp instrument in England People who died by suicide in prison custody English people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Kingdom of England detention Gervase Inmates of Fleet Prison English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 Members of Gray's Inn Politicians who died by suicide 1 17th-century suicides