Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough, 28 September 1610 to 10 January 1667, was the younger son of

Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon (24 April 1586 – 14 November 1643), was a prominent English nobleman and literary patron in England during the first half of the seventeenth century. Life He was born at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicester ...

, one of the most powerful landowners in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

. He fought with the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

army in the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

, and narrowly escaped execution after being captured at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

in 1648. He spent the next twelve years with the

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

court in exile, and became a leading member of the

Sealed Knot The Sealed Knot was a secret Royalist association which plotted for the Restoration of the monarchy during the English Interregnum. The group was commissioned by King Charles II between November 1653 and February 1654 from his exile in Paris f ...

, a body set up to co-ordinate Royalist plots against

The Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was the English form of government lasting from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659, under which the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotl ...

. Hastings returned home after the 1660

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

, and was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Since 1703, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Leicestershire. Lord Lieutenants * Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset 1549–1551 * Francis Hasti ...

in 1661, a position he retained until his death in January 1667.

Personal details

Henry Hastings was born 28 September 1610 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 Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, William, Lord Hastings, a favourite of Edward IV of England, Edward IV, ...

, the family home in

, fifth child and second son of

(1586–1643), and his wife

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

(1588–1633). His siblings included, Lady Alice Hastings,

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 ...

(b. 1608),

Lady Elizabeth Hastings Lady Elizabeth Hastings (19 April 1682 – 21 December 1739), also known as Lady Betty, was an English philanthropist, religious devotee and supporter of women's education. She was an intelligent and energetic woman, with a wide circle of conn ...

and Lady Mary Hastings (b. 1612). His mother, at one time, was fourth-in-line to inherit England's throne. She was a great great granddaughter of Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk. He was educated at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642, Hastings declared himself a supporter of King

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 ...

and the family home, Ashby-de-la-Zouch castle, became a vital link between the Royalist south-west and the north – particularly as much of the rest of

supported the Parliamentary cause. Hastings was made

High Sheriff of Leicestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Leicestershire, United Kingdom. The 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 ...

that same year (1642) by King Charles. Hastings, therefore, as Colonel Hastings, became engaged in various skirmishes between the opposing forces, seeing action at the

Battle of Hopton Heath A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

, fighting a small battle at Cotes Bridge near

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

and later losing an eye to a pistol shot after an exchange near

Bagworth Bagworth is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bagworth and Thornton, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1568. History The villag ...

, all in 1643. He was thereafter known as Blind Henry Hastings by the Parliamentarians, who refused to recognise his new title. Later that year, his forces captured and lost the town of

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

. In May 1645 Hastings supported Prince Rupert in the siege and the storming of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and was subsequently appointed the governor of Leicester by the King on 2 June. Following the Royalist defeat at the

Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Roundhead, Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Sir Th ...

the Royalist garrison at Leicester was itself besieged by the parliamentarian general

Sir Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

. After a brief siege Hastings negotiated articles of surrender and the garrison marched out of Leicester on 18 June. As the war progressed and Royalist fortunes waned, Ashby—already the target of action in 1644—was subject to a prolonged siege between September 1645 and its surrender in March 1646. Hastings, ennobled as the first Baron Loughborough on 23 October 1643, for his services to Charles I, marched out with the honours of war. The castle was later partly demolished, with the remaining Hastings family moving to

Donington Hall Donington Hall is a country house set in parkland near Castle Donington village, North West Leicestershire. The Hall and Estate was purchased in April 2021 by MotorSport Vision, which also operates the neighbouring Donington Park racing cir ...

near Derby. In the Second Civil War he and Arthur, Lord Capell in raising troops for the Royalists, joined the

Earl of Norwich Earl of Norwich was a title that was created four times in British history, three times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1626 in favour of the courtier and ...

, Sir Charles Lucas and

Sir George Lisle Sir George Lisle (baptised 10 July 1615 – 28 August 1648) was a professional soldier from London who briefly served in the later stages of the Eighty and Thirty Years War, then fought for the Royalists during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. C ...

in Essex and took part in the

Siege of Colchester The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the Second English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Cavalier, Royalist army on its way through East Angli ...

. He surrendered with the others on 28 August 1648 and was exiled by Parliament (he fled to Holland) on 18 November 1648. In this he was fortunate as Capell, Lucas and Lisle were all executed for their part in the rebellion. Upon the Restoration (for which he had worked secretly as a founder member of The Sealed Knot), Hastings was able to return to England and was appointed

in 1661 although he only ever lived in London from then on, in a Manor House in Lambeth Wick he renamed Loughborough House. He died in 1667. Several streets and a railway station in the Brixton area of London perpetuate his name.Brixton Guide
/ref>

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Loughborough, Henry Hastings, 1st Baron 1610 births 1667 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Barons in the Peerage of England Lord-lieutenants of Leicestershire Hastings, Henry People from Loughborough Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough People from the London Borough of Lambeth Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War