Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 3rd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton (c. 23 November 1620 – 20 September 1643), known as the Lord Spencer between 1636 and June 1643, was an English peer, nobleman, and politician from the

Spencer family The Spencer family is an Aristocracy (class), aristocratic British family. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles, including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Earl of Sunderland, Sunderland and Earl Spencer (title) ...

who fought and died in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

on the side of the

Cavalier The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...

s.Record of ''Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland'' at ''www.thepeerage.com''
/ref>G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XII/1, pages 161, 483 and 484.

Life

Henry was born at Althorp to

William Spencer, 2nd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton William Spencer, 2nd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton (1591 – 19 December 1636) was an English nobleman, politician, and peer from the Spencer family. Life Spencer was the second son of Robert Spencer, 1st Baron Spencer of Wormleighton, and hi ...

and Lady Penelope Wriothesley, daughter of

Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, (pronunciation uncertain: "Rezley", "Rizely" (archaic), (present-day) and have been suggested; 6 October 1573 – 10 November 1624) was the only son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Sou ...

, and was baptised on 23 November 1620 at Great Brington church. He attended

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

and graduated from there with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree on 31 August 1636. He then succeeded to his father's title of Baron Spencer later that year on 19 December 1636.

Family

On 20 July 1639 at

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Weald, Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, Kent, River Eden, within the Seveno ...

, he married Lady Dorothy Sidney, daughter of

Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1 December 1595 – 2 November 1677) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1625 and then succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Leicester. Life Sidney was born ...

Penshurst Place Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penshurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poets and courtiers, siblings Mary Sidney and Philip ...

. It was generally believed to be a love marriage and had his father-in-law's warm approval: after Spencer's death, her father consoled Dorothy by reminding her of her happy marriage, which he was happy to have helped bring about. Spencer and his wife had three children: * Lady Dorothy Spencer (1640–1670), married

George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, (11 November 1633 – 5 April 1695) was an English statesman and writer who sat in the House of Commons of England in 1660 before ascending to the House of Lords after he was raised to the peerage in 1668 ...

and had issue. *

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, (5 September 164128 September 1702) was an English nobleman and politician of the Spencer family. An able and gifted statesman, his caustic temper and belief in absolute monarchy nevertheless made him n ...

(1641–1702) *Lady Penelope Spencer (c. 1642–1667), died unmarried.

Death

Henry fought in the

Battle of Edgehill The Battle of Edgehill (or Edge Hill) was a pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill, Warwickshire, Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642. All attempts at constitution ...

in 1642 and was rewarded for his services on 8 June 1643 by being created 1st Earl of Sunderland (although the title cost him £3,000). He then fought in the

Siege of Gloucester The siege of Gloucester took place between 10 August and 5 September 1643 during the First English Civil War. It was part of a Royalist campaign led by King Charles I to take control of the Severn Valley from the Parliamentarians. Follow ...

in August 1643 and the

First Battle of Newbury The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex. Following ...

on 20 September 1643, where he was killed, aged 22, by a

cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

. Cokayne writes that "he was, according to Clarendon, ''a lord of a great fortune, tender years ... and an early judgment; who, having no command in the army, attended upon the King's person under the obligation of honour; and putting himself that day into the King's troop a volunteer, before they came to charge was taken away by a cannon bullet.''"

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunderland, Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of 1620 births 1643 deaths 3 Cavaliers English military personnel killed in action Earls of Sunderland Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland People killed in the English Civil War Deaths by cannonball