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 ( ; 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 ...

. 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 governme ...

army in the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related 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 united in a pers ...

, and narrowly escaped execution after being captured at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

in 1648. He spent the next twelve years with the Stuart 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, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the Com ...

. Hastings returned home after the 1660

Stuart Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

, 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 Hastings ...

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, Lord Hastings, a favourite of Edward IV, after 1473, accompanied by the creation of a park. Const ...

, 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) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

(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 m ...

(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 constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

. 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 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 ...

, 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 mos ...

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 The battle of Hopton Heath was a battle of the First English Civil War, fought on Sunday 19 March 1643 between Parliamentarian forces led by Sir John Gell and Sir William Brereton and a Royalist force under Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of N ...

, fighting a small battle at Cotes Bridge near

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

and later losing an eye to a pistol shot after an exchange near Bagworth, 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. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...

. 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 and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

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 Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, destroyed the main ...

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

Sir Thomas Fairfax Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...

. 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 mansion 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 circu ...

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. Ca ...

in Essex and took part in the

Siege of Colchester The siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise suppo ...

. 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 Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

(for which he had worked secretly as a founder 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 fo ...

), 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 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 ...

People from the London Borough of Lambeth Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War