John Lucas, 1st Baron Lucas of Shenfield (23 October 1606 – 2 July 1671) was an English

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 ...

soldier, industrialist and landowner. Lucas was the son of Sir Thomas Lucas and Elizabeth Leighton. He was one of eight children which included other notable people such as Sir Thomas Lucas, Sir Charles Lucas (d.1648), both Royalist officers, and the philosopher Margaret Cavendish. Lucas was an early public supporter of the Royalist cause and in 1638 he was appointed to the household of the eight year old

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. His house in Colchester, St John's, was attacked by a crowd during the

Stour Valley Riots The Stour Valley riots, also called the Anti-Popery riots, were a series of anti-Roman Catholic riots and attacks which took place across southern East Anglia throughout 1642. The unrest was concentrated in the area surrounding the River Stour, o ...

of 1642 and he was imprisoned by Parliamentarian forces early in the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

, but escaped and fought for the king 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 ...

. On 3 January 1645 he was created Baron Lucas of Shenfield, of Shenfield in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

. He was again imprisoned by Parliament in 1655, before being released prior to the

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 ...

in 1660. He was elected an Original Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1663; he was possibly expelled in 1666. He married Anne Nevill in 1628. Lucas had one surviving daughter, Mary Grey, Countess of Kent, who was created ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Baroness Lucas of Crudwell at her father's request. Lucas was buried at St Giles's church, Colchester. He died without surviving male issue and by a special remainder in his

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

, the heir to his title was Charles Lucas, 2nd Baron Lucas (1631–1688), son of his elder brother Sir Thomas Lucas.

References

Sources

* *
The Peerage: John Lucas, 1st Baron Lucas of Shenfield
1606 births 1671 deaths Cavaliers Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War English industrialists Lucas, John

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Barons Lucas {{England-baron-stub