John Poulett, 1st Baron Poulett (1585 – 20 March 1649), of

Hinton St George Hinton St George is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated outside Crewkerne, south west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 442. It has a wide main street lined with hamstone cottages, some thatched. The village has a ...

, Somerset, was an English sailor and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1610 and 1621 and was later 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 ...

Origins

Poulett was the son of Sir Anthony Poulett (1562–1600) (also spelt Paulet), of Hinton St George,

Governor of Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gover ...

, and Captain of the Guard to

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

by his wife Catherine Norris, daughter of

Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys Henry Norris (or Norreys), 1st Baron Norreys ({{circa, 1525{{spaced ndash27 June 1601){{sfn, Fuidge, 1981 of Rycote in Oxfordshire, was an English people, English politician and diplomat, who belonged to an old Berkshire family, many members of wh ...

(1525–1601) of

Rycote Rycote is a Hamlet (place), hamlet southwest of Thame in Oxfordshire. The Oxfordshire Way long-distance path passes through. Saint Michael's chapel Richard and Sybil Quartermayne, lord of the manor, lord and lady of the Manorialism, manor of ...

in Oxfordshire.

Career

He was educated at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

and was admitted as a student of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1610. He was a Justice of the Peace for Somerset by 1613 to at least 1640 and was appointed Sheriff of Somerset for 1616–17. He was elected as Member of Parliament for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

in 1610 and 1614, and for

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

in 1621. Poulett was raised to the peerage as Baron Poulett, of

in the County of Somerset, on 23 June 1627. He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

to secure English commerce and bullion ships from Dutch raiding expeditions. At the start of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

he put his signature, together with those of other Lords and Councillors, to a declaration disavowing any intention by King Charles I to wage war against the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, but as hostilities broke out he sided, on 15 June 1642, 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 ...

cause. At the time he commanded 800 men of the

Somerset Trained Bands The Somerset Trained Bands were a part-time military force in the county of Somerset in South West England from 1558 until they were reconstituted as the Somerset Militia in 1662. They were periodically embodied for home defence, for example in ...

, but the men followed Lt-Col

John Pyne John Pyne (died 1679) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1625 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War, but fell out with Oliver Cromwell during the Interregnum. ...

, MP, into the Parliamentarian army. He was one of the principal commanders at the

Siege of Lyme Regis The siege of Lyme Regis was an eight-week blockade during the First English Civil War. The port of Lyme Regis, in Dorset, was considered to be of strategic importance because of its position along the main shipping route between Bristol and ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. At war's end, Parliament gave him a pardon, but his house was constrained to settle a large sum in reparations. He died on 20 March 1649.

Marriage and children

Poulett married Elizabeth Kenn of Kenn Court in

, daughter of Florence Stallinge. They had the following children: *

John Poulett, 2nd Baron Poulett John Poulett, 2nd Baron Poulett DL (1615 – 15 September 1665), of Hinton St George in Somerset, was an English peer and Member of Parliament who fought on the Royalist side during the English Civil War. The son of John Poulett, 1st Baron P ...

*Florence Poulett, married Thomas Smith of

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a populat ...

and was the mother of Sir Hugh Smith, 1st Baronet.John Burke, John Bernard Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies''
/ref> *Susan Poulett, married Michael Warton of Beverly Park, Esq., son of Michael Warton and Catherine Maltby (matrineal descendant of

Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latin ...

) *Margaret Poulett, married Denys Rolle (1614–1638) of

Stevenstone Stevenstone is a former Manorialism, manor within the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington, North Devon. It was the chief seat of the Rolle family, one of the most influential and wealthy of Devon families, from c. 1524 un ...

and Bicton in Devon,

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1636. *Daughter, married Col. Richard Cholmondeley (1620–1644), of Grosmont, county York, Knight, a Royalist commander during the Civil War, and Governor of

Axminster Axminster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England. It is from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe, Devon, River Axe which ...

, who was killed at the

in Dorset in October 1644 and was buried at

Brixton, Devon Brixton is a village, parish and former Manorialism, manor situated near Plymouth in South Hams, Devon, England. It is located on the A379 road, A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about from Plymouth. Its population is 1207. The parish c ...

.Roberts, George, ''The History and Antiquities of the Borough of Lyme Regis and Charmouth'', London, 1834, p. 10

/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulett, John Poulett, 1st Baron 1585 births 1649 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple 1 Cavaliers English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622 High sheriffs of Somerset Somerset Militia officers Burials at the Poulett mausoleum, Church of St George (Hinton St George) John, 1st Baron Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lyme Regis