John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton (19 May 1400 – 25 November 1462) of Stourton, Wiltshire, was an English soldier and politician, elevated 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 ...

in 1448.

Origins

He was born on 19 May 1400 at

Witham Friary Witham Friary is a small English village and civil parish located between the towns of Frome and Bruton in the county of Somerset. It is in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the ancient Forest ...

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 ...

, the son of Sir William de Stourton (abt. 1373 – 18 September 1413),

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, by his wife Elizabeth Moigne, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Moigne of Ower Moigne, Dorset.

History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in ...

biography
STOURTON, John II (1400–62) of Stourton, Wilts
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Career

Stourton served as

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) high sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Go ...

in 1426, 1433 and 1437, Somerset and Dorset in 1428 and of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

in 1439. He was returned to Parliament as

knight of the shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

in December 1421, 1425 and 1432 and for

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 ...

in 1423. He was knighted c. 1430. He was also

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief ...

from 1445 to 1453 and fought for five years in the wars in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, acting as Lieutenant of Calais from 1450 to 1451. He was custodian of the French Royal

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

Charles, Duke of Orleans at Stourton in 1438–9, towards the end of the Duke's long imprisonment in England. In 1448 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Stourton, of Stourton in the

County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. Stourton also had commercial interests, being a shipowner and a backer of Robert Sturmy's 1458/8 attempt to break the Italian monopoly over trade to the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

Marriage and children

Stourton married Margery Wadham, a daughter of Sir John Wadham (c. 1344 – 1412) of

Edge, Branscombe Edge, (originally, ''Egge''), is an ancient and historic house in the parish of Branscombe, Devon, England and is today known as Edge Barton Manor. The surviving house is Listed building, grade II* listed and sits on the steep, south-facing side ...

, Devon, of

Merryfield, Ilton Merryfield (''alias'' Merrifield, Murefeld, Merefeld, Muryfield, Merifield, Wadham's Castle, etc.) is a historic estate in the parish of Ilton, near Ilminster in Somerset, England. It was the principal seat of the Wadham family, and was called ...

, Somerset, and of

Wadham, Knowstone The Manorialism, manor of Wadham in the parish of Knowstone in north Devon and the nearby manors of Chenudestane and Chenuestan (more anciently known as Cnudstone and Cnuston with the possible meaning "Canutestone") are listed in the Domesday B ...

near

South Molton South Molton is a town and civil parish in the North Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. The town is on the River Mole. In 2021 it had a population of 6225. South Molton is a market town trading mostly in sheep and cattle. There wa ...

, Devon by his second wife Joan Wrottesley. Sir John Wadham was MP for Exeter in 1399 and for Devon, as a knight of the shire with Sir Philip Courtenay, in 1401. He was a

Justice of the Common Pleas Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas (England), Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court o ...

from 1389 to 1398, and ancestor to

Nicholas Wadham Nicholas Wadham may refer to: * Nicholas Wadham (1531–1609), co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford * Nicholas Wadham (1472–1542), English landowner, courtier and politician {{hndis, Wadham, Nicholas ...

, co-founder of

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

. Sir John and Margery Stourton had children as follows: * William Stourton, 2nd Baron Stourton (1432 – c. 1477), married Margaret Chidiock (bef. 1428 – 12 March 1502/03), daughter of Sir John (V) Chidiock and Catherine Lumley. *Margaret Stourton (b. 1433), married Sir George Darell of Littlecote, Wiltshire. Their daughter, Elizabeth, would marry Sir John Seymour, Warden of Savernake Forest. Elizabeth and John were the grandparents of

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King E ...

;

Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, KG, PC (20 March 1549) was a brother of Jane Seymour, the third wife of King Henry VIII. With his brother, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England, he vied for control o ...

;

Elizabeth Seymour, Marchioness of Winchester Elizabeth Seymour ( – 19 March 1568) was a younger daughter of John Seymour (1474–1536), Sir John Seymour of Wulfhall, Wiltshire and Margery Wentworth. Elizabeth and her sister Jane Seymour, Jane served in the household of Anne Boleyn, the sec ...

; and

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

, third wife of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

and mother of

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

. *Sir Reginald Stourton of Stourton (b. 1434),

in 1455–1456 and 1462–1463 *Nicholas Stourton *John Stourton *Joan Stourton (b. 1446), married Richard De La Warr

Death and succession

He died in November 1462 and was succeeded in the barony by his son William. He was outlived by his wife.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stourton, John Stourton, 1st Baron 1400 births 1462 deaths *01 English MPs December 1421 High sheriffs of Wiltshire High sheriffs of Gloucestershire High sheriffs of Somerset High sheriffs of Dorset English MPs 1425 English MPs 1432 English MPs 1423 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Wiltshire

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 ...