John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley
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John Sutton VI, 1st Baron Dudley (25 December 1400 – 30 September 1487) was an English nobleman, diplomat, and councillor of
King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...
. He fought in several battles during the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
and the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
, as well as acted as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1428 to 1430.


Family and peerage

Born on 25 December 1400, John Sutton was baptised at Barton-under-Needwood,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, became 1st Baron Dudley and a
Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
, and died at
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
, Staffordshire. His father was Sir John de Sutton V and his mother was Constance Blount, daughter of Sir Walter Blount. John 1st Baron Dudley married Elizabeth de Berkeley, of Beverstone (died 1478), widow of Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton and daughter of Sir John Berkeley, of Beverstone,
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 ...
(1349–1428) and Elizabeth BettershorneComplete Peerage Vol. 4 p. 480 and sister of Eleanor FitzAlan, wife of
John FitzAlan, 6th Earl of Arundel John Fitzalan, 6th Earl of Arundel, 3rd Baron Maltravers (1 August 138521 April 1421) was an English nobleman. Origins He was the son of John Fitzalan, 2nd Baron Arundel (1364-1390), by his wife Elizabeth le Despenser, daughter of Edward ...
, sometime after 14 March 1420. The children of Dudley by this marriage were: # Sir Edmund Sutton #John Sutton Dudley, Knt. of Atherington, whose son was Henry VII's minister
Edmund Dudley Edmund Dudley (c. 1462Gunn 2010 or 1471/147217 August 1510) was an English administrator and a financial agent of Henry VII of England, King Henry VII. He served as a leading member of the Council Learned in the Law, Speaker of the House o ...
, and whose grandson was
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane ...
. # William Dudley,
Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...
, 1476–1483. #Oliver Dudley (d 1469)UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current #Eleanor Dudley (1439-1513) who married firstly Sir Henry Beaumont (1446-1471) of
Wednesbury Wednesbury ( ) is a market town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England; it was historically in Staffordshire. It is located near the source of the River Tame, West Midlands, River Tame and ...
and secondly George Stanley (1440-1509) of
West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...
and High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1473. Dudley was summoned to Parliament on 15 February 1440, by writs directed to "Johanni de Sutton de Duddeley militi", whereby he obtained a Barony by writ as Lord Dudley. He was the first of his family to adopt the surname of Dudley as an alias for Sutton. "John Dudley, Knyght, Lord Dudley" died testate in his 87th year. His will is dated 17 August 1487. The barony was inherited by his grandson, Edward Sutton, 2nd Baron Dudley, son of Sir Edmund Sutton who was the heir but died after 6 July 1483 but before his father.


Royal service

As
Lord Steward The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is one of the three Great Officers of the Household of the British monarch. He is, by tradition, the first great officer of the Court and he takes precedence over all other officers of the househ ...
in 1422 Sutton brought home the body of King Henry V to England, and was chief mourner and standard bearer at his funeral. From 1428–1430 he served as
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
.Wilson p. 4 Dudley fought in several campaigns throughout the period of the wars with France, and on several occasions acted as a diplomat in the mid-1440s, when he also met
Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious () or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. His reign saw the end of the Hundred Years' War and a ''de facto'' end of the English claims to ...
. In 1443 he was made a king's councillor and became one of the favourite companions of
King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...
.Wolffe p. 104 In 1451 he became a
Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
. Early on in the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
he was a resolute defender of the
House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267 ...
, but changed his allegiance to York before the
Battle of Towton The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...
in 1461.


Wars of the Roses

At the Battle of St Albans in 1455, Lord Dudley took part with his son Edmund, where he was taken prisoner along with Henry VI. At the Battle of Blore Heath on 23 September 1459 he was again present, equally with his son Edmund Sutton, commanding a wing under Lord Audley. Dudley was wounded and again captured. At Towton (1461) he was rewarded after the battle for his participation on the side of Edward, Earl of March, son of Richard, Duke of York. On 28 June that year, Edward IV was proclaimed King in London.


Notes


References

*''The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom'', Edited by Vicary Gibbs *Wilson, Derek (2005): ''The Uncrowned Kings of England: The Black History of the Dudleys and the Tudor Throne'' Carroll & Graf *Wolffe, Bertram: ''Henry VI'', Yale University Press, 2001, {{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, John Sutton, 1st Baron 1400 births 1487 deaths People from Barton-under-Needwood Knights of the Garter People from Dudley People of the Wars of the Roses
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 ...
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 ...
High sheriffs of Sussex High sheriffs of Surrey Lords Lieutenant of Ireland 1