Sir John Spencer (9 January 1599) was an English nobleman, politician, landowner, sheriff, knight, and MP from the

Spencer family The Spencer family is an aristocratic family in the United Kingdom. From the 16th century, its members have held numerous titles including the dukedom of Marlborough, the earldoms of Sunderland and Spencer, and the Churchill barony. Two prom ...

Life and family

Spencer was the son of Sir John Spencer (died 1586) of

Althorp Althorp (popularly pronounced ) is a Grade I listed stately home and estate in the civil parish of Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England of about . By road it is about northwest of the county town of Northampton and about northwest of ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, and his wife Katherine Kitson, daughter of Sir Thomas Kitson of

Hengrave Hengrave is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is to the North the town of Bury St Edmunds along the A1101 road. It is surrounded by the parishes of Flempton, Culford, Fornham S ...

, Suffolk. Educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, he then trained in the law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

. He succeeded his father in 1586, inheriting estates at

Wormleighton Wormleighton is a village in Warwickshire on top of Wormleighton Hill overlooking the River Cherwell, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 183. The original village was by the banks of the Cherwell and can still be seen as a ...

, Warwickshire, and

, Northamptonshire, and was knighted in 1588. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Bedfordshire in 1577 and for Northamptonshire in 1584. He was

Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High 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 most of the respon ...

for the year 1578–79 and again for 1590–91. He was elected as one of the members of parliament for Northampton in 1572. Spencer died on 9 January 1600 and was buried in St Mary the Virgin Church, Great Brington, the parish church for Althorp. His monument was made by Joseph Hollemans, a Dutch sculptor residing in

Burton-on-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 2011, it had a population of 72,299. Th ...

.''HMC 4th Report: Lord Fitzhardinge'' (London, 1874), p. 367.

Marriage and issue

Spencer married Mary Catlyn, the only daughter and heiress of Sir Robert Catlin, who brought him estates in both Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. They had one son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, who became the first

Baron Spencer of Wormleighton Earl of Sunderland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Emanuel Scrope, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton. The earldom became extinct on his death in 1630 while the barony becam ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, John 1549 births 1600 deaths People from West Northamptonshire District

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 * Secon ...

High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire English MPs 1572–1583 16th-century English landowners Year of birth uncertain Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple