Sir Christopher Lowther, 1st Baronet (d April 1644) was an English

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

and landowner, responsible for the initial development of

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

as a port. He was born at Skirwith Hall, the second son of Sir John Lowther of Lowther (d. 1637) and Eleanor Fleming of Skirwith. Admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1627, he apparently studied the mercantile trade with his uncle Robert (died 1655) as well as legal studies. It was apparently intended that he run the Irish portion of the family enterprises from Whitehaven, which was well situated for trading with

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Lowther proved to be a good merchant, trading a variety of goods in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and the

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, including textiles, beef, salt, coal and herring. He also developed salt works around Whitehaven in conjunction with Sir George Radcliffe, then influential in Irish politics. This led to the construction of the first pier at Whitehaven, which much improved its value as a port. Lowther was in

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on a textile venture in 1637, the year that his father died. After Sir John's death, Christopher inherited the manor of St Bees in Whitehaven, and he and his brothers appear to have separated their mercantile concerns, notwithstanding the family principle of cooperation in business. He married Frances Lancaster (c. 1624–1647) on 6 September 1638, with whom he had two children: *

Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (9 November 1642 – 17 January 1706) was an English politician and landowner. Lowther was born at Whitehaven, in the parish of St Bees, Cumberland, the son of Sir Christopher Lowth ...

(1642–1706) *Frances Lowther (born 1644), married Richard Lamplugh Lowther served as

High Sheriff of Cumberland The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...

in 1641, and suffered losses that year when the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

destroyed his iron furnaces in that country and generally disrupted trade. He was created a baronet on 11 June 1642 in return for raising a

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

of horse for Irish service. A

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, his declining health prevented him from active campaigning, although he was in nominal command of a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of foot under William Cavendish (later 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne) and governor of Whitehaven and

Cockermouth Castle Cockermouth Castle () is in the town of Cockermouth in Cumbria on a site by the junction of the Rivers Cocker and Derwent. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument. History The first castle on this site was built by the Normans ...

. He arranged a trusteeship for his estate in February 1644, as his health worsened, and died at Whitehaven in April 1644.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowther, Christopher, 1st Baronet Baronets in the Baronetage of England High sheriffs of Cumberland Year of birth missing 17th-century English merchants 1644 deaths

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge