Sir Edward Littleton, 1st Baronet (c. 1599 – c. 1657) was a 17th-century English Baronet and politician from the extended
Littleton/Lyttelton family, the first of a line of four
Littleton baronets with
Pillaton Hall as their seat.
[''The Baronetage of England'']
Edward Kimber and Richard Johnson, (1771) Vol. 1 pp. 289. He initially joined the
Parliamentarians during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
. Having tried unsuccessfully to find a third way, he switched his support to 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 – a decision that led to his financial ruin, as large debts made it impossible to redeem his estates from
sequestration after the victory of Parliament.
Background and education

Edward Littleton was born in 1599 or 1598: he was recorded as 18 years of age when he enrolled at
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
in 1617.
He was the son of
Sir Edward Littleton of
Pillaton Hall, near
Penkridge
Penkridge ( ) is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, South Staffordshire District in Staffordshire, England. It is to the south of Stafford, north of Wolverhampton, west of Cannock, east of Telford and south-east of Newport, Shro ...
,
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, ...
and Mary Fisher, daughter of Clement Fisher of
Packington, Warwickshire.
Both of Littleton's parents came from the middling
landed gentry
The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...
. His mother, Mary, was from the neighbouring county of
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
, where the Fishers held the
manor of Packington
in chief and the
advowson
Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
of the parish church. Clement, her father, had succeeded to his lands in 1571 and died on 23 October 1619, leaving as heir his son Sir Robert. His widow, also Mary, then occupied the manor house with her other daughter Anne Dilke, and then soon died, making it difficult for Sir Robert to get the will executed. In 1621 he accused his deceased mother and widowed sister of wasting timber on the estate and received letters of administration only in May 1623.
The Littletons of Staffordshire,
Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
and
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
were all alike descendants of
Thomas de Littleton
Sir Thomas de Littleton or de Lyttleton Order of the Bath, KB Serjeant-at-law, SL(c. 1407–23 August 1481) was an English judge, undersheriff, Lord of Tixall Gatehouse, Tixall Manor, and legal writer from the Lyttelton family. He was also ma ...
, an eminent 15th-century judge and jurist.
[ Numerous surname variants were current in the 16th and 17th centuries: and the various branches of the family were not distinguished orthographically. The Staffordshire Littletons had often been turbulent, like their Worcestershire cousins. Edward Littleton's paternal grandfather had been a prominent supporter of ]Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...
, marrying the earl's cousin, and had been arrested and temporarily disgraced as a suspected organiser of the Essex Rebellion. His father was suspected of Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
sympathies and had supported a controversial minister at St Michael's Church in Penkridge,[ where the Littletons held the ]advowson
Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
. He too kept up the Devereux connection: Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, KB, PC (; 11 January 1591 – 14 September 1646) was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the 17th century. With the start of the Civil War in 1642, he became the first Captai ...
had a seat at nearby Chartley Castle and was a powerful ally, as well as a relative.
The young Edward was sent off to Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...
, where he matriculated
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...
on 28 March 1617.[ His county was recorded as Warwickshire, which was his mother's native place. About three years earlier his father had run into financial difficulties in the wake of his term as Sheriff of the county and had moved his household to ]Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
to economise.[ Young Edward was 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 ...
little more than a year later, on 13 June 1618. His kinsmen the Shropshire Littletons were moving into a period of influence at the Inner Temple. His younger brother Walter, without prospects of inheritance, pursued an academic career and became a cleric.
It appears that the Littleton family returned to Pillaton soon after Edward's admission to the Inner Temple, perhaps during 1618, and their financial situation began to recover as a result of a switch to demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...
farming and animal husbandry.[
]
Marriage and honours
A knighthood was purchased once Edward Littleton reached maturity, and he received it on 22 August 1621 at Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
.
In 1625 he married Hester Courten or Courteen, daughter of Sir William Courten
Sir William Courten or Curteen (1572–1636) was a wealthy 17th century merchant, operating from London. He financed the colonisation of Barbados, but lost his investment and interest in the islands to the Earl of Carlisle.
Birth and upbringing ...
, an immensely wealthy London textile merchant and financier, originally from Menen
Menen (; ; or ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe (Belgium), Lau ...
in Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. Courten had lent £25,000 to the Crown.[Wedgwood, p. 61.](_blank)
/ref> Keen to place his children advantageously, he paid a dowry of £5000 to the Littletons,[ who were only middling gentry. Courten married his other daughter Anne to Essex Devereux, a kinsman of the Earl of Essex, thus strengthening the Devereux/Littleton connection. After the untimely death of Essex Devereux, Anne was married to Edward Littleton's cousin and trustee, Richard Knightley.
It is likely that it was the huge dowry from Courten that made possible the purchase of a ]baronetcy
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
for the younger Edward Littleton,[ which was conferred by ]Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
on 28 June 1627.
Ship money
After succeeding his father, Littleton began to play a full part in the political life of his county. He served as High Sheriff of Staffordshire
This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire.
The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities as ...
in 1636 – 37. His shrievalty coincided with the ship money
Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs cou ...
crisis and he seems to have held an ambivalent position, allowing many to escape without paying.[Wedgwood, p. 58-9.]
/ref> On 12 February 1637 he wrote from Pillaton to Edward Nicholas, clerk to the Privy Council complaining that he had
:''found such refractoriness in most of the county, as well constables, assessors, and others, by reason of the £1,000 that is laid on the county more than the first time, that they say they will petition and not pay till they be answered. Should he bind them all up it would never be ended. He has been very rough with many, and now they begin a little to be reclaimed. Were he to suffer death for his neglect he were not able to do more. Cannot as yet get a quarter of the assessments to be signed, directing daily warrants out to the high constables for their answering their contempt at the Council table. As soon as he can force them he will return an account. Whole regiments come daily to his house saying, "Distrain !" for they have no money. Did Nicholas know the charge he is at, and the trouble, he would plead for the writer and the Lords compassionate him. He has received £650 and given order to his undersheriff, Mr. Richard, to pay in £1,000.''
A month later he wrote again in a similar vein, pointing out that some had overpaid while the constable of Seisdon Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101.
In mathematics
100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
had neither paid in any money nor submitted any accounts. At some stage, presumably later in the year, Littleton was faced by a summons to the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
over £300 arrears, against £2700 paid in, and petitioned for a stay until Easter 1638 to give him a chance to complete the collection. Although Littleton had sought to portray himself as zealous in collecting money for the king but frustrated by inefficient constables, Sir John Skeffington, his successor as sheriff, gave a very different picture in a letter to Nicholas from his Staffordshire home at Fisherwick.
:''Being at Skeffington in Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
on receipt of the writs for ship-money, he has transplanted himself for the better performance of his duty, and having sought conference with the head constables and others, whether from jealousy that he would not give them the same connivance as his predecessors, whereby a great part of the collection is yet ungathered, or from what other reasons he cannot guess, he received from them directions which would have led him into error and there kept him if he had not redeemed himself.''
Wedgwood
Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...
thought this indicated that "Sir Edward was even then on the popular side."[ Blaming a predecessor seems a natural enough tactic and the two men were equally keen to cast as much as possible of the blame on subordinates. The latter tactic was at least partly successful. As late as 31 May 1640 the Privy Council was still pursuing the constables who had been cited as dishonest or slipshod by Littleton.
]
Drift to conflict
Littleton was Member of Parliament for 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, ...
from 1640, in both the Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks.
After 11 years of per ...
and the Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...
. Initially a trusted Parliamentarian, he was entrusted with his share of commissions and committees. On 26 March 1641, he was appointed to a committee on a bill described as being "to prevent Dangers, that may happen by Popish Recusants." Not surprisingly, in May he agreed to the terms of the Protestation that he would "promise, vow, and protest, to maintain and defend, as far as lawfully I may, with my Life, Power, and Estate, the true, reformed, Protestant Religion..." In August the MPs for various counties were commissioned to put into effect an act for the disarming of recusants, yet to be drawn up: Littleton and his friend Sir Richard Leveson received the commission as Staffordshire MPs.
As the country drifted toward war, Littleton remained a resolute Parliamentarian. On 6 June 1642 he wrote to Leveson, an MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...
, pointing out that Parliament expected all members to be in attendance by 16 June, with a penalty of £100 for non-compliance – to be used in funding the war in Ireland. He then reported on the king's preparations for civil war, including his commissions to raise troops against Parliament in every county. Leveson failed to commit himself to Parliament and was summoned by the House of Commons in August. When the king's commission of array
A commission of array was a commission given by English sovereigns to officers or gentry in a given territory to muster and array the inhabitants and to see them in a condition for war, or to put soldiers of a country in a condition for military ...
wrote urging him to mobilise on the royalist side he joined with other local gentry in signing a refusal "without supreme authority or greater motives of more demonstrable dangers to raise the armes of their county". Ultimately Leveson's neutralist policy failed in the face of the king's order to suppress all third Force troops, and he reluctantly took up the royalist cause. Littleton, on the other hand, did not vacillate but immediately rallied to Parliament. A week after he wrote to Leveson, he was back at Parliament, where he was ordered, along with two other MPs, to notify his father-in-law Courten that he must not sell or move his stocks of saltpetre
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...
, an essential component of gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
, which Parliament intended to buy from him. On 6 August the king, then at York, appointed Littleton Custos Rotulorum of Staffordshire, to replace Essex, who was Lord Lieutenant
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...
of the county and a leader of the opposition among the Lords. If this was intended to loosen the Devereux-Littleton connection,[Wedgwood, p. 59.]
/ref> it failed.
Parliament activity
By February 1643 the royalists were dominant across most of Staffordshire. Parliament's counter-attack was launched under Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke (May 1607 – 4 March 1643) was an English politician, military officer and peer. A leading opponent of Charles I of England, when the First English Civil War began in August 1642, he was appointed as the command ...
, lord of the manor of Penkridge, and as such a neighbour of Littleton, although he had substantial holdings around Warwick. Brooke took Stratford upon Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-west o ...
and on 2 March, St Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
’s Day, invested the cathedral close at Lichfield
Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...
, which had been fortified by the royalists. He was killed on the first day of the siege by a sniper but the garrison capitulated on 5 March. On 14 March the Commons considered a letter from the successful soldiers at Lichfield, which included a request for money and saddles. Littleton and another MP were ordered to write a letter of thanks from the House. Four days later the House committed to his care and that of a Lancashire MP some captured saddles, to be shared between troops in their respective counties.
On 27 March Littleton was commissioned, along with other MPs from his county, to enforce a law providing for the sequestration of the estates of "notorious delinquents," i.e. royalists. On 7 May he was similarly nominated to enforce an emergency financial measure, "An Ordinance for the speedy raising and levying of money thorowout the whole Kingdome of England, and dominion of Wales for the relief of the Common-wealth..." On 6 June he was listed among those MPs who took the Covenant, expressing their willingness to continue the war in defence of the Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
faith. On 3 August he was nominated again in connection with another "Ordinance for the speedy Raising and Levying of Money." As late as 20 August he was appointed to the committee dealing with MPs who deserted Parliament.[
]
Defection
By 15 November 1643 Parliament was fruitlessly summoning Littleton back from leave of absence. By 2 December the tone had become insistent, as Parliament ordered: "That Sir Edw. Littleton be summoned to attend the Service of the House forthwith." In January 1644 he joined the Oxford Parliament[Wedgwood, p. 60.]
/ref> and on 4 March was disabled from attending Westminster, together with Sir John Borlase, 1st Baronet, "for neglecting the Service of the House, and going to the other Party." On 31 July 1646 the writ was moved for by-elections to replace Littleton and Sir Hervey Bagot, a committed royalist disabled as early as 24 November 1642, as Staffordshire MPs.
Some details of Littleton's defection came to light in December 1649, during an investigation into allegations that Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh
Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh (c. 160828 November 1675) was an Kingdom of England, English diplomat, politician and Roundhead, parliamentarian army officer during the English Civil War.
Biography
The eldest son of William Feilding, 1st E ...
, the Parliamentarian commander in the Midlands at the time, had been implicated in moves to create a third force or a large scale defection to the king. These grew out of a long feud between Denbigh and the Shropshire parliamentary committee, whose leader Humphrey Mackworth, had discovered Denbigh was in contact with a royalist agent in December 1643. This came to light through the investigations of John Swinfen, a Staffordshire Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
who later represented 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 ...
in the Long Parliament, and a Captain Stone. Denbigh himself admitted to Mackworth that a Captain Gower, who had travelled widely with him, had been encouraging him to go over to the king and that his defection would be accompanied by a royalist rising in Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...
. Littleton had announced in Staffordshire that he was raising forces on Denbigh's behalf, apparently in order to launch a third party, with the help of Sir Walter Wrottesley and Gerard Scrimshaw of Aqualate Hall. Swinfen, a member of the Staffordshire parliamentary committee, had warned that Littleton had made his peace with the king, precipitating his flight to Oxford. Correspondence between Littleton and Denbigh was said to cast serious suspicion on the Earl, who nevertheless survived this investigation, as several others, and never actually deserted Parliament.
Isolated from his Staffordshire base, Littleton was impotent to contribute to the royalist cause in the area, and parliamentary soldiers occupied Penkridge in 1645 after the briefest of skirmishes. He served to the bitter end of hostilities in the Midlands: the siege of Worcester, which began on 21 May 1646 and ended on 23 July. Littleton heads the list of knights present in the garrison at the end of the siege.
Sequestration
Littleton's estates were subject to sequestration and forfeiture. As early as 25 June 1646, even before he surrendered at Worcester, Parliament granted one of his small estates, Little Saredon, to a local minister. He was listed as a delinquent
Delinquent may refer to:
* Delinquent (royalist)
In 1643, near the start of the English Civil War, Parliament set up two committees: the Sequestration Committee, which confiscated the estates of the Royalists who fought against Parliament, and ...
in a report from the Staffordshire sequestrations solicitors to the Committee for Compounding with Delinquents
In 1643, near the start of the English Civil War, Parliament set up two committees: the Sequestration Committee, which confiscated the estates of the Royalists who fought against Parliament, and the Committee for Compounding with Delinquents, whi ...
in March 1648. The complexity of some of the financial transactions in which he was involved, mainly through the dealings of the Courtens, gradually became apparent. Littleton applied to compound but this was impossible because of the complications caused by his own personal debt of £3000 and the surety
In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a ''sure ...
for the vast sum of £50,000 he had stood for his father-in-law and brother-in-law. This he noted in an application he made on 11 June 1649 to avoid any accusation of contempt
In colloquial usage, contempt usually refers to either the act of despising, or having a general lack of respect for something. This set of emotions generally produces maladaptive behaviour. Other authors define contempt as a negative emotio ...
for not compounding by the due date. The committee accepted his explanation but he remained unable to compound because of his debts.
Cokayne probably depending on Kimber and Johnson,[Kimber and Johnson]
''Baronetage of England'', p. 293.
/ref> asserts that Littleton ultimately compounded for his estates and gives the fine as £1347 6s. 8d. Wedgwood thought that "on 10 December 1649 he had been fined £1134, and sequestration had been suspended on payment of half."[ This seems to be a misreading of ]Mary Anne Everett Green
Mary Anne Everett Green ( Wood; 19 July 1818 – 1 November 1895) was an English historian and archival editor. After establishing a reputation for scholarship with two multi-volume books on royal ladies and noblewomen, she was invited to assis ...
’s calendar of the committee proceedings, which show this as the sum demanded of Sir Edward's brother, Fisher, on 10 December 1650 to redeem parts of the estate he was then claiming.[ Sir Edward's failure to compound is asserted by ]the 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 w ...
in a biography of his son and successor, which cites Green's calendar as evidence.
Various creditors had claimed parts of his estates but on 13 June 1650 tenants were ordered not to pay any rent to extenders, i.e. temporary exploiters, of his estates but to pay it directly to the local sequestrations committee at Stafford. On 1 August 1650 the Commons passed an act that allowed creditors and mortgagees to pay a portion of the delinquent's fine relating to the lands they claimed and thus gain possession. By the end of the month there was a series of applications to consider from people with claims on the estates to compound for their portions. One of these was Anne Gates, widow of Thomas Gates, a Parliamentarian and Baron of the Exchequer, who had died as recently as 19 August, and who had been renting half of Littleton's Worcestershire estates from the sequestrator. Then came Francis Neville, also renting Worcestershire estates, who was owed £800 by Littleton but had so far made only £80 toward clearing the debt. Sir William Hicks claimed that he had received only £800 toward a debt of £1800, outstanding since 1643. These made progress toward their desired goals at varying rates over the next two years. Fisher Littleton, Sir Edward's brother and trustee, sought to rescue some parts of the estates by buying them back for the family, claiming that he was one of Sir Edward's major creditors, with a judgement against him amounting to £1600, dating back to 1643.[Calendar of the Proceedings of the Committee for Compounding, volume 3, p. 2082.]
/ref> Fisher had been renting a large portfolio of his brother's land, half of all his Staffordshire estates, since 1646 for £100 a year, although it was worth £245. On 10 December 1650 the committee offered him the land for a fine of £1134, with half to be paid immediately and the rest within six weeks. Within two days Fisher had deposited the first instalment and provided security for the remainder, so the sequestration on this land was suspended.
On 1 October 1650 the Commons debated a resolution from the army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
committee intended to expedite cases where landowners had tried to conceal the extent and value of their holdings. It was proposed that they might own up and save these lands, although they would be expected to pay a sixth, rather than a tenth, for them. The resolution was passed the following day and the Littletons sought to take advantage of it. This was one of a number of cases where a "discoverer" or informer had already sought to reveal the facts and make a profit by so doing. One Humphrey Lewis protested that he had reported a subterfuge by which Sir William Hicks and Fisher Littleton sought to protect some of Sir Edward's land by making false claims to it. As Lewis had done this in April 1650, he contended that he was the first discoverer and a subsequent admission by Fisher Littleton did not count. The Staffordshire parliamentary committee issued a certificate recognising Lewis's claim in December 1650[ but the Committee for Compounding did not consider the matter until 17 March 1652. Two days later it accepted Lewis's claim, awarding him a fifth of the profits from the estate. Meanwhile, other creditors were pushing forward their claims. In May 1652 Thomas Kempson sought confirmation of his tenancy of the ]tithes
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques or via onli ...
of Great Saredon, which Littleton had transferred to him in settlement of a debt. In this case, the county committee frustrated his efforts.[
In November 1652 the Commons debated a bill authorising the sale of the remaining lands of delinquents with the aim of paying off their debts. Littleton petitioned for his name to be included and the House agreed. He was duly included in the resulting act. Fisher Littleton continued to buy back the family estates and agitated for the more rapid release of land for this purpose: on 30 June 1653 the ]Council of State
A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
referred to the committee a petition on this subject he had submitted. The following month Littleton's trustees, his cousin Richard Knightley and nephew Richard Salwey
Richard Salwey (1615 – 1685?) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1645 and 1659. He was a republican in politics and fought on the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War.
Life
Richard Salwey was ...
, were able to get the lordship of Shelsley Walsh
Shelsley Walsh is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, on the western side of the River Teme. For administrative purposes it is presently located in the Teme Valley ward of the county’s Malvern Hills district. In the 20 ...
in Worcestershire released from sequestration.[ They seem to have transferred it soon to Sir Edward, as he, his wife and his heir sold to Thomas Foley in 1654.][Page, Willis Bund. History of the County of Worcester, vol. 4]
''Parishes: Shelsley Walsh: Manor'', note anchor 48-9.
/ref> The indefatigable Fisher Littleton had, in September 1653, recovered a number of Staffordshire estates, including the lands of the former Penkridge College.[
]
Death
Littleton is thought to have been buried at St Edward the Confessor Church, Romford on 3 August 1657.
Family
As noted above, Sir Edward Littleton married Hester Courten, daughter of a rich merchant and financier. They had three sons of whom two, James and William, died '' sine prole''. Sir Edward's surviving son and successor was Sir Edward Littleton, 2nd Baronet. There were also two daughters, Anne, the second wife of Sir Thomas Holte
Sir Thomas Holte, 1st Baronet (c. 1571 – 14 December 1654) was an English landowner, responsible for building Aston Hall, in the parish of Aston in Warwickshire. The "Holte End" stand of Villa Park, the stadium of Aston Villa Football Clu ...
, who remarried Charles Leigh after Holte's death, and Margaret.[
]
Footnotes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Littleton, Edward
People from Penkridge
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
High sheriffs of Staffordshire
Deputy lieutenants of Staffordshire
English MPs 1640–1648
Edward
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
Roundheads
Cavaliers