Sir Thomas Aston, 1st Baronet (29 September 1600 – 24 March 1645) was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in 1640. He fought for 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 in 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 ...

. The portrait he commissioned from John Souch of his first wife Lady Magdalene Aston (née Magdalen Pulteney) on her deathbed is in Manchester Art Gallery. He is known as an apologist for the Church of England.

Background

Aston was born in

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 ...

, the eldest son of John Aston of Aston, Cheshire and his wife Maud Needham(daughter of Robert Needham Eqs. and Frances Needham).Burke (1841
pp. 25,26
/ref> His uncle was the soldier Arthur Aston.Kimber (1771) pp. 320,321 He matriculated at

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 ...

on 28 March 1617, aged 16, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts on 8 July 1619. In 1620, he was called to the bar by

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. Aston was created a

baronet 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 ...

of Aston, in the County of Chester by

King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after h ...

on 25 July 1628 .Courthope (1835
p. 9
/ref> He was appointed

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The High Sheriff, Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the The Crown, Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law officer, law enforcement officer in th ...

in 1635. In April 1640 he was elected Member of Parliament for

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

in 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 ...

Civil War

When the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

broke out between the king and parliament, Aston took part with the Royalists, and was in command at

Middlewich Middlewich is a town and civil parish in Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is located east of Chester, east of Winsford, south-east of Northwich and north-west of Sandbach. The population of the parish at the United Kingdom 2021 census, ...

in March 1643, when he was defeated by Sir William Brereton in the First Battle of Middlewich. The Royalists lost two cannons and five hundred stand of arms. Few were killed, but the prisoners included many of the principal Royalists who took part, and the town suffered at the hands of the Parliamentarians, who made free with the property of burgesses and the plate of the church. Aston escaped, but when a few days later he returned to Chester, he was placed under arrest at

Pulford Pulford is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Poulton and Pulford, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is on the B5445 road, ...

, where he wrote a defence of his conduct which furnishes a very minute account of the affair.

William Axon William Edward Armytage Axon (13 January 1846 – 27 December 1913) was an English librarian, antiquary and journalist for the ''Manchester Guardian''. He contributed to the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' under his initials W. E. A. A. He ...

stated in his biography on Aston in the

DNB DNB may refer to: * The ''Dictionary of National Biography'', a reference work on notable figures from British history * Diplomate of National Board, an Indian credential for healthcare providers * Drum and bass (DnB), an electronic music style * ...

that this was an interesting picture of the civil war. Aston apparently freed himself from censure and rejoined the king's army and indeed is said to have suffered a second defeat from Brereton at

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

in 1643.Davies
p. 76
/ref> He was afterwards captured in a skirmish in

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, ...

. When in prison 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 ...

he tried to escape, but the attempt was discovered by a soldier who struck him on the head. This and other wounds received in the war brought on a fever, of which he died at Stafford on 24 March 1645, aged 44.

Marriage and children

Aston first married in 1627 to Magdalene Pulteney, daughter of Sir John Pulteney of Misterton. Together, they had two sons and two daughters, who all died young. Magdalene died in 1635, and she is remembered because of the painting that he commissioned from John Souch showing him by her deathbed. Aston remarried in 1639 to Anne Willoughby, the daughter of Sir Henry Willoughby, 1st Baronet. Together, they had two daughters ( Magdalen Burdett and Mary Biddulph) and a son Willoughby Aston, who succeeded his father as baronet. Aston was survived by his wife until 1688.

Notes

References

* * *Davies, Clarice Stella (1976), ''A history of Macclesfield'', Manchester University Press ND, , * * ;Attribution * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Aston, Thomas, 1st Baronet 1600 births 1645 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Cavaliers Members of Lincoln's Inn English MPs 1640 (April) High sheriffs of Cheshire