William Widdrington, 1st Baron Widdrington (11 July 16103 September 1651) was an English landowner and 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 ...

from 1640 to 1642 and was created a peer in 1643. He fought in 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 ...

army 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 ...

and was killed in battle in 1651.

Biography

Widdrington was born on 11 July 1610, the son and heir of Sir Henry Widdrington of Widdrington, Northumberland and his wife Mary Curwen, daughter of Sir Nicholas Curwen.. Knighted in 1632, he was appointed

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the high sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. 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 ...

in 1636. He was then elected Member of Parliament for

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

in both the Short 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 ...

s of 1640 to 1642, but in August 1642 he was expelled for taking up arms in support of

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 ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

he fought for the King chiefly in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

and on 9 July 1642 was rewarded for his loyalty to the Crown by creation as 1st Baronet Widdrington of Widdrington. He served as governor of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

in 1643, and on 2 November 1643 was elevated to the Peerage as 1st

Baron Widdrington Baron Widdrington, of Blankney in the County of Lincoln, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 2 November 1643 for Sir William Widdrington, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a baronet, of Widdrington in the County of Nor ...

of Blankney. In 1644, after helping to defend

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, and the Kings defeat at

Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters unde ...

he left England with the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

for exile in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In 1648, he was condemned to death in his absence by the

and his estates were confiscated. He returned in 1650 when he accompanied Charles II to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and in 1651 he was mortally wounded while fighting for him at

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

Family

In 1629 Widdrington married Mary, daughter and heiress of Anthony Thorold of

Blankney Hall Blankney is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 251. The village is situated approximately south from the city and county town of Linco ...

Blankney Blankney is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 251. The village is situated approximately south from the city and county town of Linc ...

, near

. They had eight sons and two daughters including: *William Widdrington, 2nd Baron Widdrington (died 1675) first son; had issue. *Edward, who married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Horseley, of Long Horseley, Northumberland. They had at least one daughter Teresa who married William, Wheler, 3rd Baronet. * Jane, married Sir Charles Stanley, K.B., nephew of the Lord Derby. cites: Hodgson, ''Hist. of Northumberland'', ii. ii. 238; ''Stanley Papers'', Chetham Soc. iii. i. clxxxvi. *

Ralph Widdrington (MP) Ralph Widdrington (''c.'' 1640 – 22 June 1718) was one of the eight sons (10 children) of William Widdrington, 1st Baron Widdrington and his wife, Mary ( Thorold). He was commissioned Ensign in the Earl of Ogle's regiment in 1667, his brot ...

, c. 1640-1715

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* * * * *

Biography

Family

Arms

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Further reading