John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse
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John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse (24 June 1614 – 10 September 1689) was an English nobleman, soldier and MP, notable for his role during and after the English Civil War.
Balasyse was the second son of Thomas Belasyse, 1st Baron Fauconberg (1577–1652), and Barbara, daughter of Sir Henry Cholmondeley of Roxby, Yorkshire. He was born at Newburgh Grange and baptised (24 July 1614) at Coxwold, both in Yorkshire.
MP for Thirsk from 1640 to 1642 and a follower of the Royalist cause, he raised six regiments of horse and foot soldiers at his own expense, and took part in the battles of Edgehill and Brentford (both in 1642), Newbury (1643), Selby (1644) and Naseby (1645), as well as the sieges of Reading (1643), Bristol and Newark — being wounded several times. He later became Lieutenant-General of the King's forces in the North of England, and Governor of York and of Newark.
In Oxford on 27 January 1645 he was raised to the peerage under the title of Baron Belasyse of Worlaby, Lincolnshire.
Belasyse is considered one of the first members of the Royalist underground organisation, The Sealed Knot (as is his predecessor as Governor of Newark: Sir Richard Willis). During the Commonwealth, Belasyse was in frequent communication with King Charles II and his supporters in Holland, and after the Restoration was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire (1661–1673) and Governor of Hull, while from 1664 to 1666 he held the posts of Captain-General of the forces in Africa and Governor of Tangier (according to Samuel Pepys, Belasyse accepted the post only for the profit it brought). In 1667 he was appointed Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms. However, as a Catholic, Belasyse later had to resign all his appointments as he was unwilling to take the Oath of Conformity introduced under the Test Act.
He was imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1678 to 1684 after false allegations by Titus Oates that he and others planned to raise a Catholic army.
Following the accession of James II, Belasyse returned to favour and was appointed a Privy Counsellor in July 1686 and in 1687 was appointed as First Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. From 1671 until his death in 1689, he lived in Whitton, near Twickenham in Middlesex. He was buried on 14 September 1689 at the church of St Giles in the Fields, London.
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| Honorary Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Cleveland |
Captain of the Gentlemen Pensioners 1667–1672 |
Succeeded by The Viscount Fauconberg |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Rochester |
First Lord of the Treasury 1687–1688 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Monmouth |
