Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet (20 February 1605 – 30 November 1675) was an English landowner, and politician who sat in the House of Commons for Westmorland in 1628 and in 1660. Member of an old Northern family, he took no great part in the English Civil Wars.
Lowther was the eldest son of Sir John Lowther of Lowther and his wife Eleanor Fleming, daughter of Wiliam Fleming of Rydal. He attended the Inner Temple in 1621 and was called to the bar in 1630.[1]
In 1628, Lowther was elected Member of Parliament for Westmorland, where he sat alongside his father. In 1636, he became recorder of Kendal, and was created a baronet in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia around 1638. He stood for election to both Parliaments of 1640, but was defeated on each occasion by Sir Philip Musgrave.[1]
Lowther, a commissioner of array for Cumberland and Westmorland in 1642, was commissioned a colonel by the Royalists during the Civil War and was Governor of Brougham Castle until 1644. However, he claimed not to have borne arms against the Parliamentarians, and took the Covenant when their forces approached. He was recommended to continue as a justice of the peace for Westmorland (having sat on the bench since 1641) and was fined on relatively favorable terms. He did not continue as a justice or in the recordership of Kendal after 1648, during the Interregnum.[1]
After the Restoration, he came in for a variety of minor offices in the North, appearing in the commissions of the peace for Cumberland, Westmorland, and the North Riding of Yorkshire and receiving a deputy lieutenancy in Cumberland. From 1661 to 1662 he was High Sheriff of that county. He was again returned in 1660 to represent Westmorland in the Convention Parliament, he and Sir Thomas Wharton defeating Thomas Burton. Moderately active during the Parliament, his one recorded speech was to oppose Charles Howard's bill for curbing the moss troopers, preferring older methods of keeping peace on the border. He did not again stand for Parliament, but returned to his activities in the North, where he actively expanded his estates (often at the expense of his neighbors) and prosecuted Quakers.[1]
Lowther married twice. By his first marriage to Mary Fletcher, he had ten children:
By his second marriage to Elizabeth Hare, he had four children:
His eldest son John predeceased him, and he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson. He left an estate worth about £80,000.[1]
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Unknown |
Member of Parliament for Westmorland 1660–1661 With: Sir Thomas Wharton |
Succeeded by Sir Philip Musgrave Sir Thomas Strickland |
| Baronetage of Nova Scotia | ||
| New title | Baronet (of Lowther) c.1638–1675 |
Succeeded by John Lowther |