John Byron, 1st Baron Byron (1599, Newstead, Nottinghamshire

Newstead, Nottinghamshire

Newstead is a small village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England, situated between Nottingham and Mansfield in the Borough of Gedling. It is a former coal mining village, and was previously called Newstead Colliery Village. Lord Byron, the poet, lived at nearby Newstead Abbey. The parish...

 – 23 August 1652) was an English Royalist

Cavalier

Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...

 and supporter of Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 during the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

.

Life

John Byron was a son of Sir John Byron Jr

Sir John Byron Jr

Sir John Byron Junior was an Elizabethan English knight.He was the son of Sir John Byron Sr and lived at Clayton, Manchester, and later Royton, both then in Lancashire and later still at Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire....

, who was the 2nd owner of Newstead Abbey

Newstead Abbey

Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England, originally an Augustinian priory, is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron.-Monastic foundation:The priory of St...

, and Anne Molyneux.
He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

.

Byron first served as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire

’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 most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

 for 1634 and then as Lieutenant of the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

, from Dec. 1641 to Feb. 1642. When the Civil War started he joined the King at York. He was engaged on the Royalists' cause throughout the Civil Wars and afterwards. After Byron distinguished himself at the First Battle of Newbury

First Battle of Newbury

The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex...

 King Charles created him Baron Byron

Baron Byron

Baron Byron, of Rochdale in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1643, by letters patent, for Sir John Byron, a Cavalier general and former Member of Parliament...

 in October 1643 and made him commander of the Royalist forces in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 and Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

. Lord Byron died in 1652, childless, in exile in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, and was succeeded by his next eldest brother Richard Byron

Richard Byron, 2nd Baron Byron

Sir Richard Byron, 2nd Baron Byron was an English Royalist, knight, and supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War.-Life:Byron was a son of Sir John Byron Jr, who was the 2nd owner of Newstead Abbey, and Anne Molyneux....

(born 1606).

External links

• Biography British Civil Wars website