John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton

Arms of Stourton: Sable, a bend or between six fountains

John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton (19 May 1400 / c. 1404 – 25 November 1462) of Stourton, Wiltshire, was an English soldier and politician, elevated to the peerage in 1448.

Origins

He was born 19 May 1400 at Witham Friary, Somerset, the son of Sir William de Stourton (abt 1373-18 Sep 1413), Speaker of the House of Commons, by his wife Elizabeth Moigne, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Moigne of Ower Moigne, Dorset.^[1]

Career

Stourton served as High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1426, 1433 and 1437, Somerset and Dorset in 1428 and of Gloucestershire in 1439. He was returned to Parliament as knight of the shire for Wiltshire in Dec 1421, 1425 and 1432 and for Dorset in 1423. He was knighted c.1430.

He was also Treasurer of the Household from 1445 to 1453 and fought for five years in the wars in France and Normandy, acting as Lieutenant of Calais from 1450 to 1451. In 1448 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Stourton, of Stourton in the County of Wiltshire.

Marriage & progeny

Stourton married Margery Wadham, a daughter of Sir John II Wadham of Edge, Branscombe, Devon,^[2] Merryfield, Ilton, Somerset, and of Wadham, Knowstone near South Molton, Devon. Sir John Wadham was MP for Exeter in 1399 and for Devon, as a knight of the shire, in 1401. He was a Justice of the Common Pleas from 1389-1398, and ancestor to Nicholas Wadham co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford. Sir John and Margery Stourton had progeny as follows:

• William Stourton, 2nd Baron Stourton (1432-abt 1477), married Margaret Chidiock (Bef 1428-12 Mar 1502/03), daughter of Sir John Chidiock and Catherine Lumley.
• Margaret Stourton (b. 1433), married Sir George Darell of Littlecote, Wiltshire. Their daughter, Elizabeth would marry Sir John Seymour, Warden of Savernake Forest, grandfather of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Elizabeth Seymour, Marchioness of Winchester, and Sir John Seymour, and grandfather of Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII and mother of Edward VI of England.
• Sir Reginald Stourton of Stourton (b. 1434), High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1455-1456 and 1462-1463.
• Nicholas Stourton
• John Stourton
• Joan Stourton (b. 1446), married Richard De La Warr.

Death & succession

He died in November 1462 and was succeeded in the barony by his son William. He was outlived by his wife.^[3]

References

• History of Parliament biography: STOURTON, John II (1400-62) of Stourton, Wilts
• Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.