Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttelton
Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttleton (also Littelton; 1589 – 27 August 1645), from Munslow in Shropshire, was a Chief Justice of North Wales. He was descended from the judge and legal scholar, Thomas de Littleton. His father, also Edward, had been Chief Justice of North Wales before him.[1]
Education and career
He was educated at
As a member of the party opposed to the arbitrary measures of Charles I, Littleton had shown more moderation than some of his colleagues, and in 1634, three years after he had been chosen Recorder of London, the king attached him to his own side by appointing him Solicitor General. In the famous case about ship money, Sir Edward argued against John Hampden. In 1640, he was made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.[2]
The Great Seal
In 1641, when the previous keeper, John Finch, fled into exile, Littleton was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. He was raised to the Peerage as Baron Lyttelton of Munslow.[1]
As the Lord Keeper Littleton had begun to display a certain amount of indifference to the royal cause. In January 1642, he refused to put the
Death
Littleton died at Oxford on 27 August 1645; he left no sons and his barony became extinct. His only daughter, Anne, married her cousin, Sir Thomas Littleton, 2nd Baronet. Their son, Sir Thomas Littleton (c. 1647–1710), was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1698 to 1700, and Treasurer of the Navy from 1700 to 1710.[2]
Notes
References
- Christopher W. Brooks, 'Littleton, Edward, Baron Littleton (1589–1645)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Littleton, Edward, Baron". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 793. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 33. 1893. p. 36. .
- John Campbell Campbell, Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England: From the Earliest Times Till the Reign of King George IV, John Murray, 1857 pp. 273–300
External links
Media related to Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttleton of Mounslow at Wikimedia Commons