Thomas Byron
Sir Thomas Byron | |
---|---|
Royalist Army | |
Battles/wars | Battle of Edgehill Battle of Hopton Heath |
Sir Thomas Byron (c. 1610 – 5 February 1644) was a
Early life and family
Thomas Byron was born to Sir John Byron of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, and Anne Molyneux around 1610, the fifth of seven sons.[1] The Byron family were influential land-owners in both Lancashire and Nottinghamshire, across which they owned thousands of acres of land. Byron's great-grandfather and grandfather both served as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, and his grandfather was also a Member of Parliament for the county in 1597. The family estate lessened during his grandfather's life, as he was forced to sell off parts of it to pay off his debts.[2] Thomas married Katherine Braine, and had two children, Thomas and John, who both died in infancy.[1] Katherine outlived Byron, and was buried at Westminster Abbey in 1676.[3]
English Civil War
On the outbreak of the First English Civil War in 1642, Byron and his brothers were "all passionately the King's", according to the writer Lucy Hutchinson, a family friend.[1] All seven Byron brothers fought on the Royalist side; the eldest, Sir John Byron, was credited with raising the first Royalist cavalry regiment of the war, in which three of the younger brothers served as officers.[4] Thomas Byron was appointed colonel of the Prince of Wales' cavalry regiment, and also commanded the Prince's troop, one of seven which made up the regiment.[5] He was knighted by King Charles on 27 September, in Shrewsbury.[6]
At the
By the following year,
Death
On 7 December 1643, Byron was attacked in Oxford as he left his lodgings by one of his own soldiers, Captain Hurst, over a pay dispute.[1] The historian Peter Young speculates that Hopton may have been on leave, as the Prince of Wales' Regiment was still with Hopton.[10] Hurst was executed the following week, while Byron died of the chest wound from the attack two months later, on 5 February 1644. He was buried four days later at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.[1][10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Yerby 2006.
- ^ R. C. G. (1981). Hasler, P.W. (ed.). "Byron, John (d.1623), of Colwick and Newstead, Notts. Clayton, Lancs". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558–1603 – via The History of Parliament Online.
- ^ "Dame Katherine Byron". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ Barratt 2004, p. 120.
- ^ Young 1945, p. 107.
- ^ a b Manganiello 2004, p. 87.
- ^ Young 1967, pp. 112–113.
- ^ Young 1945, p. 108.
- ^ Brooks 2005, p. 394.
- ^ a b c Young 1945, p. 109.
Bibliography
- Barratt, John (2004). Cavalier Generals: King Charles I & His Commanders in the English Civil War, 1642–46. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-84415-128-8.
- Brooks, Richard (2005). Cassell's Battlefields of Britain and Ireland. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-304-36333-2.
- Manganiello, Stephen C. (2004). The Concise Encyclopedia of the Revolutions and Wars of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1639–1660. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5100-8.
- Yerby, George (2006) [2004]. "Byron, Sir Thomas". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/4283. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- JSTOR 44221849.
- OCLC 905631257.