Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon
Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon (24 April 1586 – 14 November 1643), was a prominent English nobleman and literary patron in England during the first half of the seventeenth century.
Life
He was born at
Henry Hastings was educated at Gray's Inn. In 1595, Henry's father, Francis, died, and Hastings was next to succeed his grandfather, George Hastings, 4th Earl of Huntingdon, which on 31 December 1604, he did. In 1607, at the age of 21, Hastings commanded forces in the suppression of the Midland Revolt.[1] Throughout his maturity the 5th Earl served in a wide range of offices in the counties of Leicestershire, Lancashire, and Rutland, including Lord Lieutenant of Leicester and Rutland, 1614–42. He was also a member of the Virginia Company.
The Earls of Huntingdon were traditionally patrons of the town of Leicester and involved in its governance. However, Huntingdon became involved in a lawsuit and in 1606 the town did not send him a customary New Year's gift. The Earl was offended, and in 1607 the townspeople sent his wife a gift of a horse to try to patch things up. The Earl, still offended, asked the Countess to refuse the horse, and the rift continued for a year.[2]
Marriage
On 15 January 1601, he married Lady
They maintained their country seat at
- Lady Alice Hastings (1606–1667), married Sir Gervase Clifton, 1st Baronet; died childless.
- Lucy Davies, by whom he had issue.
- Lord Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough, of Loughborough (28 September 1610 – 10 January 1667), had issue.
- Lady Elizabeth Hastings (born ca. 1605), married Sir Hugh Calverley; died childless.
Patronage
Though a recognized leader of the
Upon his death in 1643, Henry Hastings was succeeded by his eldest son, Ferdinando Hastings, as 6th Earl.
Notes
- ^ McMullan, pp. 37-40.
- ^ Courtney Erin Thomas, If I Lose Mine Honour I Lose Myself (Toronto, 2017), pp. 151-2.
- ^ Collins, Arthur. The peerage of England, Volume 1 (Google eBook), page 60. The Peerage of England
Sources
- Doyle, James William Edmund. The Official Baronage of England. London, Longmans, Green, 1886.
- Finkelpearl, Philip J. Court and Country Politics in the Plays of Beaumont and Fletcher. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1990.
- McMullan, Gordon. The Politics of Unease in the Plays of John Fletcher. Amherst, MA, University of Massachusetts Press, 1994.
Further reading
- Cogswell, Thomas. Home Divisions: Aristocracy, the State and Provincial Conflict. Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1998.