BAGOT, Walter (1557-1622), of Blithfield, Staffs.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Family and Education

b. 26 Oct. 1557, 1st s. of Richard Bagot of Blithfield by Mary, da. of William Saunders of Welford, Northants. educ. Merton, Oxf. matric. 1577. m. 1584, Elizabeth, da. of Roger Cave of Stanford, Northants. by Elizabeth, sis. of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, 5s. 4da. suc. fa. 1597.

Offices Held

J.p. Staffs. 1597, collector of the loan 1598, sheriff 1599-1600, 1603-4, dep. lt. temp. Jas. I.

Biography

The Bagot family lived in Stafford throughout the Middle Ages and was related to the Lords Stafford. When Walter Bagot succeeded his father, he inherited the manor and advowson of Blithfield, three other manors in mid-Staffordshire and over 4,000 acres of land. He was well connected: his father was a prominent county official, his wife a niece of Lord Burghley, and his younger brother in the household of the Earl of Essex. His brother-in-law Richard Broughton, another follower of Essex, was recorder of Tamworth. Essex no doubt secured Bagot’s return there in 1586, at a time when the Earl of Leicester was in the Netherlands.

As a result of his marriage, Bagot had more influence at court than most country gentlemen. In 1584 he wanted a lease of Seenye Park and Shepnell Grange, formerly the property of the attainted Lord Paget, and his father-in-law wrote to Burghley on his behalf. Later, in 1610, with the help of Sir Robert Cecil, his wife obtained the wardship of Humphrey Okeover, to whom he planned to marry his infant daughter. However, after a long and expensive lawsuit, Bagot surrendered the marriage rights in return for £800. In 1599 Bagot’s attempt to be excused from serving as sheriff brought him a testimonial from the Queen, who ‘heard he was an honest man like his father, and therefore was sorry she had spared him so long’ He continued to be an active county official until his death.

He died 2 Mar. 1622 and was buried at Blithfield. In his will, dated 25 Feb. 1622 and proved 16 May 1623, he asked to be buried in ‘seemly sort’ but without ‘unnecessary expense’, and left money to the poor. He had already settled his estate on his son in 1623, and mentioned only one specific bequest to any member of his family—the £800 awarded to him by the court of wards, which he left to his daughter. He appointed as executors his wife and his second but eldest surviving son, Henry.

Hist. Bagot Fam. (Wm. Salt Arch. Soc. n.s. xi), 71-92; C142/150/27; APC, xxviii. 559; PCC 52 Swann.

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Sir Walter Bagot, born October 24, 1557; died March 16, 1621/22.

1. Married: Elizabeth Cave, born ABT 1553; died December 2, 1638.

Children of Walter Bagot and Elizabeth Cave:

1. Alice Anne Bagot, died Unknown; married Esquire Thomas Lane.
2. Lewis Bagot, born April 19, 1587; died Unknown.
3. SIR 1ST B Harvei Or Harvey Bagot, born February 8, 1589/90; died Unknown.
4. Richard Bagot, born ABT 1592; died Unknown.
5. William Bagot, born ABT 1594; died Unknown.
6. John Bagot, born ABT 1596; died 1599.
7. Frances Bagot, born ABT 1600; died Unknown.
8. Lettice Bagot, born ABT 1602; died Unknown.
9. Mary Bagot, born ABT 1604; died Unknown.

Weblinks

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/a/d/Sarah-E-Radabaugh/...

http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/ba...