Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley

Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley

Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (1567–1643) was a major landowner, mainly in Staffordshire and Worcestershire, and briefly a Member of the House of Commons of England.[1] Through his intemperate behaviour he won widespread notoriety, completed the financial ruin of his family, and was the last of his name to bear the title.

Dudley's father was Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley, a distinguished soldier who managed to regain the family estates after they were forfeit to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland as a result of debt. His mother was the 4th Baron's second wife, Jane Stanley, daughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby. He had a younger brother, John, and an elder half-sister, Agnes, by his father's first wife.

Dudley was baptised on 17 September 1567, so presumably born shortly before that date. In 1580, aged only 13, he was sent to Lincoln College, Oxford, and in the following year was married to Theodosia Harington of Exton, Rutland

Standing under the name Edward Sutton, Dudley was elected as one of the two knights of the shire for Staffordshire in 1584.[1] Still only 17 years old, he was returned ahead in order of precedence of Edward Legh. It is not clear how this was achieved. Legh was made High Sheriff of Staffordshire on the day of the election and had to be given leave of absence by Parliament. Sutton made no recorded contributions in the Commons. He succeeded his father in 1586 and so was unable to stand for election in that year. Despite his apparent anxiety to serve in the councils of his country, Dudley did not take his seat in the House of Lords until 1593.

Dudley's most important political intervention came through the Staffordshire election scandal of 1597.[2] Pursuing a property dispute with the Worcestershire Lytteltons, Dudley put up his brother John as a candidate, in an attempt to stop the election of Sir Edward Littleton of Pillaton Hall, a close ally of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. Dudley ensured success by procuring a blank election return from Thomas Whorwood, the High Sheriff, who was John Sutton's father-in-law. Littleton, cheated of certain victory, filed bills against the Dudleys and Whorwood at the Star Chamber. Among his complaints against Lord Dudley was that he had personally voted for his brother in the voice vote at Stafford. As a peer, Dudley should have no part in elections to the Commons, Littleton maintained - apparently the first time this constitutional principle was expressed. The other candidate, Sir Christopher Blount, Essex's step-father, was also offended by being placed below Sutton on the election indenture. His wife, and Essex's mother, wrote to the Earl complaining about the outrage, and Dudley was summoned beore the Privy Council. However, the parliament was soon over, and it appears that Littleton chose to concentrate his efforts on the hapless Whorwood. Although his chicanery and bad manners had alienated some of the greatest in the land, the consequences for Dudley might have been worse.

Dudley spent most of his life pressured by the authorities to meet debts that were beyond his ability to pay, partly inherited from his father, and partly the result of his own poor management of his resources.

Lord Dudley, like his immediate ancestors, owned substantial estates around Dudley Castle including the manors of Dudley, Sedgley and Kingswinford. He developed the mineral resources of these estates, building (probably) five blast furnaces on them. He obtained a licence to use the patent of John Robinson (or Rovenson) for making iron with pitcoal that is mineral coal in 1619, and in 1622 renewed this patent in his own name. He brought Dud Dudley home from Balliol College, Oxford to manage his ironworks, but this was not entirely successful. Ultimately he fell out with Dud and expelled Dud from the new coke-fired furnace that he had built at Hasco Bridge on the boundary between Gornal and Himley. Debts continued to grow and by 1593 the estate had been sequestrated.

The iron works were essential because the family's debts were already so large that his father's will had earmarked all the proceeds of his iron works for 21 years to pay creditors, who were given precedence over his widow and younger children.[1] Money issues soured relations with John, his younger brother. John had been compensated for his exclusion from a portion of his father's estate by the promise of an annuity from his brother, which Edward never paid. The electoral fraud of 1597 might have helped John establish new contacts and income streams for John, but the parliament lasted little more than three months and the scandal made any further parliamentary career impossible.

Always short of money, Dudley fought numerous battles to maintain his inheritance and income, many of them through violence. His most bitter feud was with Gilbert Lyttelton, centred on the farm of Prestwood, near Kinver, and reached its height in the 1590s.[1] Prestwood is at the confluence of the River Smestow and the Worcestershire Stour.[3] Dudley had Lyttelton ejected by force. He then claimed the right to seize outlaws' goods on other Lyttelton estates and raided them, driving off the sheep and cattle. Extending the dispute still further, he claimed one of Lyttelton's coal mines. He had the miners arrested, confiscated the stocks of coal and set the mine on fire. The Privy Council summoned Dudley and tried to reason with him, to no effect. Lyttelton complained to the Star Chamber, which found in his favour, fining Dudley heavily for rioting and cattle rustling.[1] It was this that led Dudley to attempt revenge by blocking Edward Littleton's election, as he was a distant kinsman of Gilbert Lyttelton.[2] Feelings were very bitter on both sides. The Privy Council had to write to the Worcestershire assizes in July 1598, demanding action against two of Gilbert Lyttelton's sons, Stephen and John, who had attacked John Sutton and his retainers, although the Dudleys had already lost the property dispute.

Dudley was married at the age of 14 to Theodosia Harington. She was the daughter of James Harington of Exton, Rutland, a lawyer and long-serving MP.[4] The Haringtons were the most important landowners in Rutland and Theodosia's eldest brother, John, was created Baron Harington of Exton in 1603. Dudley and Theodosia had a son and four daughters:[5]

• Ferdinando Sutton (1588-1621), who married Honora Seymour, a daughter of Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, who was considered by some a potential claimant to the throne on the death of Elizabeth I.
• Mary Sutton (1586-1645), who married Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home.
• Anne Sutton (died 1615), who married Hans Meinhard von Schönberg, the Palatine Ambassador to England: their son was Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg.
• Margaret Sutton, who married Sir Miles Hobart of Halford, Buckinghamshire: they were without issue.
• Theodosia Sutton.

Lord Dudley also had a longtime mistress Elizabeth Tomlinson, who bore him a large family of illegitimate children, at least 11 in number.[1] Lord Dudley provided for this second family. The eldest Robert Dudley otherwise Tomlinson was given a small estate at Netherton in Dudley. Another son Dud Dudley was given a lease of Chasepool Lodge in Swindon, Staffordshire. A daughter Jane was grandmother to ironmaster Abraham Darby I.

At the Star Chamber, Gilbert Lyttelton attempted to discredit Dudley by claiming that he had abandoned his wife in London without support in order to live with Elizabeth Tomlinson, "a lewd and infamous woman, a base collier’s daughter." The Privy Council ordered Dudley to pay his wife an allowance, which he failed to do. In August 1597 he was sent to the Fleet Prison. He was released after a few days, on condition that he pay maintenance of £100 annually for his wife, and £20 for each legitimate child. In less than 18 months he was back before the Privy Council, having got into arrears.

Dudley's legitimate son, Ferdinando, predeceased him, leaving a daughter Frances. Dudley married this granddaughter to Humble Ward, the son of a wealthy goldsmith, William Ward, who was one of his creditors.

Dudley died on 23 Jun 1643 and was buried in St Edmund's Church, Dudley. Frances Ward inherited the estates, with their debts, and became Baroness Dudley suo jure. Humble Ward paid the debts and redeemed the estates for the benefit of themselves and their descendants.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sutton,_5th_Baron_Dudley

• __________________________
• Edward Dudley, 5th Lord Dudley1
• M, #93358, b. 17 September 1567, d. 23 June 1643
• Father Sir Edward Dudley, 4th Lord Dudley1 b. c 1513
• Mother Jane Stanley1 b. c 1536
• Edward Dudley, 5th Lord Dudley was christened on 17 September 1567 at St. Edmund's, Dudley, Staffordshire, England.1 He married Theodocia Harington, daughter of Sir James Harington and Lucy Sidney, on 12 June 1581 at St. Benet's Fink, London, Middlesex, England.1 Edward Dudley, 5th Lord Dudley died on 23 June 1643 at age 75; d.s.p.m.s.1 He was buried on 24 June 1643 at St. Edmund's, Dudley, Staffordshire, England.1
• Family Theodocia Harington
• Child
  • Anne Sutton+2 d. 8 Dec 1615
• Citations
• 1.[S11568] The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, by George Edward Cokayne, Vol. IV, p. 482-483.
• 2.[S11569] Europaische Stammtafeln, by Wilhelm Karl, Prinz zu Isenburg, Vol. X, Tafel 28.
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p3108.htm#...
• __________________
• Edward Dudley, 5th Lord Dudley1
• M, #2681, b. 17 September 1567, d. 24 June 1643
• Last Edited=16 Mar 2011
• Edward Dudley, 5th Lord Dudley was baptised on 17 September 1567.1 He was the son of Edward Sutton, 4th Lord Dudley and Lady Jane Stanley.1 He married Theodosia Harington, daughter of Sir James Harington and Lucy Sydney, circa 1586.1 He died on 24 June 1643 at age 75.1
• He was also known as Edward Sutton.1 He succeeded to the title of 5th Lord Dudley [E., 1440] in 1586.1
• Children of Edward Dudley, 5th Lord Dudley and Elizabeth Tomlinson
  • 1.Robert Dudley
  • 2.John Dudley
  • 3.Edward Dudley d. b 1638
  • 4.Dud Dudley
  • 5.Elizabeth Dudley
  • 6.Jane Dudley
  • 7.Catherine Dudley
  • 8.Alice Dudley
  • 9.Dorothy Dudley
  • 10.Susan Dudley
  • 11.Martha Dudley+
• Children of Edward Dudley, 5th Lord Dudley and Theodosia Harington
  • 1.Anne Dudley d. c Dec 1615
  • 2.Mary Dudley+2 b. 2 Oct 1586
  • 3.Sir Ferdinando Dudley+1 b. 4 Sep 1588, d. 22 Nov 1621
  • 4.Margaret Dudley b. c 1597
• Citations
• 1.[S37] BP2003 volume 1, page 1192. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
• 2.[S37] BP2003. [S37]
• From: http://www.thepeerage.com/p269.htm#i2681
• ______________________
• Edward SUTTON (5º B. Sutton of Dudley)
• Christened: 17 Sep 1567, St. Edmund's,Dudley,England
• Died: 23 Jun 1643
• Buried: 24 Jun 1643, St. Edmund's,Dudley,England
• Notes: Died having wasted his estate.
• Father: Edward SUTTON (4° B. Sutton of Dudley)
• Mother: Jane STANLEY (B. Sutton of Dudley)
• Married 1: Theodosia HARRINGTON 12 Jun 1581, St. Benet's Fink, England
• Children:
  • 1. Anne SUTTON
  • 2. Theodosia SUTTON
  • 3. Mary SUTTON
  • 4. Ferdinando SUTTON (Sir)
  • 5. Margaret SUTTON
• Married 2: Elizabeth TOMLINSON
• Children:
  • 6. Robert SUTTON of Netherton Hall
  • 7. John SUTTON
  • 8. Edward SUTTON
  • 9. Dudley SUTTON
  • 10. Elizabeth SUTTON
  • 11. Jane (Joan) SUTTON
  • 12. Catherine SUTTON
  • 13. Alice SUTTON
  • 14. Dorothy SUTTON
  • 15. Susan SUTTON
  • 16. Martha SUTTON
• From: http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/SUTTON.htm#Edward SUTTON (5º B. Sutton of Dudley)
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• DUDLEY, alias SUTTON, Edward (1567-1643), of Dudley Castle, Staffs.
• bap. 17 Sept. 1567, 1st s. of Edward, 4th Lord Dudley alias Sutton by his 2nd w. Jane, da. of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby; bro. of John Dudley alias Sutton*. educ. Lincoln, Oxf. 1580. m. 12 June 1581, he aged 14, Theodosia, da. of Sir James Harington of Exton, Rutland, 1s. 4da. 11 ch. illegit. suc. fa. as 5th Lord Dudley 1586.1
• Dudley was descended from John Sutton of Dudley Castle, created a peer by Henry VI. Unlike the junior branch of the family which became prominent through John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the senior line of the family was undistinguished even in Staffordshire, and more often than not deep in debt. Nevertheless the Queen visited Dudley Castle in 1575, and Edward Dudley was elected knight of the shire aged just 17. He made no mark in the Commons, though as a county Member, he was theoretically entitled to attend the subsidy committee on 24 Feb. 1585. Though he succeeded his father in 1586 and was just of age when the Parliament of 1589 was summoned, he does not appear to have taken his seat in the House of Lords until 1593.
• There was long-standing friction in both Staffordshire and Worcestershire between the Dudleys and Lytteltons, and in the 1590s a dispute arose between Gilbert Lyttelton of Worcestershire and Lord Dudley over the title to a farm called Prestwood in Staffordshire. Out of this grew much lawlessness on both sides, culminating in a cattle-raid by Dudley and his supporters. In the upshot Lyttelton brought a Star Chamber suit against Dudley, who was heavily fined for rioting and cattle-stealing. The feud between the families explains the conspiracy between Dudley and the Staffordshire sheriff Thomas Whorwood, in 1597 to secure the election to a county seat of Dudley’s brother John in the face of opposition from Sir Edward Lyttelton. At this election Dudley himself ‘with great and loud voice’ voted for his brother, the sheriff ‘allowed’ the vote, and Lyttelton, in his subsequent Star Chamber action, made the point that this was illegal as a peer of the realm had no voice in the election of a knight of the shire.3
• In the earlier Star Chamber suit, one of Gilbert Lyttelton’s allegations against Dudley was that he had abandoned his wife in London ‘without provision of sustenance’, and had taken to his house ‘a lewd and infamous woman, a base collier’s daughter’, one Elizabeth Tomlinson of Dudley, by whom he had numerous children. The Privy Council felt obliged to intervene to obtain Lady Dudley an allowance, which Dudley failed to pay, and in August 1597 he was committed to the Fleet. A few days later he was released and again ordered to pay maintenance which, from Michaelmas 1597, was to be at a rate of £100 per annum for his wife, and £20 per annum for his legitimate children. Within 18 months he had fallen in arrears and was again in trouble with the Privy Council, the remainder of his life being a story of indebtedness and pressure by the authorities to make him meet his liabilities. Doubtless the family estate was already encumbered when Dudley succeeded, for his father had felt obliged to set aside all the proceeds of his iron works for 21 years to discharge his own debts, giving his creditors precedence over his wife, younger son John, and daughter Anne. Dudley was enjoined not to interfere with the performance of this will, and it seems that by May 1592 he had been unable to pay any part of the annuity due to his brother John. By 1593 the estate was in the hands of sequestrators, Dudley married his infant, orphaned granddaughter and heiress in or about 1628 to Humble Ward, son of a wealthy London goldsmith and jeweller, one of his creditors.4
• Dudley died, probably intestate, on 23 June 1643.
• From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/du...
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• Collections for a history of Staffordshire
• https://archive.org/details/collectionsforpt205stafuoft
• https://archive.org/stream/collectionsforpt205stafuoft#page/114/mod...
• Pg.114
  • Dudley of Tipton.
• Edward, Lord Dudley, died ao 1643. = Elizabeth, (+) da. to William Tomlinson of Dudley, concubine to Edward, Lord Dudley.; ch: (Pg.115 1. Dud Dudley (m. Eleanor Heaton), Pg.115 2. Edward, John, Robert, 1. Elizabeth (m. Geffrey Dudley), 2. Jane (m. Richard Parkhouse), Pg.117 3. Catherine (m. Thomas Dudley), 4. Alice (m. George Guest), 5. Dorothy (m. Thomas Brooke), Susan, Martha (m. Thomas Wilmer) Dudley).
  • (+) Her nuncupative will, dated 3 July 1629, is set out in the "joint and severall answeres of Thomas Duddeley and Henry Jevon," two of the defendants to a bill filed in Chancery 23 May 1631 by Dud Dudley of Tipton, gent. It is as follows : "The said Elizabeth, being visited with sickness whereof she afterwards dyed, did by word of mouth only, without writing, will and declare how and in what manner her said personal estate should be disposed of after her decease, which was to this purpose and effect following, that is to say : She did will and bequeath to her five daughters all her wearing apparel. And also she did will and bequeath to Edward Bagley, son of John Bagley, L30, and to Dudde Bagley his brother L30, to be paid so soon as her executors could pay the same. Also to Thomas Bagley and to Robert Bagley, sons of the said John Bagley, 20s. apiece; and to the poor people of Dudley all the money to her belonging which was then in the hands of her son Dudd Dudley. And further she willed that Gilbert Gyllyan and Ann Rodes should be paid all that which was then by her due to them. And further she willed that her son, the now complainant, should not see her writings, because, as she then said, he might do somebody wrong. And all the rest, etc., she gave and bequeathed
  • https://archive.org/stream/collectionsforpt205stafuoft#page/115/mod...
  • Pg.115
  • to her eight children to be equally divided amongst them. And of the same her will and testament the said Elizabeth did then ordain and make these now defendants Thomas Duddeley, her son-in-law, and Henry Jevon, her servant, executors, and shortly afterwards died." The defendants add that they have not yet proved the will, but are willing to do so "when they shall be thereto by the Ordinary lawfully called." They had called together the children of the testatrix "at her house in Tipton" and arranged for a division, and they had paid certain debts of the deceased to Richard Smalman, John Smalman, Selman Wilkes,, Elizabeth Huntbach, Edward Jevon, and others. Besides these sums of money paid, there were other sums demanded from the defendants as executors as due to them by the testatrix, viz., "Mr. Geffrey Duddeley L14, Mr. Rob'te Duddeley L40, and the complainant himself." Dud Dudley, in his bill, alleged that he is or ought to be possessed of lands, ironworks, and works of stone and coal in Tipton, Sedgley, Kingswinford, Rowley-Regis, and Oldbury. Also of Tipton Park and Parkfield, "which were purchased by Elizabeth Tomlinson, late mother of your orator," and conveyed to him and his heirs. Also of a farm called Priory lands in Sedgley, heretofore demised by Edward, Lord Dudley, to Richard Perkshouse, Esq. Also of Green's farm in the parish of "Womborne, demised by the said Lord Dudley to Robert Dudley, "brother of your orator," in trust for your orator. Also certain waste ground called Pensnet Chase, containing 2000 acres, heretofore demised by the said Lord Dudley to one John Smallman. Had erected at great costs and charges, furnaces, etc. He then goes on to say that his late mother Elizabeth Tomlinson was possessed of a great personal estate in money, plate, etc., amounting to L600 or more, and that, having other children who were all provided for, she by deed about seven years past gave her said goods, etc., to "your orator." That the said Elizabeth died about two years ago, and since her death one Thomas Dudley and Henry Jevon, by the procurement and instigation of the said Edward, Lord Dudley, have given out that the said Elizabeth had made a will and thereby given her personal estate unto her other children, contrary to the said deed ; and that she had made Dudley and Jevon her executors. That, notwithstanding that Dudley and Jevon had not proved the will, they had under colour thereof possessed themselves of the said estate, intending to defraud and defeat your said orator. And the said Edward, Lord Dudley, Thomas Dudley, and Henry Jevon had "in a violent and outragious manner" entered upon the land and premises and expelled your orator out and from the same, and have also, about a year ago, wrongfully entered into the dwelling-house of your orator at Tipton and possessed themselves of all his deeds and evidences. And also forcibly carried away all your orator's stock of ironstone and coals, and his tools and implements, and at sundry times have dangerously assaulted and beaten your orator.
  • It appears from the report of the Charity Commissioners (sub Dudley) that the money in the hands of Dud Dudley which Elizabeth Tomlinson gave to the poor was by a decree, made in pursuance of an Inquisition taken on 24 Sept. 1638, ordered to be paid to Richard Foley the elder, and by him invested for the benefit of the poor ; and it was agreed that a certain horse of the testatrix should be sold in order to make up the amount to L50.
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• Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (1525 – 12 July 1586) was an English nobleman and soldier. Contemporary sources also refer to him as Sir Edward Dudley.
• He served in Ireland (1536) under his uncle Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane, and in Scotland (1546), where in 1547 he was governor of Hume Castle after its capture by the English forces.[1] Hume was retaken by the Scots in December 1548, and Sutton captured. At the end of the war, on 28 March 1550, the Earl of Shrewsbury was asked by the Privy Council to organise his release by the exchange of French hostages to the value of £200.[2]
• He was knighted in 1553 and was restored to ownership of his ancestral Dudley Castle, which had been forfeited to the Crown by the attainder of his cousin the Duke of Northumberland in 1554.[1] He was lieutenant of Hampnes, in Picardy, from 1556 to 1558; and entertained Queen Elizabeth at Dudley Castle, 1575.[3]
• Edward succeeded his father (known as the "Lord Quondam" that is 'Lord Formerly') as Baron Dudley in 1553. He was buried at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. He was succeeded by his son, Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (1556–1643).
• He was the son of John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley and Lady Cicely Grey, daughter of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset; and the grandson of Edmund Sutton, Knight of Dudley Castle and Baron Tibertot and Cherleton (born 1425).
• Edward married:
• 1. Katherine Brydges, the daughter of John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos and Elizabeth (née Grey) of Wilton (m. 1556)
• 2. Jane Stanley, (a daughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby) (m. 1567). By the Lady Jane Stanley he had the following children:
  • Edward Dudley, who became the 5th Baron Dudley - (b. 17 September 1567, d. 23 June 1643).
  • John Dudley - (b. 30 November 1569, d. c. Feb 1644/45).
• 3. Mary Howard, the daughter of William, 1st Baron Howard (m. 1570).
• From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sutton,_4th_Baron_Dudley
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• Dudd (Dud) Dudley (1600–1684) was an English metallurgist, who fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War as a soldier, military engineer, and supplier of munitions. He was one of the first Englishmen to smelt iron ore using coke.
• Dudley was the illegitimate son of Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley of Dudley Castle, and grandson of Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley. Dudd was the fourth of Lord Dudley's eleven children by his 'concubine' Elizabeth, the daughter of William Tomlinson (she died 3 July 1629). Strictly, he was called Dudd Dudley otherwise Tomlinson. His eldest brother was Robert Dudley of Netherton Hall. Dudd married Eleanor Heaton, (1606–1675), on 12 October 1626, at St. Helen's Church, Worcester.[1]
• Lord Dudley (though he had a legitimate son, and a granddaughter by him, as well as four legitimate daughters and numerous grandchildren) seems to have attended to the up-bringing of his natural children by Elizabeth Tomlinson; he educated and provided for them. On the other hand, he failed to support his wife and legitimate children, even after he was imprisoned and ordered to do so by the Privy Council in 1597.[2] Dudd was raised at Himley Hall. As a youth, he began his study of the various processes of iron manufacture at his father's iron works near Dudley. His speculations in the improvement of iron production were encouraged by his father, who gave him an education intended to enhance his practical abilities.
• In 1618, at the age of 20, Dud left Balliol College, Oxford, to take charge of his father's furnace and forges on Pensnett Chase. Later he referred to 'wood and charcoal growing then scant and pit-coles ... abounding', so began to use the latter. He turned the coal into coke, a hard, foam-like mass of almost pure carbon made from bituminous coal, and later claimed to have perfected the use of coal instead of charcoal for iron production. .... etc.
• From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dud_Dudley
• ______________________________________
• Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley
• From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (1567-1643) inherited the lordship of Dudley from his father, also Edward Sutton, and was the last of his name to bear the title. He was married to Theodosia Harrington. They had a son Ferdinando, who predeceased his father leaving a daughter Frances.
• Lord Dudley also had a longterm mistress Elizabeth Tomlinson, who bore him a large family of illegitimate children. Lord Dudley provided for this second family. The eldest Robert Dudley otherwise Tomlinson was given a small estate at Netherton in Dudley. Another son Dud Dudley was given a lease of Chasepool Lodge in Swindon, Staffordshire. A daughter Jane was grandmother to ironmaster Abraham Darby I.
• Lord Dudley (like his ancestors) owned a substantial estate around Dudley Castle including the manors of Dudley, Sedgley and Kingswinford. He developed the mineral resources of these estates, building (probably) five blast furnaces on them. He obtained a licence to use the patent of John Robinson (or Rovenson) for making iron with pitcoal that is mineral coal in 1619, and in 1622 renewed this patent in his own name. He brought Dud Dudley home from Balliol College, Oxford to manage his ironworks, but this was not entirely successful. Ultimately he fell out with Dud and expelled Dud from the new coke-fired furnace that he had built at Hasco Bridge on the boundary between Gornal and Himley.
• By the 1620s, Lord Dudley was severely in debt and his estates were disappearing into the hands of creditors. He found salvation for the estates by marrying his granddaughter to Humble Ward, the son of a wealthy goldsmith William Ward, who paid the debts and redeemed the estates for the benefit of them and their descendants.
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• Links
• http://atropesend.blogspot.com/2010/05/anges-henry-viii-anne-boleyn...
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Castle
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dudley_(1569-1645)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Seymour,_Viscount_Beauchamp
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Home,_1st_Earl_of_Home
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Meinhard_von_Sch%C3%B6nberg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Schomberg,_1st_Duke_of_Schom...
• http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/du...
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5th Lord Dubley Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (1567–1643) was a major landowner, mainly in Staffordshire and Worcestershire, and briefly a Member of the House of Commons of England.[1] Through his intemperate behaviour he won widespread notoriety, completed the financial ruin of his family, and was the last of his name to bear the title.

Background and early life[edit] Dudley's father was Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley, a distinguished soldier who managed to regain the family estates after they were forfeit to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland as a result of debt. His mother was the 4th Baron's second wife, Jane Stanley, daughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby. He had a younger brother, John, and an elder half-sister, Agnes, by his father's first wife.

Dudley was baptised on 17 September 1567, so presumably born shortly before that date. In 1580, aged only 13, he was sent to Lincoln College, Oxford, and in the following year was married to Theodosia Harington of Exton, Rutland

Political career[edit] Standing under the name Edward Sutton, Dudley was elected as one of the two knights of the shire for Staffordshire in 1584.[1] Still only 17 years old, he was returned ahead in order of precedence of Edward Legh. It is not clear how this was achieved. Legh was made High Sheriff of Staffordshire on the day of the election and had to be given leave of absence by Parliament. Sutton made no recorded contributions in the Commons. He succeeded his father in 1586 and so was unable to stand for election in that year. Despite his apparent anxiety to serve in the councils of his country, Dudley did not take his seat in the House of Lords until 1593.

Dudley's most important political intervention came through the Staffordshire election scandal of 1597.[2] Pursuing a property dispute with the Worcestershire Lytteltons, Dudley put up his brother John as a candidate, in an attempt to stop the election of Sir Edward Littleton of Pillaton Hall, a close ally of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. Dudley ensured success by procuring a blank election return from Thomas Whorwood, the High Sheriff, who was John Sutton's father-in-law. Littleton, cheated of certain victory, filed bills against the Dudleys and Whorwood at the Star Chamber. Among his complaints against Lord Dudley was that he had personally voted for his brother in the voice vote at Stafford. As a peer, Dudley should have no part in elections to the Commons, Littleton maintained - apparently the first time this constitutional principle was expressed. The other candidate, Sir Christopher Blount, Essex's step-father, was also offended by being placed below Sutton on the election indenture. His wife, and Essex's mother, wrote to the Earl complaining about the outrage, and Dudley was summoned beore the Privy Council. However, the parliament was soon over, and it appears that Littleton chose to concentrate his efforts on the hapless Whorwood. Although his chicanery and bad manners had alienated some of the greatest in the land, the consequences for Dudley might have been worse.

Landowner[edit] Dudley spent most of his life pressured by the authorities to meet debts that were beyond his ability to pay, partly inherited from his father, and partly the result of his own poor management of his resources.

Lord Dudley, like his immediate ancestors, owned substantial estates around Dudley Castle including the manors of Dudley, Sedgley and Kingswinford. He developed the mineral resources of these estates, building (probably) five blast furnaces on them. He obtained a licence to use the patent of John Robinson (or Rovenson) for making iron with pitcoal that is mineral coal in 1619, and in 1622 renewed this patent in his own name. He brought Dud Dudley home from Balliol College, Oxford to manage his ironworks, but this was not entirely successful. Ultimately he fell out with Dud and expelled Dud from the new coke-fired furnace that he had built at Hasco Bridge on the boundary between Gornal and Himley. Debts continued to grow and by 1593 the estate had been sequestrated.

The iron works were essential because the family's debts were already so large that his father's will had earmarked all the proceeds of his iron works for 21 years to pay creditors, who were given precedence over his widow and younger children.[1] Money issues soured relations with John, his younger brother. John had been compensated for his exclusion from a portion of his father's estate by the promise of an annuity from his brother, which Edward never paid. The electoral fraud of 1597 might have helped John establish new contacts and income streams for John, but the parliament lasted little more than three months and the scandal made any further parliamentary career impossible.

Always short of money, Dudley fought numerous battles to maintain his inheritance and income, many of them through violence. His most bitter feud was with Gilbert Lyttelton, centred on the farm of Prestwood, near Kinver, and reached its height in the 1590s.[1] Prestwood is at the confluence of the River Smestow and the Worcestershire Stour.[3] Dudley had Lyttelton ejected by force. He then claimed the right to seize outlaws' goods on other Lyttelton estates and raided them, driving off the sheep and cattle. Extending the dispute still further, he claimed one of Lyttelton's coal mines. He had the miners arrested, confiscated the stocks of coal and set the mine on fire. The Privy Council summoned Dudley and tried to reason with him, to no effect. Lyttelton complained to the Star Chamber, which found in his favour, fining Dudley heavily for rioting and cattle rustling.[1] It was this that led Dudley to attempt revenge by blocking Edward Littleton's election, as he was a distant kinsman of Gilbert Lyttelton.[2] Feelings were very bitter on both sides. The Privy Council had to write to the Worcestershire assizes in July 1598, demanding action against two of Gilbert Lyttelton's sons, Stephen and John, who had attacked John Sutton and his retainers, although the Dudleys had already lost the property dispute.

Marriage and family[edit] Dudley was married at the age of 14 to Theodosia Harington. She was the daughter of James Harington of Exton, Rutland, a lawyer and long-serving MP.[4] The Haringtons were the most important landowners in Rutland and Theodosia's eldest brother, John, was created Baron Harington of Exton in 1603. Dudley and Theodosia had a son and four daughters:[5]

Ferdinando Sutton (1588-1621), who married Honora Seymour, a daughter of Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp, who was considered by some a potential claimant to the throne on the death of Elizabeth I. Mary Sutton (1586-1645), who married Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home. Anne Sutton (died 1615), who married Hans Meinhard von Schönberg, the Palatine Ambassador to England: their son was Frederick Schomberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg. Margaret Sutton, who married Sir Miles Hobart of Halford, Buckinghamshire: they were without issue. Theodosia Sutton. Lord Dudley also had a longtime mistress Elizabeth Tomlinson, who bore him a large family of illegitimate children, at least 11 in number.[1] Lord Dudley provided for this second family. The eldest Robert Dudley otherwise Tomlinson was given a small estate at Netherton in Dudley. Another son Dud Dudley was given a lease of Chasepool Lodge in Swindon, Staffordshire. A daughter Jane was grandmother to ironmaster Abraham Darby I.

At the Star Chamber, Gilbert Lyttelton attempted to discredit Dudley by claiming that he had abandoned his wife in London without support in order to live with Elizabeth Tomlinson, "a lewd and infamous woman, a base collier’s daughter." The Privy Council ordered Dudley to pay his wife an allowance, which he failed to do. In August 1597 he was sent to the Fleet Prison. He was released after a few days, on condition that he pay maintenance of £100 annually for his wife, and £20 for each legitimate child. In less than 18 months he was back before the Privy Council, having got into arrears.

Dudley's legitimate son, Ferdinando, predeceased him, leaving a daughter Frances. Dudley married this granddaughter to Humble Ward, the son of a wealthy goldsmith, William Ward, who was one of his creditors.

Dudley died on 23 Jun 1643 and was buried in St Edmund's Church, Dudley. Frances Ward inherited the estates, with their debts, and became Baroness Dudley suo jure. Humble Ward paid the debts and redeemed the estates for the benefit of themselves and their descendants.

• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Aug 23 2016, 22:12:38 UTC
• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Aug 23 2016, 22:18:10 UTC

Agnes Bagley