John Sutton of Compton

Hon. John Dudley (November 1569-1645), formally John Sutton otherwise Dudley, was the brother of Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley and was briefly Member of the Parliament of England for Staffordshire.[1] during the reign of Elizabeth I.

John Dudley was the son of Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley. His mother was Jane Stanley, who was a daughter of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby and the 4th Baron's second wife. John Dudley was their second son, born about two years after his brother Edward, who became the 5th Baron. He was baptised on 30 November 1569, so born shortly before that date. At the very early age of 11, he was sent to Lincoln College, Oxford.

The 4th Baron was able to recover the family estates after they were obtained, as a result of debt, by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland a distant relative, and forfeited to the Crown on Northumberland's execution in 1553. However, he was unable to make progress with the huge outstanding debts. In order to ensure creditors were paid by his heir, his will earmarked the proceeds of his coalmines for 21 years to his creditors, who were also given prior claim over his wife and over John. When the 4th Baron died in 1586, John received only his father's best clothes and £300, with an annuity to be paid by his brother, but no house or land. As late as 1592 John had never received his annuity.

In about 1590 John married Elizabeth Whorwood, daughter of a Thomas Whorwood, a wealthy Staffordshire landowner and politician, apparently against the wishes of Edward, the head of the family. He settled at the Whorwood family seat, Compton Hallows, near Kinver, with his new wife. Thomas Whorwood received a large inheritance at that point and began to build a new family home at Stourton Castle. John is therefore referred to as "Hon. John Dudley of Compton Hallows", as it seems he and Elizabeth retained the old family home. Having no freehold property of his own, he was not entitled either to stand or to vote in parliamentary elections for the county.

John Dudley's election to parliament came about as a result of the notorious Staffordshire election scandal of 1597.[2] Baron Dudley prevailed on Whorwood, John's father-in-law, and at that time High Sheriff of Staffordshire, to conspire in the return of a false electoral indenture. He was placed, as John Sutton, first in order of precedence over Sir Christopher Blount, step-father of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. Edward Littleton, another Essex client, who had clearly won a seat in the voice vote, was excluded altogether.

John Dudley thus became knight of the shire or MP, although Littleton launched actions against him, his brother and Whorwood in the Star Chamber, the most feared instrument of Tudor government. John was protected by parliamentary privilege[2] during the parliament and it assembled on 24 October 1597. However, he played no recorded part in its proceedings, making no speech and attending none of the committees consistent with being a Staffordshire county member.[1] The parliament was dissolved, after little more than three months, on 9 February 1598, leaving Dudley exposed to investigation and punishment. By May Essex had him answering questions before the Privy Council.[2]

Lord Dudley's main motivation in standing his brother for election had been to spite Littleton's relatives in Worcestershire, particularly Gilbert Lyttelton, with whom he had several property disputes. Two of Lyttelton's sons, Stephen and John, attacked John Dudley in revenge for the electoral fraud, probably in June or July, and were referred by the Privy Council to the Worcestershire assizes. It is not known whether John Dudley himself was punished for his part in events, but he played no further part in public life, retiring to Compton.[1]

John Dudley married Elizabeth Whorwood, daughter of Thomas Whorwood by 1590. They had one son, who predeceased them both, and three daughters.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dudley_(1569-1645)

• __________________
• John Dudley1
• M, #2682, b. 30 November 1569, d. circa February 1644/45
• Last Edited=16 Mar 2011
• Consanguinity Index=0.98%
• John Dudley was baptised on 30 November 1569.1 He was the son of Edward Sutton, 4th Lord Dudley and Lady Jane Stanley.1 He married Elizabeth Whorwood, daughter of Thomas Whorwood and Magdalen Edwards.1 He died circa February 1644/45. He was buried on 3 March 1644/45 at Sedgley, Warwickshire, England.
• He lived at Compton, Staffordshire, England.1
• Child of John Dudley and Elizabeth Whorwood
  • 1.Anne Dudley1
• Citations
• 1.[S37] BP2003 volume 1, page 1192. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
• From: http://www.thepeerage.com/p269.htm#i2682 _____________________
• John SUTTON of Compton
• Born: ABT 1530, Compton,,England
• Father: Edward SUTTON (4° B. Sutton of Dudley)
• Mother: Jane STANLEY (B. Sutton of Dudley)
• Married: Elizabeth WHORWOOD (dau. of Thomas Whorwood and Elizabeth Sutton) ABT 1550
• From: http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/SUTTON.htm#John SUTTON of Compton1 _________________________
• DUDLEY, alias SUTTON, John (1569-1645), of Compton Hallows, Staffs.
• bap. 30 Nov. 1569, 2nd s. of Edward, 4th Lord Dudley alias Sutton by his 2nd w., and bro. of Edward Dudley alias Sutton†. educ. Lincoln, Oxf. 1580. m. by 1591, Elizabeth, o. da. of Thomas Whorwood of Compton Hallows, 1s. d.v.p. 3da.
• Dudley was the younger son of a bankrupt peer, his inheritance being limited to his father’s ‘chiefest apparell’, £300 and an annuity which, in the event, his elder brother was unable to pay. He made a runaway marriage, yet had to reside at his father-in-law’s house, never achieved the commission of the peace, and his one election to the Commons, for a county where he possessed no freehold property, was an arrant job on the part of his father-in-law, who was sheriff at the time. Dudley’s name does not appear in the records of the House, but as knight for Staffordshire in 1597 he was eligible to attend committees concerning enclosures (5 Nov.), the poor law (5, 22 Nov.), armour and weapons (8 Nov.), penal laws (8 Nov.), monopolies (10 Nov.) and the subsidy (15 Nov.).1
• After 1598 Dudley played no part in public affairs. He died in 1645.
• From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/du... ______________________ 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
• From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/du... ________________________
• Sir Thomas Whorwood (1544-1616) was a Staffordshire landowner, Member of the English Parliament and High Sheriff of Staffordshire. He became notorious for his involvement in election fraud.
• The family's surname had originally been Horewood, but by this time normally spelt Whorwood, taking their name from a small manor in Horewood, later known as Compton Hallows in Kinver, but in 1387 as Haulowe, probably from its late 14th century owners or overlords. Whorwood was the first son of Edward Whorwood of Compton Hallows and of Dorothy Bassett, daughter of Thomas Bassett of Hints. He was the great nephew of the great lawyer Sir William Whorwood, half of whose property he inherited. .... etc.
• Sir Thomas Whorwood died on 2 November 1616. He was succeeded in his estates by his son, Gerard.
• Thomas Whorwood married Magdalene Edwards, daughter of Rowland Edwards of London, no later than 1563.[2] They had at least one daughter and one son:
  • Elizabeth Whorwood, who married John Dudley or Sutton, Baron Dudley's brother.
  • Gerard Whorwood (1565-1627), the heir to the estates.[9]
• From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Whorwood ___________________________
• WHORWOOD (HORWOOD), Thomas (1544-1616), of Compton Hallows, Staffs.
• b. 1544, 1st s. of Edward Whorwood of Compton Hallows by Dorothy, da. of Thomas Bassett of Hintes. m. bef. 1563, Magdalene, da. of Rowland Edwards of London, at least 1s. 1da. suc. to estate of his fa.’s 1st cos. Lady Ambrose Dudley, da. of William Whorwood†. Kntd. by 1614.
• Whorwood had considerable estates in Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, one of which, Tyrley, Staffordshire, he acquired from Thomas Throckmorton, a Catholic, who was often imprisoned and his estate under sequestration. Throckmorton had married Whorwood’s sister Margaret, and it is possible that Whorwood himself had Catholic sympathies, which might account for his being left off the commission of the peace between 1580 and 1596.1
• However this may be, Whorwood was elected knight of the shire for the Parliament of 1572, during which his only recorded intervention was on 25 Jan. 1572 in favour of a bill to keep the assizes at Stafford, his name being entered as ‘Lockwoode’. As sheriff at the 1597 election Whorwood behaved ‘in very indecent and outrageous manner’ to obtain the return of his son-in-law John Dudley aliasSutton. When the defeated candidate brought a Star Chamber case against Whorwood, it is significant that one of the charges against him was that he released recusants, men and women, from Stafford gaol to vote at the election.2
• Whorwood died 2 Nov. 1616.3
• From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/wh... __________________________
• 'Sutton02'
• John de Sutton, 'Lord' of Dudley (d c1370/1376)
• BE1883 identifies this John as the 2nd Baron. We follow TCP and BP1934 which do not identify a hereditary Baron until this John's grandson.
• m1. (25.12.1357) Catherine de Stafford (d 12.1361, dau of Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford)
• (1) BE1883 identifies John's first wife as Margaret, daughter of Roger de Mortimer of Wigmore, and reports that both his sons were by his second wife, Johanna. TCP does not provide any details on his wives. Noting that BP1934 reports that John had only one son by his first wife, we follow BP1934.
• (2) BE1883 combines the 3 generations shown here as this next John and the next 2 generations into just 2 generations as follows: this next John (m1. Alice Despenser, m2. Constance le Blount, d 1407), next John (m. Elizabeth Berkeley, d 1487). The information provided by TCP (which 'kicks in' for the 1st Lord) would support both BE1883 and BP1934 but, as an 80 year gap between the deaths of father & son seems long, we follow BP1934 which shows the following
  • 1. John de Sutton, 'Lord' of Dudley (b 06.12.1361, d 10.03.1395-6)
  • m1. Alice Despenser (d 1392, dau of Philip le Despenser of Carlington)
    • A. Sir John Sutton of Dudley Castle (b c1380, d 29.08.1406)
    • m. (before 10.12.1401) Constance le Blount (d 09.1432, dau of Sir Walter le Blount of Barton and Belton)
      • i. John Sutton, 1st Lord of Dudley (b 25.12.1400, d 30.09.1487)
      • m. Elizabeth Berkeley (d 1478, dau of Sir John de Berkeley of Beverstone)
        • a. Sir Edmund Sutton (dvp after 06.07.1483)
        • m1. Joyce Tiptoft (dau of Sir John de Tiptoft, 1st Lord)
          • (1) Edward Sutton, 2nd Lord of Dudley (b c1459, d 31.01.1531/2)
          • m. Cecilie / Cicely Willoughby (dau of Sir William Willoughby)
            • (A) John Sutton, 3rd Lord of Dudley (b c1495, bur 18.09.1553)
            • m. Cicely Grey (bur 28.04.1554, dau of Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset)
              • (i) Edward Sutton, 4th Lord of Dudley (bur 12.08.1586)
              • m1. (1556) Catherine Brydges (bur 28.04.1566, dau of John Brydges, 1st Lord Chandos of Sudeley)
                • (a) Agnes Sutton .... etc.
              • m2. (1566/7) Jane Stanley (bur 04.09.1569, dau of Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby)
                • (b) Edward Sutton, 5th Lord of Dudley (bpt 17.09.1567, d 23/4.06.1643) .... etc.
                • (c) John Sutton of Compton (bpt 30.11.1569)
                • m. Elizabeth Whorwood (dau of Thomas Whorwood of Compton)
                  • ((1)) Anne Sutton
                  • m. Edward Gibson of York
                  • ((2))+ other issue (dsp 1660, including Whorwood)
              • m3. Mary Howard (d 21.08.1600, dau of William Howard, Lord of Effingham)
              • (ii) Henry Sutton .... etc.
            • (B) Geoffrey Sutton or Dudley
            • m. Eleanor Talbot
              • (i) Thomas Sutton or Dudley of Russell's Hall had issue
            • (C) Eleanor Sutton (d before 1549)
            • m. (sp) Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester (b c1460, d 15.04.1526)
            • (D) Joyce Sutton
            • m. John Leighton of Wattlesborough (d 1532)
            • (E) Johanna Sutton
            • m. Sir Thomas Fiennes, younger of Dacre (b 1495, dvp 26.10.1528)
            • (F) Margaret Sutton
            • m1. John Grey, Lord of Powis (d 1504)
            • m2. Robert Sutton of Burton (b by 1477, d 25.11.1545)
            • (G) Catherine Sutton
            • m. (c1530) Sir George Gresley of Drakelow (b 1494, d 21.04.1548)
            • (H)+ other issue - Thomas, Arthur, George, Elizabeth, Alice
          • partner unknown
            • (M) Elizabeth Sutton probably of this generation
            • m. Thomas Whorwood 'of Compton'
          • (2) Sir John Sutton of Aston le Walls .... etc.
        • b. John Sutton, later Dudley of Atherington, Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex
        • m. Elizabeth Bramshot (dau of John Bramshot of Bramshot)
        • c. William Sutton, Bishop of Durham
        • d. Oliver Sutton (d 1469)
        • e. Margaret Sutton
        • m. Sir George (not John) Longueville of Little Dilling
        • f. Jane Sutton
        • m. Thomas Mainwaring of Ightfield (b c1450, d 1508)
        • g. Eleanor Sutton
        • m1. Henry Beaumont of Woodsop and/or Wednesbury
        • m2. George Stanley of West Bromwich
        • h. Elizabeth Sutton possibly of this generation
        • m. Sir John Hodleston of Sawston (a 1485)
      • ii. Thomas de Sutton reported by BE1883 but not by BP1934, assumed to be of this generation .... etc. ______________________