Sir Charles Lyttelton, 3rd Baronet

Sir Charles Lyttelton, 3rd Baronet (1628 – 2 May 1716) was an English Governor of Jamaica, an army officer and MP from the Lyttelton family.

Biography

Charles Lyttelton was born the second son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 1st Baronet of Hagley Hall, Worcestershire. He fought in the royalist army and escaped to France in 1648. He was made cupbearer to Charles II in 1650 while in exile and after the Restoration knighted in 1662. He governor of Jamaica from 1662 until 1664 and founded the first town of Port Royal where he summoned the first legislative assembly in 1664. He was a major of the yellow coated maritime regiment, the precursor of the Royal Marines, governor of Harwich and Landguard Fort at time of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, 1672. In his brother's lifetime he served as an army officer, rising to a Brigadier General and serving as Governor of Jamaica in 1663, of Harwich in 1667 and of Sheerness in 1680. He was joint Agent for Jamaica from 1682. He became Member of Parliament for Bewdley in 1685. He was M.P. for Bewdley from 1685 until 1689. He inherited the baronetcy and the family estates in Frankley, Halesowen, Hagley, and Upper Arley on the death of his brother Sir Henry Lyttelton, 2nd Baronet in 1693.^[1]

Family

He married twice. His first wife Catherine, the daughter of Sir William Fairfax of Steeton, Yorkshire and widow of Martin Lister of Thornton, Yorkshire died with their child in Jamaica. His second wife Anne, the daughter and coheiress of Thomas Temple of Frankton, Warwickshire, and maid of honour to Queen Catherine of Braganza bore him five sons and eight daughters.^[2] His eldest son Charles had died in his lifetime without issue, so he was succeeded by his second son Thomas.

Notes

References

Wikisource has the text of the 1885–1900 Dictionary of National Biography's article about Lyttelton, Charles (1629-1716).

• Ferris, John. P. (1983), "Lyttelton (Littleton), Sir Charles (c.1629-1716)", in Henning, B.D., The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690, Boydell and Brewer 
• "s.v. Cobham, Viscount", Burkes Peerage and Baronetage, 1939 
• Leigh Rayment's list of baronets

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1903). "Lyttelton, Charles". Dictionary of National Biography. Index and Epitome. Cambridge University Press. p. 805.