John BASKERVILLE of Eardisley

Born: ABT 1528

Died: 24 Sep 1577

Father: James BASKERVILLE of Eardisley (Sir)

Mother: Elizabeth BREYNTON

Married: Elizabeth HERGEST

Children:

1. Humphrey BASKERVILLE (High Sheriff of Herefordshire)

The details in this biography come from the History of Parliament, a biographical dictionary of Members of the House of Commons.

Second son of Sir James Baskerville of Eardisley, and bro. of James and Sir Thomas. Married by 1553, Elizabeth, dau. and h. of Richard Hargest of Chanstone Court, Vowchurch, 2s. 1da. suc. bro. 28 Sep 1572.

Escheator, Herefs. 1552-3; j.p. 1554, q. 1569; sheriff Dec. 1555-6, 1570-1.

For most of his life John Baskerville seems to have been overshadowed by his elder brother James. He married a local heiress and his career was diversified only by his Membership of two Parliaments. His entry into county administration may have been linked with his brother’s return to Herefordshire from South Wales, and he was perhaps elected a knight of the shire because Sir James Baskerville was unwilling to sit again. In the spring of 1554 Baskerville sat with his uncle John Lingen and a year later with Stephen Parry. Both Lingen and Parry died during their Membership: Baskerville was an overseer of Lingen’s will, which he also witnessed, and an executor of Parry’s, and it was doubtless as Parry’s fellow-Member and executor that he was chosen to complete Parry’s term as sheriff. He appears only once in the Journal when on 6 Nov 1555 a servant of his was given privilege, and of his part in the House nothing is known except that he was not listed among opponents of one of the government’s bills in 1555.

Early in 1556 the council in the marches was ordered to investigate the alleged murder of David ap Meredydd by Baskerville and others. Although the outcome of the inquiry is not known, Baskerville was not named to the Herefordshire bench when his first shrievalty expired or for a dozen years after, although he sued out a general pardon at the accession of Elizabeth. His restoration to the bench in 1569 and his second shrievalty a year later show that he conformed with the Elizabethan church settlement. On his elder brother’s death he took up residence at Eardisley, and it was there that he died on 23 Sep 1577; no will has been found, but his heir was his son Humphrey, then aged 44.

Sources:

Edwards, A. J. :  BASKERVILLE, John (by 1517-77), of Chanstone Court, Vowchurch and Eardisley, Herefs.

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