Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham, Parliamentary and military commander for the Parliamentarian cause, lord-lieutenant and commander-in-chief in Lincolnshire during the Civil War., Governor of Barbados, 1650–1651 and 1663–1666, Royalist peer, Honourable daughter of a peer, Viscountess of Ranelagh from 1670, Countess of Ranelagh from 1677, executrix of her father's will., Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire for Parliament, Vice-Admiral for the Royalists, Governor of Barbados and the Caribbee Islands, 1650–1652 and 1663–1666, Lord-Lieutenant of Lindsey and Lincolnshire, Parliamentary colonel, Speaker of the House of Lords in 1647, 1650-1652 and 1663-1666, Royalist vice-admiral in 1648, lord lieutenant and commander of parliamentary forces in Lincolnshire, royalist vice-admiral, Governor of Barbados and the Caribbee Islands in 1650–1652 and 1663–1666, proprietor and promoter of the Surinam plantation., Parliamentarian commander in Lincolnshire, Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire under Parliament, commander-in-chief of Lincolnshire forces, 1643, 1650–1652 and from 1663, Vice-Admiral of the Barbados and Caribbee Islands, Assistant of the Royal Fishing Company., Styled Baroness Willoughby of Parham after her marriage circa 1628–1629, not a separately created suo jure baroness., colonial governor and proprietor associated with Barbados, Antigua and Suriname, parliamentary and military figure during the Civil War and Restoration periods.
Dates: Baptised 1614; died 23 July 1666 Old Style/2 August 1666 New Style
Biography
Son of William Willoughby, 3rd Baron Willoughby of Parham, and Frances Manners, daughter of John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland. His elder brother Henry succeeded briefly to the barony and died about 1618, after which Francis succeeded. During the Civil War he supported Parliament, served as lord-lieutenant of Lindsey and commanded forces in Lincolnshire. He died at sea when his ship Hope was lost in a hurricane off Guadeloupe.
Notes / Sources
Dictionary of National Biography, 'Willoughby, Francis' — https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Willoughby,_Francis
Cracroft's Peerage, Willoughby of Parham — https://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/willoughbyp1547.htm
Blazons of the Peers of Elizabethan England — https://www.elizabethan.org/heraldry/blazons2.html
Wikimedia Commons, Coat of Arms of Francis Willoughby — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Francis_Willoughby.svg
Family / Armorial Context
Family / cadet branch: Willoughby of Parham
Father: William Willoughby, 3rd Baron Willoughby of Parham
Mother: Frances Manners, daughter of John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland
Spouse(s): Elizabeth Cecil, daughter and coheir of Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon
Children / next generation: Hon. Diana Willoughby, married Heneage Finch, 3rd Earl of Winchilsea; Hon. Frances Willoughby, married William Brereton, 3rd Baron Brereton; Hon. Elizabeth Willoughby, married Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh; At least two sons are reported in older biographical material; Robert died in infancy and William died in 1661, both before their father
Armorial Registry
Francis Willoughby, corrected fourth holder of the 1547 Parham barony — senior succession and Cecil matrimonial connection
Branch: Senior Parham succession; Knaith Hall; eldest son of William Willoughby, 3rd Baron
Issued / recorded: 1612
Willoughby of Parham — Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron, husband of Elizabeth Cecil and bearer of the Parham coat
Branch: Senior Parham succession descended from Sir Christopher Willoughby of Parham and William, 1st Baron Willoughby of Parham
Issued / recorded: 1613/1614
Willoughby of Parham — Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron, full personal achievement with crest and motto
Branch: Willoughby of Parham, senior male line of the 1547 barony
Issued / recorded: 1614
Willoughby of Parham — Francis Willoughby, historically 5th Baron and principal Civil War armiger
Branch: Parham and Knaith; senior male line
Issued / recorded: 1617
Willoughby of Parham — Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron, documented direct issue and extinction of his male line
Branch: Senior male line of the 1547 Parham barony; direct line extinct in the male sex in 1666
Issued / recorded: 1618
Willoughby of Parham — Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron, undifferenced Parham arms in the Wimbledon marriage generation
Branch: Parham branch, fifth holder of the 1547 Willoughby of Parham barony
Issued / recorded: 1618
Willoughby of Parham — Francis Willoughby, principal Civil War and colonial armiger with corrected issue and succession profile
Branch: Parham barony, senior male line descended from Sir William Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby of Parham
Issued / recorded: 1618
Ranelagh–Willoughby of Parham — Elizabeth Willoughby and Richard Jones, matrimonial achievement with escutcheon of pretence
Branch: Ranelagh–Willoughby of Parham marriage branch
Issued / recorded: 1662
Cecil of Wimbledon — Elizabeth Cecil, third daughter and coheiress of Edward Cecil, Viscount Wimbledon
Branch: Cecil of Wimbledon and Putney, younger branch of the Exeter Cecils
Issued / recorded: c.1606/1607
Willoughby of Parham — Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron, father of Diana Willoughby
Branch: Willoughby of Parham, Suffolk
Issued / recorded: Succeeded 14 October 1617
Corrections / Challenges
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