Sir Herbert Whitfield (1617–1677) was an English lawyer and landowner, whose pedigree and arms were recorded in both the 1619 Visitation of Kent and the 1623 Visitation of Surrey.

Early life

The eldest son and heir of Sir

Ralph Whitfield Sir Ralph Whitfield (1588–1645) was an English lawyer, judge and landowner, who sat as a Member of Parliament and held several public offices. Early life Whitfield was baptised on 3 March 1588 at the church of St Mildred in Tenterden, Kent. H ...

, lawyer and landowner, and his wife Dorothy, daughter of the antiquary Sir John Spelman, he had a sister Dorothy and three younger brothers:

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, Ralph and Roger. CCCMainG

He first embarked on legal training at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

, where he was admitted on 2 March 1632, and then went on to university, being admitted to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

in 1635. Following his father as a successful lawyer in London, he was knighted on 18 June 1641 at

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

. In 1645, jointly with his mother, he became heir to his father's lands and considerable other assets. In 1648, a legacy of his father's work in Ireland resurfaced when the

Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 111 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prior t ...

attempted to obtain evidences of their landholdings in

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

. The original papers, they ascertained, were in the hands of Sir Ralph's three executors, who were his widow Dorothy; Sir Thomas Fotherley, the father of his son-in-law John Fotherley; and Herbert, his eldest son. After 1660, he sold his father's manor of

Burmarsh Burmarsh is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe (District), Folkestone and Hythe District of Kent, England. The village is located three miles (4.8 km) west of Hythe, Kent, Hythe on the Romney Marsh. The Burmarsh Road co ...

in Kent, but on 18 May 1675 was party to a deal over marshland at Barking in Essex. Postmans Park

He was buried on 16 September 1677 in the church of St Botolph's, Aldersgate, London. After his death, the family's original estate at

Tenterden Tenterden is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The 2021 census published the population of the parish to be 8,186. Geography Tenterden is connected to Kent's county town of Maidstone by the A262 road an ...

, which his great-grandfather had acquired, was sold.

Family

About 1648, he married Margaret Peirson, daughter of Richard Peirson, owner of a prosperous business in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

as a woollen-draper and a member of the premier livery company, the Merchant Taylors. Her mother was Elizabeth Criche, daughter of another Merchant Taylors member, Edmund Criche. Margaret's unmarried brother, Richard Peirson, became a lawyer and landowner. Margaret was born in 1622 and died after 1664. She and Herbert had seven children, including: *Herbert (born 1650), *Thomasine (born 1652) *Dorothy (born 1659) *Arabella (born about 1655), the only one known to have married and had children, who married her first cousin Ralph Whitfield (about 1651–1694) *Henrietta (born 1659)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Sir Herbert 1677 deaths English lawyers Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge English landowners Members of Gray's Inn 1617 births 17th-century English knights