Francis Leigh, 1st Earl Of Chichester

Francis Leigh, 1st Earl of Chichester, was born on 28 April 1598. He died on 21 December 1653. His place of birth and burial was on the family estate at Newnham Regis, Warwickshire. His father was Sir Francis Leigh, and his mother was Mary, daughter of Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley.

In 1613, Leigh began his education at Oxford University. Two years later, in 1615, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn. Around this period, he married for the second time; his first wife, Susan Banning née Northam, died childless within a year of their marriage, which took place on 31 July 1617. His second marriage occurred on 20 January 1618 to Audrey, the widow of Sir Francis Anderson of Stratton, Bedfordshire. Audrey was the daughter of John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler of Bramfield, and Elizabeth Villiers, niece of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Francis Leigh and Audrey had two daughters.

By 1618, Leigh was knighted, and on 24 December of that year, he was created a baronet by the king. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Warwick during the 1625–1626 session. He maintained close ties with Lord Brooke and was elevated to the peerage as Baron Dunsmore in Warwickshire on 31 July 1628. The barony was created with a remainder failing heirs male to his stepson John Anderson, PC.

Leigh initially showed opposition to King Charles I during the Short Parliament of 1640 and actively supported the calling of the Long Parliament later that year. Despite this, he participated in negotiations with Scottish commissioners at Ripon in autumn 1640. His opposition softened due to the militancy of the king’s enemies and personal encouragement from Charles I. His appointment as a privy councillor further indicated his shift in allegiance to the king’s side.

In March 1642, Leigh was among five lords protesting against the Militia Ordinance. When the First English Civil War commenced, he financed a Royalist troop of forty cavalry and served as Colonel of the Royalist Cavalry. His Warwickshire estate was looted by Parliament forces from Coventry in August 1642, under the command of Lord Brooke.

In 1643, Leigh succeeded the Earl of Salisbury as Captain of the Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. On 3 June 1644, he was elevated to the rank of Earl of Chichester, with the remainder to his son-in-law, Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. He served as Captain of the Gentleman Pensioners from 1644 to 1646. Leigh was involved in negotiations for King Charles I at Uxbridge in February 1645 and participated in the governance of Oxford during the king’s absence later that year.

Assessments of his contributions included a 1645 evaluation by the Committee for the Advance of Money, which required him to contribute £3,000, roughly equivalent to his pre-war annual income. By January 1647, he had paid £1,000 and secured security for an additional £1,847, suspending his sequestration. In 1646, the parliamentary authorities annulled the honors conferred upon him from 20 May 1642. Furthermore, in 1650, a fine of £3,594 was imposed on Leigh by the committee for compounding. He died at Apps Court in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in 1653.

His family included his second wife Audrey and their two daughters, Lady Elizabeth Leigh and Mary. Lady Elizabeth Leigh married Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, who inherited the Earldom of Chichester upon Leigh’s death. Lady Elizabeth and Thomas Wriothesley’s daughter, Lady Elizabeth Wriothesley, married Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland. Mary married George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison. Their granddaughter, Harriet Villiers, was the mother of William Pitt the Elder.