Sir John Hotham, 1st Baronet

Sir John Hotham, 1st Baronet, portrait by Cornelius Janssens
Hotham in his role as Governor of Hull
Arms of Hotham: Barry of ten argent and azure, on a canton or a Cornish chough proper[1]
Commemorative plaque, Beverley Gate, Hull

Sir John Hotham, 1st Baronet (c. July 1589 – 3 January 1645) of Scorborough Hall, near Driffield, Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament who was Governor of Hull in 1642 shortly before the start of the Civil War. He refused to allow King Charles I or any member of his entourage to enter the town, thereby depriving the king of access to the large arsenal contained within. Later in the Civil War he and his son John Hotham the younger were accused of treachery to the Parliamentarian cause, found guilty and executed on Tower Hill.[2]

  1. ^ Source: Montague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p.590
  2. ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.591