Sir John Leveson, (1555-1615)

The Leveson-Gower family gained their wealth in the medieval period through sheep farming, developing an estate around Willenhall in what was then South Staffordshire. They purchased Trentham Priory and Lilleshall Abbey in 1540 and 1543 respectively, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. These lands formed the core of their estates in the West Midlands. Following the sudden death of Sir John Leveson’s cousin Admiral Sir Richard Leveson in 1605, Sir John Leveson’s young son, Richard, came into possession of this extensive family estate in Staffordshire and Shropshire.

Sir John Leveson was a Kentish landowner whose family connections brought him into politics. He entered parliament as MP for Bossiney in 1584 and later sat for Maidstone in 1597 and 1601 and for Kent in 1604. He was knighted in 1589. He was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Kent in 1590, under William, Lord Cobham, Lord Lieutenant of Kent. As a Deputy Lieutenant he was responsible for the defence of England’s south-east coastline to counter the threat of Spanish invasion, including preparations against the Spanish Armada. He served as a captain in Lord Willoughby’s expeditions to France in 1589 and he was responsible for raising volunteers for Norris’s expedition of the same year, for Cadiz in 1596, and for the Netherlands in 1601-2.

The Records

Records relating to Sir John Leveson’s work can be found within the family and estate papers of the Leveson-Gower family (Dukes of Sutherland), which are held at the Staffordshire Record Office (main collection reference number D593). There are records relating to maritime trade and purveyance and to the administration and activities of the Cinque Ports, of which Lord Cobham was Lord Warden. There is also a wealth of material relating to defensive arrangements in the south east of England, state regulation of economic matters and political intrigues under Elizabeth I. The records that have been chosen for this exhibition focus on Leveson’s work as Deputy Lieutenant of Kent. They are an invaluable source of information about the coastal defence of south-east England. There are forty-six original bundles of Deputy Lieutenant’s papers and numerous individual documents. The subject matter of these records is very varied; however, the following are dealt with in some detail: trained bands; the raising of troops for overseas service; coastal defences; purveyance for the royal household; the Crown's control of food supplies and prices; ironworks; and recusancy. Subjects that are dealt with at less length include: Parliamentary elections; the passage through Kent of foreign envoys; the activities of the Earl of Essex in soliciting support in Kent; the suppression of vagrancy; rights of wreck; the Admiralty jurisdiction of the Cinque Ports; subsidies; forced loans ("Privy Seals"); criminal proceedings; port facilities; and military and political events on the continent of Europe.

The images relating to John Leveson are reproduced by kind permission of The Countess of Sutherland.

These documents form part of the Sutherland Papers. For information about the Archive Service’s campaign to save this collection for Staffordshire, visit the Saving Sutherland website.