John Peyton (soldier)

Sir John Peyton (1544-1630), Administrator and Soldier

The son of John Peyton of Knowlton, Kent (d. 1558), and, Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Tyndale.

Knighted in 1586 & served under the earl of Leicester, lieutenant-governor of Bergen op Zoom 1586–7, colonel "in the forces for the defence of the queen's person against the threatened attack of the Spanish Armada" 1588, receiver Norfolk, Huntingdon & Norwich 1593, a deputy lieutenant Cambridgeshire serving Lord North 1596, treasurer of the household, and served Thomas, Lord Howard de Walden 1602, lieutenant of the Tower of London in June 1597- 1603, governor of Jersey 10 September 1603

On June 8, 1578, Peyton married Dorothy Bell d. 1603, (widow of Sir Robert Bell (d. 1577)), co-heiress of Edward Beaupré of Beaupré Hall, Outwell, Norfolk, and his second wife, Catherine Beddingfield. Peyton gained a position in the county of Norfolk from his wife's property and the responsibilities of raising Bell's eight children, together with his only son, Sir John Peyton (1579-1635).

References

• Helen M. E. Evans, ‘Peyton, Sir John (1544-1630)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 7 May 2005