Simon Weston (MP)
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Sir Simon Weston (1565–1637) was an English Knight and politician, personal ally of the Earls of Essex, who sat in the House of Commons between 1624 and 1626. He was involved in the Earl's of Essex rebellion against Queen Elizabeth Tudor.
Weston was the son of James Weston, MP for Lichfield, by his wife, Margery Lowe, daughter of Humphrey Lowe of Lichfield, England.[1] He was the nephew of Robert Weston, Lord Chancellor of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I, the grandnephew of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, and a descendant of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, through the 3rd Earl of Westmorland.[2][3] His cousin, Countess Catherine Fenton Boyle, also lived at Lismore Castle.
The Westons, father and son, lived at St John's Hospital in Lichfield, and were a cadet branch of the Westons of Rugeley, which included Sir Richard Weston of Hagley Hall.[4] In August 1599, he was knighted by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex of Chartley Castle, and Lord lieutenant of Staffordshire, who was a Royal favourite at the time.[5]
The Earl's network was very influential, him being a great-grandson of Mary Boleyn, sister of Queen Anne Boleyn, and nephew of William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury of Caversham Park. His uncle was married to a cousin of the Queen, while his own wife, Frances Burke, Countess of Clanricarde, was the daughter of the Secretary of State, Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's spymaster.
Weston was then elected High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1610.[6] He was later accused of participating in the Earl's of Essex rebellion against Queen Elizabeth Tudor, which involved Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham and Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, among others.
Weston initially evaded capture but was later brought in front of the Privy Council, and given to the custody of his brother-in-law, Bishop Martin Heton, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.[7]
