John Peyton (soldier)

Sir John Peyton (1544 – 1630) was a English soldier and administrator. He was born in Knowlton, Kent to John Peyton (died 1558) and Dorothy Peyton, who was the daughter of John Tyndale.

He was knighted in 1586 and served under Robert Dudley. He was Lieutenant-Governor of Bergen op Zoom from 1586 to 1587 and was a colonel "in the forces for the defence of the queen's person against the threatened attack of the Spanish Armada" in 1588. He served as a deputy lieutenant of Cambridgeshire under Roger North in 1596 and lieutenant of the Tower of London from 1597 to 1603, during which time he gave kind attention to Sir Walter Raleigh, when he was imprisoned. He later served as Governor of Jersey from 1603 to 1630; a post that was formerly held by Raleigh.

On June 8, 1578, Peyton married Dorothy Bell (died 1603), the widow of Sir Robert Bell (died 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 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22080, accessed 7 May 2005]