John Blennerhassett

Who is John Blennerhassett?

John Blennerhassett or Hasset, of Barsham by Beccles, Suffolk, was an English politician.

He was a Member of Parliament for Norwich 1563 and 1571, and for Horsham in 1558. He was a member of Norwich Corporation to which he presented two silver cups in 1562.

He was the son of Sir Thomas Blennerhassett and Margaret Barham. He married firstly Elizabeth Cornwallis and secondly Mary Etchingham and by two marriages had six sons and five daughters.

The Blennerhassetts, originally from Cumbria, had become substantial landowners in Suffolk and also Norfolk, where John held lands at Depwade and Long Stratton. His cousin William of Horsford was the father of another John Blennerhassett who became Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and of Thomas and Edward, who played a major part in the Plantation of Ulster. Another cousin, Robert Blennerhassett, founded the long-established family of Ballyseedy, County Kerry.