Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Whitehaven

Who was Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Whitehaven?

Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet FRS was an English gentleman and landowner at Whitehaven.

Lowther was born at Whitehaven, St Bees, Cumberland, the son of Sir Christopher Lowther, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Frances Lancaster, daughter of Christopher Lancaster of Stockbridge, Westmoreland. He was educated at Ilkley, Yorkshire and Balliol College, Oxford

Lowther owned large coal estates near Whitehaven, and worked to develop the mines and the port. He oversaw the growth of Whitehaven from a small fishing village to a planned town for the colliery workers. He served as Member of Parliament for Cumberland from 1665 to 1701, and a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty from 1689 to 1696.

Lowther died at Whitehaven and was buried at St Bees.

Lowther married Jane Leigh, daughter of Woolley and Elizabeth Leigh of Addington, Surrey and had three children:

Sir Christopher Lowther, 3rd Baronet

Jane Lowther, unmarried

Sir James Lowther, 4th Baronet

He disinherited his elder son, Christopher, as a spendthrift, and left his estates to his younger son, James.