Sir John le Boteler Knight, Lord of Warrington

  Information about this person:

• Background Information. ⁷³⁰
Sir John le Boteler was born about 1328. He inherited his family estates when his father died in 1380. He was at least 52 at the time at the time. His father had wisely granted him the manor of Warrington with the advovwon of the church, and the manors of Bewsey, Sankey, Penketh, Burtonwood and Laton before his father's death.

In 1367, Sir John le Boteler took part in the rebuilding of a bridge over the Mersey at Warrington. This bridge was finished in 1369. At that time, another Bohn le Boteler, one of Warrington's hermit friars, received a licence to celebrate divine offices in the chapel at its foot for two years [Lichfield Register]

Sir John was elected a knight of the shire for Lancashire in parliament that meet on 4 Apr 1366 (40 Edward III). In 1371, Sir John le Boteler was with John de Gaunt, duke of Lancaster in an expedition into Gascony [Dugdale's Baronage, quoting the Roll. p. 653] He returned home that year, and 12 Nov 1371 he was appointed to the office of High Sheriff of Lancashire. His predecessor in the office was Richard fitz John de Radcliffe, who had orders to deliver all the prisoners into his custody, and all the writs, rolls and records relating to his office [Duchy Register, 48, 139] He was again appointed to this office for the following year [Duchy Register, 155b]

In 1385, Sir John le Boteler, Thomas de Southworth and Richard de Mascy, with letters of protection in hand, accompanied Ferdinand, master of the military order of St. James of Portugal to Castile. [Rymer's Fædera, vol. v. p. 434] By 1386, Sir John is back at England as one of the king's commissioners to take evident on the part of Grosvenor in the great trial of Scope and Grosvenor. Sir John had attended parliament in the years 1366, 1372, 1376-1378, 1380, and as knight of the shire in 1388, 1397-1398. Sir John had also served England often abroad as well as at home.

Sir John married Alicia, the daughter of Sir William Plumpton and widow of Richard son and heir of Sir John Sherburn, knight, whom Alicia married in 1351, and became a widow in 1363. Alicia was also a descendant of the Vilars by way of her grandmother Margaret. [Plumpton Papers, pref. xxvii, Camden Soc.] As he father had done before him, Sir John had made sure to transfer his estates to his sons before he died at the age of seventy -one.

The children of Sir John and Dame Alicia were:
William, eldest son and heir who succeeded Sir John to the barony of Warrington
John, who became usher of the chamber to Henry V and was at Agincourt
Margaret, who is mentioned in the award on the Legh title as having given a collateral warranty to part of the Boteler estates. This also says that she married an Ardern. [Bold Deeds, 23 Sep 1505]
Alice, married to John Gerard, the son of Thomas Gerard. They had a son Peter, and two daughters, Ellen and Elizabeth. She survived her husband and died about 27 Feb 1442 Her brother, John, mentions her daughters as well in his will.
Elizabeth, married to her cousin, Richard Boteler of Kirkland. They recieved dispensation 12 Jan 1389 from Boniface IX. (*See note)
~Annals of the Lords of Warrington, Vol. I, pgs. 199-225

*According to George Ormerod's The History of County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol I, pg. 649, she also married Peter, Lord of Dutton. Also, In The Annals of the Lords of Warington, Elizabeth, the wife of Piers de Dutton was the daughter of Sir William, not Sir John le Boteler.

John married Alice de Plumpton, daughter of Sir William de Plumpton Knight and Christianna Mowbray, in 1364 in England. (Alice de Plumpton was born about 1338 in Yorkshire, England and died After Mar 1400 before 1409 in Lancashire, England ^160,730.)