Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttleton of Mounslow

Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttleton (also Littelton) (1589 – 27 August 1645), from Munslow in Shropshire, was a Chief Justice of North Wales. He was descended from the judge and legal scholar, Thomas de Littleton. His father, also Edward, had been Chief Justice of North Wales before him.

He was educated at Oxford before becoming a lawyer. In 1614 he became an MP for Bishop's Castle, Shropshire in the Addled Parliament. In 1625 he was again returned to Parliament for Leominster and Caernarfon borough. In 1628 he was chairman of the Committee of Grievances upon whose report the Petition of Right was based.

As a member of the party opposed to the arbitrary measures of Charles I, Littleton had shown more moderation than some of his colleagues, and in 1634, three years after he had been chosen Recorder of London, the king attached him to his own side by appointing him Solicitor General. In the famous case about ship money, Sir Edward argued against John Hampden. In 1640, he was made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.

In 1641, when the previous keeper, John Finch, fled into exile, Littleton was appointed Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. He was raised to the Peerage as Baron Lyttelton.

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