Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough

Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough (28 September 1610 – 10 January 1666/1667) was an English Royalist army commander in the Midlands during the English Civil War.

He was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, the fifth child and second son of Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon and Lady Elizabeth Stanley. His siblings included, Lady Alice Hastings, Ferdinando Hastings, 6th Earl of Huntingdon (b. 1608), Lady Elizabeth Hastings and Lady Mary Hastings (b. 1612). His mother, at one time, was fourth-in-line to inherit England's throne. She was a great great granddaughter of Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk.

He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642, Hastings declared himself a supporter of King Charles I and the family home, Ashby-de-la-Zouch castle, became a vital link between the Royalist south-west and the north – particularly as much of the rest of Leicestershire supported the Parliamentary cause. Hastings was made High Sheriff of Leicestershire that same year (1642) by King Charles.

Hastings, therefore, as Colonel Hastings, became engaged in various skirmishes between the opposing forces, seeing action at the Battle of Hopton Heath, fighting a small battle at Cotes Bridge near Loughborough and later losing an eye to a pistol shot after an exchange near Bagworth, all in 1643. He was thereafter known as Blind Henry Hastings by the Parliamentarians, who refused to recognise his new title. Later that year, his forces captured and lost the town of Burton upon Trent.

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