Hugh Willoughby, 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham

Hugh Willoughby 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham
Born	1713
Died	17 January 1765 London
Resting place	Horwich Parish Church
Title	Baron Willoughby of Parham
Tenure	1715–1765
Predecessor	Charles Willoughby
Successor	Henry Willoughby
Parents	Charles Willoughby, 14th Baron Willoughby of Parham and Hester Devonport

Hugh, 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham (1713 – 17 January 1765) was an English nobleman and hereditary peer of the House of Lords. He was born in 1713, the eldest son of Charles Willoughby, 14th Baron Willoughby of Parham and Hester, daughter of Henry Davenport of Little Lever and Darcy Lever, near Bolton. Hugh Willoughby's father died on 12 June 1715, aged 34, and the infant Hugh Willoughby became the 15th Baron Willoughby of Parham. He could not take his seat in the House of Lords until he reached the age of 21.

Hugh Willoughby was probably born in either Horwich or Rivington in Lancashire around 1 February 1713. After his father's death Hugh Willoughby was placed under the joint guardianship of his mother and Reverend John Walker, the Presbyterian minister of Horwich chapel of ease. His mother, Hester Willoughby married James Walton of Wigan in 1717, soon after the death of her first husband, and under the terms of his will, forfeited joint guardianship.

In 1717, Hugh Willoughby attended Rivington Grammar School and later Taunton Dissenters' Academy in Somerset where he met a lifelong friend, Israel Mauduit, the political pamphleteer. In 1732, at the age of 18, Hugh Willoughby received the freedom of Dumfries in Scotland.

In 1733, Hugh Willoughby was challenged by a rival claimant to the peerage, Henry Willoughby, descendant of Sir Ambrose Willoughby, and the case was referred to the Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Sir Philip York (later Lord Hardwicke) championed Hugh Willoughby's cause. As Henry Willoughby awaited his hearing, Hugh Willoughby travelled in Europe and his absence prevented the case being heard. However, on his return the case from Henry Willoughby was still not attended to by Hugh Willoughby or the Attorney General.

...
Wikipedia