Sir Christopher Lowther, 3rd Baronet

Sir Christopher Lowther, 3rd Baronet (1666 – 2 October 1731) was an English baronet, the eldest son of Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet and Jane Leigh (died 1678). His alcoholism and irresponsibility caused his father to disinherit him in 1701, leaving his brother James to become master of the Lowther estates at Whitehaven.

Lowther was born at Sockbridge Hall (his paternal grandmother had been the last of the Lancasters of Sockbridge) and baptised on 4 June 1666. Correspondence suggests he may have been lame. He entered Queen's College, Oxford in 1685, but left after a year, having fallen in with a rakish set there, and taken to drinking and gambling. In 1688, he took up legal studies at the Inns of Court in 1688; his behavior having improved somewhat, his father canvassed (with Sir John Lowther of Lowther, whose pocket borough it was) the idea of Christopher becoming MP for Appleby.

However, father and son quarreled in 1691, and were not reconciled for seven years.Christopher spent the next several years with the Rev. H. Maurice, who tried repeatedly to persuade him to cease heavy drinking and resume his legal studies. On several occasions Christopher wrote to his father reporting periods for which he had forgone liquor, and seeking reconciliation, but without success. He was discouraged when - a seat falling vacant at Carlisle - his father secured the return (November 1694) of his brother James as Member of Parliament, telling Sir John Lowther of Lowther that Christopher needed to be kept away from the distraction of London. Six months after James's election, Christopher wrote to Lady Lowther (the wife of Sir John of Lowther) telling her he had abstained from drink and gambling for five months and asking her to intercede for him with his father. The further return of James as MP for Carlisle at the general election of 1695 aroused great jealousy in him, and he began drinking again. In 1696, Sir John was contemplating sending Christopher to Whitehaven, with a moderate allowance, but was advised against it by William Gilpin,the steward of his Whitehaven estates, who pointed out that this would remove Christopher from most possibilities of innocent diversion, but not from temptation (the sons of the local gentry included notorious wastrels and drunkards), that to put Christopher at Whitehaven would give him the opportunity to supplement his income by the promise of future favours to those doing business with the Lowthers and to blast his reputation in the very place it would do most harm.

...
Wikipedia