Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet

Sir Peter Leycester
Sir Peter Leycester in 1665
Born	3 March 1614 Nether Tabley, Cheshire, England
Died	11 October 1678 Nether Tabley
Nationality	English
Education	Brasenose College, Oxford Gray's Inn
Occupation	Antiquarian, Historian
Title	Baronet
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Gerard
Children	Robert, Byron I, Elinour, Elizabeth, Thomas, Byron II
Parent(s)	Peter Leycester Elizabeth Mainwaring

Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet (also known as Sir Peter Leicester) (3 March 1614 – 11 October 1678) was an English antiquarian and historian. He was involved in the English Civil War on the royalist side and was subsequently made a baronet. He later compiled one of the earliest histories of the county of Cheshire and as a result of this became involved in a controversy with the Mainwaring family. He developed a library in his home at Tabley Old Hall and made improvements to the house and estate, including building a private chapel in the grounds of the house.

Peter Leycester was born at Nether Tabley, near Knutsford, Cheshire, England, the eldest son of Peter Leycester (1588–1647) and Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Randle Mainwaring of Over Peover, Cheshire. He entered Brasenose College, Oxford in 1629 as a gentleman commoner but did not take a degree. In 1632 he was admitted to Gray's Inn. When the Civil War started he was appointed as one of the king's commissioners of array for Cheshire. He was in Oxford in June 1646 when the city surrendered to Thomas Fairfax. Consequently, he was excluded from other responsibilities and had time to develop his interest in antiquarian research. Among the subjects he studied was the pedigree of the Mainwaring family. In 1649 he purchased a transcript of the section of the Domesday book relating to Cheshire. In 1655 he had a period of imprisonment, but following the Restoration he was released and returned to the bench as a justice of the peace. He was created a baronet in 1660 as a reward for his loyalty to the royalist cause.