Constituency Dates
Malmesbury
Devizes 1584, 1586
Old Sarum 1589
Family and Education
Yr. s. of Sir Edward Baynton of Bromham by his 2nd w. Isabel, da. of Sir John Leigh of Stockwell, Surr.; half-bro. of Andrew and Sir Edward. m. Anne, da. of either Sir William Cavendish of Chatsworth, Derbys.1Glover, Derbys. ii(1), p. 242. or Sir Richard Cavendish of Notts., 3s.2Wilts. Vis. Peds. (Harl. Soc. cv, cvi), 7-8.
Offices Held

Capt. of light horse, Wilts. 1586.3CSP Dom. 1581–90, p. 357.

Address
Main residence: Woodford, Wilts.
biography text

Baynton was a younger son who made a fortunate marriage. The settlement kept him on a pretty tight rein, his wife controlling the house and children and providing Baynton with ‘sufficient meat and drink’ for himself and six friends. His half-brother Sir Edward gave him an annuity of £50.

First returned at a by-election for Malmesbury in time for the last session of the long 1572 Parliament (the printed list of returns is incorrect in transcribing the surname as Hunte), Baynton sat for an assortment of Wiltshire boroughs, without leaving any mark on the known proceedings of the House. It is not clear whether it was he or his nephew and namesake who sat for Devizes in 1593. It would be natural for a young man who became head of the family to wish to attend Parliament as soon as an opportunity arose, but the uncle’s record of attendance nicely balances the probabilities. Whoever he was, in his capacity as burgess for the borough, the 1593 Devizes MP might have served on a cloth committee appointed on 15 Mar.4C142/234/59; St. Ch. 5/B76/7; D’Ewes, 501.

Author
J.C.H.
Volume
Commons 1558-1603
Notes
  • 1. Glover, Derbys. ii(1), p. 242.
  • 2. Wilts. Vis. Peds. (Harl. Soc. cv, cvi), 7-8.
  • 3. CSP Dom. 1581–90, p. 357.
  • 4. C142/234/59; St. Ch. 5/B76/7; D’Ewes, 501.