HASTINGS, George (d.1604)

The Hastings family came originally from Norfolk, but by the reign of Edward I they were established as landowners in Leicestershire and Yorkshire. Marriage to an heiress enhanced their estates in the former county, but it was the military service of Sir William Hastings^† for the Yorkist cause which brought them to national prominence. In 1461 Edward IV appointed Sir William lord chamberlain and raised him to the peerage as Lord Hastings. Sir William’s grandson, George^†, was created earl of Huntingdon in 1529 and married his eldest son Francis^† to Catherine Pole, the great granddaughter of Edward IV’s ill-fated brother George^†, duke of Clarence.15 C. Cross, Puritan Earl, 3-4, 7; Oxford DNB, xxv. 792; CP, vi. 370-1, 375, 656.

George Hastings, the subject of this biography, was Francis’ second son. His elder brother, Henry^†, was said to be aged 23 or more on becoming 3rd earl of Huntingdon in June 1560, indicating that George himself was born after 1537. However, records of George’s own age, including a portrait of him painted in 1565, point to an earlier date of birth.16 E150/1158/12; C142/248/1. Whatever the truth of the matter, George must have been of age, or nearly of age, when his father died in 1560, as by then he was already married to a Derbyshire heiress and his eldest son was born in that year.17 HP Commons, 1558-1603, ii. 272.

Possibly because he was already independently established by the time of his father’s death, Hastings escaped the influence of his puritan elder brother, the 3rd earl of Huntingdon. Indeed, he was suspected of Catholic sympathies, although there is no sign of outright recusancy. He nevertheless maintained warm relations, both with his elder brother and with his other, godly siblings, Sir Francis and Sir Edward Hastings, William Camden remarking that all four agreed ‘in brotherly love, but not in religion’. George acted as the 3rd earl’s deputy in Leicestershire affairs, particularly after the latter was appointed president of the council in the north in 1572, and was his deputy lieutenant for the county from 1587.18 Cross, 31, 117; W. Camden, Annals (1635), 36.

The Hastings family was very nearly ruined by the financial mismanagement of the 3rd earl who, despite selling at least £100,000 worth of land, died owing the crown £18,000 and a further £17,000 to private individuals.19 Cross, 66, 81. The 3rd earl’s land sales reduced the Hastings estates to a core of properties in Leicestershire, most of which, including the family seat at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, were seized by the crown on the earl’s death in 1595. The shock of inheriting such an encumbered estate seems to have converted George to Protestantism. At the very least, he hoped the crown would treat him more sympathetically if he was seen to abandon his crypto-Catholicism. He may also have reckoned that he would need the support of his more godly brothers and their followers to help sort out his problems.20 Ibid. 274.

Huntingdon was praised by the antiquarian, William Dugdale, for his ‘prudence’ and during his brother’s lifetime he was sufficiently prosperous to expand his own estates. He even purchased some property from 3rd earl, ensuring that it was not lost to the family. From 1590 he also rented Donington Park in Leicestershire, which he purchased in June 1595 for £3,000. He may have regretted this last acquisition, as his brother died suddenly at the end of that year leaving him with a vastly encumbered estate. However, Donington provided the Hastings family with an alternative residence which was not liable for the 3rd earl’s debts.21 Harl. 4774, f. 143; Cross, 69; Nichols, iii. 589, 776; CPR, 1594-5 ed. S.R. Neal and C. Leighton (L. and I. Soc. cccx), 156.

By December 1597 Huntingdon had negotiated to rent the Hastings lands seized by the crown for about £530 a year.22 CPR, 1597-8 ed. C. Smith, H. Watt, S.R. Neal and C. Leighton (L. and I. Soc. cccxxvi), 25, 142. According to Dugdale, he went on to repair the Hastings’ estate by good management, leaving it ‘not comparable to what it had been formerly, yet not unsuitable to his dignity and degree’. This was an exaggeration, though, as Huntingdon could not prevent the 3rd earl’s creditors from foreclosing on lands which had been mortgaged, which meant that further properties were lost. Moreover, lawsuits to recover money he claimed was owed to his brother were unsuccessful.23 Harl. 4774, f. 143; Cross, 82, 95, 102-3. Nevertheless, Huntingdon did enough to ensure that the Hastings family continued to dominate Leicestershire.

Huntingdon succeeded his brother in Leicestershire’s principal local offices. However, his position remained precarious. Eager to ingratiate himself with the new regime after the accession of James I in March 1603, Huntingdon approached, in June 1603, Gilbert Talbot*, 7th earl of Shrewsbury, in order to arrange a visit from Anne of Denmark and Prince Henry on their journey south from Scotland. The royal party arrived on the 22nd and departed the following day.24 Nichols, iii. 589-90.

Huntingdon appears to have omitted to nominate candidates for Leicestershire when the first Jacobean Parliament was summoned the following year, even though the Hastings family had dominated the county’s parliamentary representation in the Elizabethan period.25 HP Commons, 1604-29, ii. 220. It was a different story at Leicester where, as recently as December 1603, he had tried without success to choose the new recorder.26 J.K. Gruenfelder, ‘Electoral Influence of the Earls of Huntingdon, 1603-40’, Trans. Leics. Arch. Soc. l. 18-19; Recs. of the Bor. of Leicester ed. H. Stock, iv. 5-6. At the request of Sir John Fortescue^‡, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, he nominated Sir John Pulteney^‡. However, the earls of Huntingdon had seldom nominated the borough’s parliamentary candidates, and perhaps not surprisingly the town chose another man instead.27 Leics. RO, BRII/18/8/431; HP Commons, 1604-29, ii. 225. Huntingdon himself failed to attend the 1604 session, granting his proxy to his brother-in-law, Edward Somerset*, 4th earl of Worcester.28 LJ, ii. 263; Nichols, iii. 608.

In July 1604 Worcester was one of four privy councillors who recommended to the king a suit from Huntingdon which ‘hath long been in our hands’. This presumably related to the manor of Lubbesthorpe, which lay at the heart of the Hastings estates in Leicestershire, forfeited to the crown for the 3rd earl’s debts. The following month Huntingdon was allowed to buy back the manor in instalments over the next six years.29 SP15/36/48; SO3/2, f. 346; CSP Dom. 1603-10, p. 140; Cross, 63, 75-6, 110.

Huntingdon died intestate on 30 Dec. following and was buried at Ashby-de-la-Zouch on 25 Mar. 1605. He was evidently interred in considerable state; the Garter king at arms made a speech and the corporation of Leicester contributed six fat wethers [castrated rams] to the funeral dinner. His eldest son, Francis^‡, having predeceased him, Huntingdon was succeeded by his grandson, Henry^*, who obtained letters of administration on 1 May. Huntingdon’s personal estate was subsequently valued at more than £3,700, but funeral expenses totalling nearly £1,000, together with payment of various debts and charges, meant that the 5th earl ended up £276 15s. 6d. out of pocket as a result of his duties as administrator.30 Nichols, iii. 590-1; HMC 8th Rep. pt. 1 (1881), 428; PROB 6/7, f. 5v.