Sir John St John (1585-1648), 1st baronet by Cornelius Johnson

This portrait of a mature Sir John St.John was painted by Cornelius Johnson in 1631, the year after his marriage to his second wife Margaret, Lady Grobham.

Knighted in February 1608/9, John St. John was created a Baronet in 1611 by King James I. He served as Member of Parliament for Wiltshire in 1624 and Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1632.

The early 17th century was a prestigious period for the St.John family and the wealthy Sir John commissioned several stunning monuments for St. Mary’s Church, Lydiard Tregoze; the polyptych in 1615, the exquisite East Window executed by Abraham van Linge in 1633, followed by the alabaster St.John tomb in 1634 and finally the Golden Cavalier in 1645, a memorial to his son Captain Edward St. John who died as a result of wounds received at the 2nd Battle of Newbury during the English Civil Wars.

In 1630 Sir John inherited a property at Battersea, which would become particularly popular with subsequent generations of the family, and was where he died in 1648. He was interred in the family vault at St. Mary’s, Lydiard Tregoze on October 18.

Medium - oil on board

Measurements - H 78 x W 62 cm

Purchased in 1965 from Vernon St.John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke