Hugh (Middleton) Myddelton Bt (1560 - 1631)

Born 1560 in Wales

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 7 Dec 1631 at about age 71 in London, England

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Biography

Sir Hugh Myddelton (or Middleton), 1st Baronet (1560 – 10 December 1631) was a Welsh goldsmith, clothmaker, banker, entrepreneur, mine-owner and self-taught engineer. The spelling of his name is inconsistently reproduced, but Myddelton appears to be the earliest.

The sixth son of Richard Myddelton, governor of Denbigh Castle and MP for Denbigh in north Wales, he traveled to seek his fortune in London and after being apprenticed to a goldsmith became so successful in that trade that he was appointed Royal Jeweller by King James I. In the meantime he became an alderman and then recorder of Denbigh, and in 1603 succeeded his father as MP for Denbigh, which he remained until 1628. He also becomes a very wealthy merchant and clothmaker.

He is, however, best remembered as the driving force behind the construction of the New River, an ambitious engineering project to bring clean water from the River Lea, near Ware, in Hertfordshire to New River Head, London. After the initial project encountered financial difficulties, Myddelton helped fund the project through to completion, obtaining the assistance of King James I. The New River was constructed between 1608 and 1613 (being officially opened on 29 September that year), and was originally some 38 miles (60 km) long. It was not initially a financial success, and cost Myddelton substantial sums, although in 1612 he was successful in securing monetary assistance from James I.

In 1617, Myddelton obtained large profits from lead and silver mines at Bronfloyd, Cwmerfyn, and Cwmsymlog in Cardiganshire, Wales. Following engineering works at Brading on the Isle of Wight, he has created a baronet in 1622.

He died in December 1631 and was buried in the church of St. Matthew Friday Street, London. He had a family of ten sons and six daughters.

One of Sir Hugh's brothers was Sir Thomas Middelton (c. 1550-1631), lord mayor of London, and another was William Middelton (c. 1556-1621), poet and seaman, who died at Antwerp on the 27th of March 1621.

Research Notes

In 1585 he married Anne, the daughter of Richard Collins of Lichfield. She was the widow of Richard Edwards of London and was considerably older than him. The marriage was childless; she died at the age of fifty-three and was buried on 11 January 1597. The following year Myddelton married Elizabeth Olmstead, the daughter of John Olmstead of Ingatestone, Essex, and Jane Danvers of London. By the time of the match, John Olmstead was dead and Jane had married Thomas Myddelton, Hugh's brother (he thus married his brother's stepdaughter). The couple had fifteen children, of whom only three sons and four daughters seem to have outlived their father. His eldest surviving son, William, married Eleanor, daughter of Sir Thomas Harris, bart., of Shrewsbury.

Find A Grave Index Name: Hugh Myddleton Event Type: Burial Event Place: , Greater London, England Photograph Included: Y Cemetery: St Matthew Friday Street ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVC-KNTC: 13 December 2015), Hugh Myddleton; Burial, Greater London, England, St Matthew Friday Street; Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53833120/hugh-middleton Updated 27 August 2021.

• Myddelton, Hugh (DNB00)
• Jenner, Mark S. R. "Myddelton [Middleton, Sir Hugh, baronet (1556x60?–1631), goldsmith and entrepreneur."] Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 28 Feb. 2018.
• History of Parliament Online entry for MYDDELTON, Hugh (c.1560-1631), of Bassishaw (Basinghall) Street, London and Bush Hill, Edmonton, Mdx.; later of The Lodge, Talybont, Card.