Henry Hylton, de jure 12th Baron Hylton

Henry Hylton, de jure 12th Baron Hylton (1586 – 30 March 1641) was an English nobleman, considered eccentric and sometimes given the name the "Mad Baron".

Hylton was the eldest son of Thomas Hylton (himself the son of William Hylton, de jure 11th Baron Hylton) and his wife, Anne "née" Bowes (daughter of Sir George Bowes of Streatlam Castle). In 1600, Hylton inherited the right to the barony of Hylton from his grandfather (his father having died in c.1598. However, no Barons Hylton had been called to Parliament since the second baron in the 14th century, therefore Hylton was not technically a peer.

As Hylton was only thirteen years old when he inherited the Hylton estates in County Durham, he became a royal ward. He was placed in the care of Henry Robinson, Bishop of Carlisle and later married off to Mary Wortley, the daughter of Sir Richard Wortley, who managed the Hylton estates during Hylton's minority. The marriage was probably never consummated as he lived apart from his wife for nearly 30 years, choosing instead to live with his cousin, Nathaniel Hylton, who was vicar of Billingshurst in Sussex, and later with Lady Shelley at her home of Michelgrove, near Petworth.

When Scotland invaded County Durham and the Hylton estates in 1641 as part of the Bishops' Wars, Hylton made his will that year and appointed Lady Shelley as his executrix. Not knowing how long the Scots would occupy his abandoned estates, he confirmed in his will that he had no children or male heirs and also left the bulk of his estate to the Corporation of London for a lease of ninety-nine years. He also requested that he be buried in St Paul's Cathedral "under a faire tumbe like in fashion to the tumbe of Dr. Dunne", however this was not carried out. His wife later married Sir Thomas Smith, the "title" passed to his brother, Robert and the estate was later reclaimed by Hylton's nephew, John Hylton, de jure 15th Baron Hylton.

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* [http://www.ancestryuk.com/henryhyltonb1585A.htm "Henry Hylton b.1585" - AncestryUK.com]
* [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=M_S10M8ze9MC&pg=RA2-PA234&lpg=RA2-PA234&dq=Hylton+writ+of+summons&source=web&ots=NDJIeh8Zft&sig=3mHBIg4yVo8nThb3n774Sqrz3wE&hl=en#PRA2-PA234,M1 "The Gentlemen's Magazine", March 1821]