Henry Booth 1652-1694

Henry BOOTH, 1st Earl of Warrington 1652-1694

Biographical Note

Born at Dunham Massey Hall, Cheshire; the eldest son of George Booth, 2nd Bart and 1st Baron Delamer (1622-1684). Booth succeeded to the title of Baron Delamer in 1684 and was made Earl of Warrington in 1690. Made custos rotulorum (keeper of the rolls) for the county of Chester in 1673. MP for Cheshire, 1678, 1679, 1681. In 1686 he was put on trial for treason following accusations of complicity in the Monmouth Rebellion, but was found not guilty. He was made Chancellor of the Exchequer following his involvement in the 1688 revolution, but was removed from his post in 1690. He married Mary Langham (1652-1691 and with her had four sons and two daughters.

Books

Although the family house and library at Dunham Massey were substantially enhanced by his son George, the 2nd Earl (1675-1758), it is clear that many of the 17th century books there were acquired by Henry, whose posthumously-published works make it clear that he had a substantial private library.

Sources

• History of Parliament.
• Hosford, David. "Booth, Henry, first earl of Warrington (1652–1694), politician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Potten, E. ‘A great number of usefull books’: the hidden library of Henry Booth, Library & Information History 25 (2009), 33-49.