Henry Booth 1652-1694

Henry BOOTH, 1st Earl of Warrington 1652-94

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. He was imprisoned in the Tower in 1683 following the discovery of the Rye House Plot on charges of treason, but was released. Charged with treason for involvement in the Monmouth rebellio.

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

• 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.