Coat of arms of Sir James Harrington on his memorial in St Peter & St Paul's church, Exton.
"The monument to Sir James Harington (d. 1591) and his wife Lucy Sydney stands against the north wall of the chancel and is of coloured marble with alabaster figures kneeling before a faldstool, in separate round arched recesses; over the figures are respectively the arms of Harington and Sydney, and the entablature, which is supported by black marble columns, is surmounted by tall obelisks, flanking a large strapwork armorial panel. A long Latin inscription occupies two panels in the base.
Sir James had eighteen children, 'of whom three sons and eight daughters entered into marriage.'"
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The translated inscription reads;
Here is placed James Harington, of Exton, Knight, with his wife, Lucy, daughter of William Sidney, Knight, by whom he had eighteen children, of whom three sons and eight daughters entered into marriage. The eldest son, John, Knight. married the heiress of Robert Kelwey, surveyorof the Courts of Wards and Liveries. The second, Henry, Knight, married one of the heiresses of Francis Agar, the third, James, Esquire, one of the heiresses of Roberts Sapcots, Esquire. The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was married to Edward Montague, Knight, the second, Frances, to William Lee, Knight, the third, Margaret, to Don Benito de Sisneros, a Spaniard, of the family of the Dukes of Fantasgo, the fourth, Catharine, to Edward Dimmock, Knight. The sixth, Mabel, to Andrew Noel, Knight, the seventh, Sarah, had for her husband Lord Hastings, heir of the Earl of Huntingdon. The eighth, ‘Theodosia, Lord Dudley, of Castle Dudley. The said James and Lucy lived fifty years in Wedlock. She died first in her 72nd year. He departed this life when eighty years old, in the year of man’s redemption 1591, the 34th of Queen Elizabeth. Both appointed as their sole executor their son James, who, to perform his duty to his parents, and to leave testimony of his filial affection to posterity, erected and dedicated this monument to their lasting memory.
If an old family and the ancient busts on the walls; if the badge of Knighthood, the reward of peculiar virtue; if a numerous offspring and the absence of all complaint throughout fifty years of married life ; if late decay and a rapid death; lastly, if a happy estate, and more happy than any estate, R liberal hand, untainted honour, reverence for heaven, have made either a happy life or a blessed death, they have made both life and death blessed for us, Now when the fates have bid us to have done with life and the stars demand our spirits, the affection of our heir has gathered our ashes and bidden them rest under this mausoleum.
"b. by 1517, 1st s. of (Sir) John Harington† of Exton and bro. of Edward Harington. educ. I. Temple 1536. m. by 1539, Lucy, da. of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, Kent, at least 7s. inc. John II and James Harington II 8da., 3 other ch. suc. fa. 25 Aug. 1553. Kntd. June 1565.
Offices Held
J.p. Lincs, (Kesteven) 1547, Rutland from c.1559; sheriff, Rutland Aug.-Nov. 1553, 1560-1, 1566-7, 1578-9, 1586-7; commr. musters, Rutland and Leics. by 1569.
Biography
The Haringtons were the leading landowners in Rutland, and Harington himself added considerably by purchase to the family lands there and in Leicestershire. He built the great hall at Exton, the ruins of which are still standing. Through his brother-in-law Sir Henry Sidney he was connected with the Dudleys, and it was the Earl of Leicester who knighted him in 1565. Like them he was inclined to puritanism, being described as ‘an earnest furtherer of religion’ by the bishop of Lincoln in 1564, but he is not known to have taken part in any parliamentary debates on religion. His name is not mentioned in the records of the House for the 1559, 1586 or 1589 Parliaments. During the course of the 1572 Parliament he was named to committees on a private bill for Lord Stourton (13 Mar. 1576), the Queen’s safety (25 Jan. 1581), the sowing of linseed in Hertfordshire (23 Feb. 1581) and wool (23 Feb. 1581). By virtue of his position as first knight of the shire he could have attended the subsidy committees on 22 Feb. 1587 and 11 Feb. 1589.
Near the end of his life Harington was noted by Lord Burghley as a ‘knight of great possessions’, fit to be made a baron. His will, dated 7 Apr. 1591, made generous provision for his servants and friends. Nearly all his lands went to his eldest son, John, who received a barony in 1603. One manor, certain leases and tenements were divided between his younger sons Henry and James, whom he made joint executors. Subsequently, by a codicil dated 22 Jan. 1592, just before his death, he appointed James sole executor and it was he who proved the will four days later, afterwards erecting at Exton a fine monument to his parents."
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