Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford
Although born in London, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford spent part of his childhood at Wentworth Woodhouse in the village of Wentworth near Rotherham. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge and the Inner Temple.
In 1620 he was elected one of the Members of Parliament for Yorkshire. In the Commons he soon distinguished himself as a supporter of popular rights against the faction of the Duke of Buckingham. He was again elected to Parliament, this time for Pontefract, in 1624 but the following year, his attempt to get re-elected as a member for Yorkshire was blocked by the Royalist party. He was again in parliament in 1628 and by this time had changed his allegiance. His conversion to the royal party was rewarded with the title of Baron Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse and the office of Lord President of the North.
He became virtual leader of the House of Commons and chief advisor to Charles I. In 1633 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. His administration of Ireland earned him the title Earl of Strafford and the enmity of Parliament. On his return to England in 1640 he was impeached by Parliament for treason. He was imprisoned, tried executed on Tower Hill in 1641. Following Stafford's execution his estates and titles were forfeit but within five days the King had given orders for their restoration to the Earl's son.
His widow lived at Hooton Roberts and was buried there under the altar steps when she died. In the 1900s workmen found three skeletons there, one of an elderly woman, one of a child, and one of a man with the bones of his neck cut through.