Erasmus de la Fontaine

Sir Erasmus II de la Fontaine (1601-1672) was an English landowner from a Huguenot family, who lived at Kirby Bellars in Leicestershire.

He served King Charles I as High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1628. His other estates included the manor of Holme at Langford, Bedfordshire, ^[1] Moulton Park in Northamptonshire ^[2] and the manor of Newhall near Hornchurch in Essex. ^[3] He also had a home in the City of London off Aldermanbury, whose location was known as Fountain Court ^[4] (now part of the Guildhall grounds).

Under the Commonwealth his estates were confiscated by the Committee for Sequestrations, and he had to pay a £1000 fine to regain them. ^[5]

Under King Charles II, he was appointed a commissioner for tax collection in Leicestershire and Essex. ^[6]

Marriage and family

He married Mary Noel, daughter of Edward Noel, 2nd Viscount Campden.

They had nine children, seven daughters and two sons, the youngest of whom, John, was born in 1638. Their children included:

• Mary, married Thomas Beaumont, 3rd Viscount Beaumont of Swords;
• Juliana, married Sir John Tracy, 5th Baronet;
• Elizabeth, married Sir Daniel de Ligne of Harlaxton Manor;
• Penelope, married Sir Philip Tyrwhitt;
• Anne, married Sir Thomas Meres, MP for Lincoln;
• John, married Frances, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Palmer, MP for Stamford.

Erasmus died on 16 March 1672 aged 70, and is buried at Kirby Bellars.

Appearance

At the Virgina Museum of Fine Arts, located in Richmond, Virgina, (Elegance and Wonder: Masterpieces of European Art from the Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III Collection) a portrait of Erasmus and his sister, Elizabeth de la Fontaine (later de Linge) is displayed. He was fifteen when this portrait was completed. According to this portrait, he had sandy blond hair, a round face, and brown eyes.

References

1. Page, William. "'Parishes: Langford', in A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 2". British History Online. Victoria County History, London, 1908. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
2. "Cases before the Committee: December 1646 Pages 1578-1635 Calendar, Committee For Compounding: Part 2". British History Online. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1890. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
3. "'Hornchurch: Manors', in A History of the County of Essex: Volume 7, ed. W R Powell (London, 1978), pp. 31-39". British History Online. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
4. Harben, Henry A. "'Foster Street - Four Dove Court', in A Dictionary of London (London, 1918)". British History Online. H Jenkins Ltd. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
5. "Cases before the Committee: July 1652 Pages 3021-3031 Calendar, Committee For Compounding: Part 4". British History Online. HMSO. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
6. "'Charles II, 1664 & 1665: An Act for granting a Royall Ayd unto the Kings Majestie of Twenty fower hundred threescore and seaventeene thousand and five hundred Pounds to be raised leavyed and paid in the space of Three Yeares.', in Statutes of the Realm: Volume 5, 1628-80, ed. John Raithby (s.l, 1819), pp. 525-552". British History Online. Retrieved 10 August 2022.