Gerard Lowther

Sir Gerard Lowther (c. 1589–1660), sometimes referred to as Gerald Lowther, was a member of the well-known Lowther family of Westmoreland. He had a distinguished judicial career in Ireland, becoming Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, although his enemies claimed his success was due to a complete lack of moral principles. in which case he should not be confused with Christopher's legitimate son Gerald, by his second wife Eleanor Musgrave. This Gerald was a professional soldier who joined the Polish army and died fighting against the Ottoman Empire. Sir Christopher and his brothers were the sons of Sir Richard Lowther (1532-1607) and his wife Frances Middleton. Sir Richard's reputation for long and loyal service to the English Crown was damaged by his adherence for a time to the cause of Mary Queen of Scots, although he managed to avoid permanent disgrace.

Early career Gerard matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford in 1605, entered Gray's Inn in 1608 and was called to the Bar in 1616. No doubt because he had relatives on the Irish Bench, he was called to the Irish Bar three years later. Strafford in his last days is said to have interceded for them with the King. Lowther was soon acquitted of treason and released from custody, and thereafter he played a careful double game in politics.

He was remarried the following year to Margaret King, daughter of Sir John King of Boyle Abbey, MP for Roscommon and Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper, and his wife Catherine Drury, daughter of Robert Drury, and grand-niece of Sir William Drury, President of Munster. Margaret was a sister of Sir Robert King of Boyle Abbey, the poet Edward King (the subject of Lycidas by John Milton) and the writer Dorothy Durie. Like her sisters, Dorothy and Mary, Lady Charlemont, Margaret is said to have been a woman of considerable learning. She died in 1658.

A son was born to his first marriage but must have died young since historians agree that he had no surviving issue.

Character Lowther was a gifted lawyer and a shrewd and adaptable politician, but historians, in general, have had little good to say of him. O'Flanagan calls him "a most unprincipled man". Smyth says "He acquired a large landed property by steering with unprincipled craft through the boisterous ocean of contemporary troubles". Wedgwood, on the other hand, states that while he may have owed his rise to high office to patronage and a certain lack of scruples, he was well qualified by legal ability and strength of character for it.