John Hastings was
summoned to Parliament as
Lord Hastings in 1290. He was the son of
Henry de Hastings, who had been created
Baron Hastings by
Simon de Montfort in 1263. Since the first Baron's title does not appear to have been recognised by the King, although his son John Hastings is sometimes referred to as the second Baron Hastings, the majority of historians enumerate John as 1st Baron Hastings. John Hastings's grandson, the third Baron Hastings, was created
Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke in 1339. The latter's son, the second
Earl of Pembroke, married as his second wife
Anne Hastings, 2nd Baroness Manny. Their son, the third Earl and fifth Baron Hastings, succeeded his mother as third Baron Manny. On his death in 1389 the earldom and barony of Manny became extinct, while the barony of Hastings became dormant. It then became the subject of a bitter-fought lawsuit, nominally over the right to the Hastings arms but including the right to the family honours. The barony was claimed by Hugh Hastings (1377–1396) (later deemed the
de jure 7th Baron Hastings; see below). He was the eldest son of Sir Hugh Hastings, grandson of Sir
Hugh Hastings (–1347), son of the second Baron by his second wife. Hugh claimed the title as "heir of the half blood". However, the claim was contested by
Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn, as "heir of the whole blood". Lord Grey de Ruthyn claimed the Barony in right of his grandmother Elizabeth, daughter of the second Baron Hastings by his first wife. On the early death of Hugh Hastings in 1396 the claim passed to his younger brother Edward Hastings (1382–1438) (later deemed the
de jure 8th Baron Hastings; see below). In 1410 a court decided in favour of Grey. Hastings immediately appealed, and at the coronation of
Henry V in 1413, he claimed the right to carry the spurs before the King, which Lord Grey de Ruthyn had done undisputed in 1399 at the coronation of
Henry IV. Hastings was later ordered to pay the costs of the trial. When he refused, he was imprisoned in 1417. He remained imprisoned until 1433, but refused to buy his release by abandoning his claims. No final decision regarding the Barony was made at the time, but both families continued to claim the title. The Greys finally abandoned their claim in 1639. , the former seat of the
Astley and
Delaval families, who intermarried After the title had been dormant for 452 years, in 1841 the
House of Lords decided that the rightful successor to the third Earl of Pembroke and fifth Baron Hastings was his kinsman John Hastings,
de jure 6th Baron Hastings. He was the eldest son of Sir Hugh Hastings, younger son of the first Baron. His successor should have been his great-nephew, the aforementioned Hugh Hastings,
de jure 7th Baron Hastings. The next holder should have been his younger brother, the aforementioned Edward Hastings,
de jure 8th Baron Hastings. On the death of the latter's great-great-great-grandson, the
de jure 15th Baron, the peerage technically fell into abeyance between the Baron's sisters Anne and Elizabeth. The
House of Lords decision meant that there were three co-heirs to the barony. The decision was in favour of Sir Jacob Astley, 6th Baronet, who was summoned to the
House of Lords the same year as Lord Hastings. He was a descendant of the aforementioned Elizabeth, sister of the
de jure 15th Baron. Lord Hastings had previously represented
West Norfolk in the
House of Commons. the titles are held by his great-great-great-grandson, the twenty-third Baron and thirteenth Baronet, who succeeded his father in 2007. The twenty-second Baron served in the
Conservative administrations of
Harold Macmillan and
Sir Alec Douglas-Home as a government whip from 1961 to 1962 and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing and Local Government from 1962 to 1964. The
Astley Baronetcy, of Hillmorton in the County of Warwick, had been created in the
Baronetage of England on 25 June 1660 for
Jacob Astley. He represented
Norfolk in
House of Commons for many years. His great-grandson,
Edward Astley, also represented Norfolk in Parliament. He married
Rhoda Delaval, daughter of Francis Blake Delaval, of
Seaton Delaval Hall in
Northumberland, and sister of
John Delaval, 1st Baron Delaval. Through this marriage the Seaton Delaval estate came into the Astley family when Rhoda's brother did not produce a male heir. Their son, Sir Jacob Henry Astley, was also Member of Parliament for Norfolk. The latter was the father of the sixth Baronet, who succeeded as Baron Hastings in 1841. The family seat was
Seaton Delaval Hall, now in the possession of the
National Trust. ==1299 creation==