Educated at
Queen's College, Oxford, Stawell was elected
Member of Parliament in 1625 for
Somerset. Created a
Knight of the Bath by
Charles I in 1625, he supported the Forced Loans imposed when
Parliament refused to approve taxes. As a result, he was not elected in 1628, and Charles appointed him
High Sheriff of Somerset. The Somerset gentry were split between those like Sir John who supported
Lord Poulett, and their opponents, led by Sir
Robert Phelips. Phelips was a prominent opponent of Charles'
Personal Rule, and it is suggested Stawell's support for the king in the 1630s was primarily aimed at undermining his local rivals. Re-elected for Somerset in the
Long Parliament of 1640, he supported Charles when the
First English Civil War began in August 1642, and was suspended from Parliament in 1643. At the outbreak of the war he commanded a regiment of the
Somerset Trained Bands, which may have formed the basis of his later regiments. A man of considerable wealth, he raised five regiments at his own expense for the Royal army, serving under the
Marquess of Hertford in the
West Country. He was appointed governor of
Taunton when it surrendered to the Royalists in June 1643, but withdrew to
Bridgwater before it was recaptured by the
Parliamentarian army in June 1644. In September 1644, he urged Charles to make peace, a campaign he continued over the next year. Many on both sides wanted to end the war; Stawell proposed Charles should put himself at their head, and accompany a peace petition to Parliament. A return to the policy of armed neutrality adopted by various counties in 1642, it also reflected the strength of the
Clubmen movement in Somerset, but few of the leaders were prepared to consider such a solution, least of all Charles. Captured when
Exeter surrendered in 1646, he refused to take the covenant, or to swear not to bear arms against Parliament in future, and held on charges of high treason. He was imprisoned in the
Tower of London and after many delays finally brought to trial in December 1650, but the High Court referred him back to Parliament. Although much discussed, his case was never settled, and he was not released until 1653. Following his capture,
Robert Blake, commander of the Parliamentarian garrison of Taunton, had been ordered to ensure
Cothelstone Manor could not be fortified again. Stawell's lands were sold for £64,000 in 1651, although his family were allowed to live in the semi-ruined manor house. He reportedly spent his time "practising chemistry and eschewing breakfast", presumably an ironic reference to his poverty. His estates were restored after the
Stuart Restoration in May 1660, and he was elected to the
Cavalier Parliament in 1661. == Death ==