Robert Needham was born about 1598, the son of Sir
Robert Needham, 1st Viscount Kilmorey and Jane Lacy (daughter of John Lacy of Borston or Borseton). Needham was educated at
Shrewsbury School. He was a
Member of Parliament of the
Addled Parliament for
Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire in 1614. In the same year he was granted the freedom of Shrewsbury. He was a Justice of the Peace in Lancashire by 1627 and held the post until at least 1630. Needham succeeded his father in 1631, inheriting his titles as 2nd Viscount Kilmorey, and 2nd Feudal Baron of Orhera, and his English estate of Shavington Hall at
Adderley, Shropshire. His name appears among those having a proxy in the
Irish House of Lords on 30 July 1634. Kilmorey supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He served on
Commission of Array for both Cheshire and Shropshire. With the outbreak of war he joined the
Chester garrison which was commanded by his son-in-law
John, Lord Byron. Although his younger son was captured in a skirmish in 1645, and that it was falsely rumoured that his wife Frances had been killed, Kilmorey escaped at the end of the siege (late January) and made his way to Oxford, which was still held by a large Royalist garrison, where he surrendered when the
city surrendered (24 June 1646). Needham was fined £3,560 for being a "Delinquent (Royalist)" which substantially below other comparatively wealthy Royalists and the Cheshire committee said as much, it perhaps reflected the damage to his estate as it was situated in a war zone. He was able to reduce this still further to £2,360 by promising to pay an annual £90 stipend to the minister who lived a rectory of
Wrenbury, Cheshire. He is not recorded as taking part in the
Second Civil War. During the
Third Civil War he was arrested when Charles II led a predominantly Scottish army through Cheshire on the way to defeat at the
Battle of Worcester (3 September 1651). He lived quietly and died two years later at Dutton, Cheshire on 12 September 1653. His estates passed to his son and heir
Robert, the 3rd Viscount who six years later was to be a participant in
Booth's Rebellion. ==Family==