Lowther was the eldest son of
Sir John Lowther of
Lowther Hall and his wife Eleanor Fleming, daughter of Wiliam Fleming of
Rydal. He attended the
Inner Temple in 1621 and was
called to the bar in 1630. In 1628, Lowther was elected
Member of Parliament for
Westmorland, together with his father and sat until 1629 when
King Charles decided to
rule without parliament for eleven years. In 1636, he became
recorder of
Kendal. He was created a
baronet in the
Baronetage of Nova Scotia in around 1638. He stood for election to both Parliaments of 1640, but was defeated on each occasion by
Sir Philip Musgrave. Lowther was a
commissioner of array for
Cumberland and
Westmorland in 1642. He was commissioned a colonel by the
Royalists during the
Civil War and was Governor of
Brougham Castle until 1644. However, he claimed not to have borne arms against the
Parliamentarians and took the
Covenant when their forces approached. He was recommended to continue as a
justice of the peace for Westmorland (having sat on the bench since 1641) and was
fined on relatively favourable terms. He did not continue as a justice or in the recordership of Kendal after 1648, during the
Interregnum. After the
Restoration, he held several county offices in the
North, appearing in the commissions of the peace for Cumberland, Westmorland, and the
North Riding of Yorkshire and receiving a
deputy lieutenancy in Cumberland. From 1661 to 1662 he was
Sheriff of Cumberland. He was elected MP for Westmorland again in 1660 in the
Convention Parliament, he and
Sir Thomas Wharton defeating
Thomas Burton. Moderately active during the Parliament, his one recorded speech was to oppose
Charles Howard's bill for curbing the
moss troopers, preferring older methods of keeping peace on the border. He did not again stand for Parliament, but returned to his activities in the North, where he actively expanded his estates (often at the expense of his neighbours) and prosecuted
Quakers. ==Character==