John Pakington was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Pakington of Hampton Lovett, Worcestershire, and Dorothy, the daughter of Sir Thomas Kitson of Hengrave Hall, Suffolk, by his second wife, Margaret Donnington. John was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, graduated B.A. on 13 December 1569, and was a student of Lincoln's Inn in 1570. Pakington attracted the notice of Queen Elizabeth in her progress to Worcester in August 1570, when she invited him to court. In London he lived for a few years in great splendour, and outran his fortune. He was remarkable both for his wit and the beauty of his person. The Queen, who took great pleasure in his athletic achievements, nicknamed him "Lusty Pakington". It is said that he once laid a wager with three other courtiers to swim from the Palace of Westminster to London Bridge, but the Queen forbade the match. From 1587 to 1601 Pakington was deputy-lieutenant for Worcester. In 1587 he was knighted. In 1593 he was granted by the crown a patent for starch. The Queen, to help him in his financial difficulties, made him bow-bearer of Malvern Chase, and is said to have given him a valuable estate in Suffolk; but when he went to the place and saw the distress of the widow of the former owner, he begged to have the property transferred to her. Strict economy and a period of retirement enabled him to pay his debts, and a wealthy marriage in 1598 greatly improved his position. Pakington devoted much attention to building, and to improving his estates in Worcestershire. The central portion of the house at Westwood, which after the Civil War became the residence of the family, was Pakington's work. He also constructed a lake at Westwood, which unfortunately encroached on the highway. His right to alter the road being questioned, he impetuously had the embankments cut through, and the waters of his lake streamed over the country and coloured the Severn for miles. Pakington was Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1595 and in 1607. In June 1603 he entertained James I with great magnificence at his house at Aylesbury. In 1607 Pakington, as justice of the peace for Worcestershire, resisted the jurisdiction claimed by the council of Wales over the county. Pakington died in January 1625, and was buried at Aylesbury. His son Sir John preceded him by a few months, so he left his estates to his grandson Sir John Pakington, 2nd Baronet, who was still a child.
Family
In November 1598 Pakington married, Dorothy, daughter of Humphrey Smith, and widow of Benedict Barnham. With her he had two daughters and a son. Of their three children, Anne, their elder daughter, married at Kensington, on 9 February 1619, Sir Humphrey Ferrers, son of Sir John Ferrers of Tamworth Castle, Warwickshire; and, after his decease, Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield. Their second daughter, Mary, married Sir Richard Brooke of Nacton in Suffolk. The only son, John, was created a baronet in June 1620, and sat in parliament for Aylesbury in 1623–1624. He married Frances, daughter of Sir John Ferrers of Tamworth, with whom he had two children, including his heir Sir John Pakington, 2nd Baronet. The union between Sir John and Lady Pakington was not a happy one. Early in 1607 Sir John "and his little violent lady … parted upon foul terms". In 1617 she appealed to the law, and Pakington was forced to appear before the court of high commission, and was committed to gaol. It was the unpleasant duty of the Attorney General, Francis Bacon, to give an opinion against his mother-in-law. Dorothy outlived her husband and married a further two times.
