Sir Baldwin Leighton, 7th Baronet

{{Short description|English landowner and politician (1805–1871)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Sir Baldwin Leighton, Bt

| image = Leighton.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Oil Painting of Baldwin Leighton from Shropshire Museums Collections

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1805|05|14}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1871|01|22|1805|05|14}}

| death_place = Norton Hall

| nationality =

|resting_place = Loton Park's parish churchyard of St Michael, Alberbury.

| other_names =

| occupation = Member of Parliament for South Shropshire

|spouse = Mary Parker

|children = Baldwyn, Stanley, and Charlotte

| known_for =

}}

Sir Baldwin Leighton, 7th Baronet (14 May 1805 – 26 February 1871){{Rayment-hc|s|3|date=March 2012}} was an English landowner and politician, who sat in the House of Commons from 1859 to 1865.

Leighton was the son of Sir Baldwin Leighton, 6th Baronet and his second wife Anne Stanley of Alderley, Cheshire. His father was an army general and governor of Carrickfergus Castle, and had inherited the baronetcy, with estates centred at Loton Park, Shropshire, from his cousin in 1819.[https://books.google.com/books?id=v9gGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA394 John Debrett - The Baronetage of England 1824] Leighton inherited the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1828 and was High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1835. He served in the local yeomanry, initially as cornet in 1824 and captain in 1828 of the then Shrewsbury Yeomanry Cavalry, continuing to serve after they merged into the South Salopian Yeomanry Cavalry in the latter year.{{cite book|last=Gladstone|first=E.W.|title=The Shropshire Yeomanry 1795-1845, The Story of a Volunteer Cavalry Regiment|year=1953|publisher=The Whitethorn Press|pages=35, 37, 38}}

File:Charlotte d. of Sir Baldwyn Leighton 15 (1256334).jpg

In the 1859 general election, Leighton was elected Member of Parliament for South Shropshire. He held the seat until the 1865 general election.{{cite book

|last=Craig

|first=F. W. S.

|author-link= F. W. S. Craig

|title=British parliamentary election results 1832–1885

|orig-year=1977

|edition= 2nd

|year=1989

|publisher= Parliamentary Research Services

|location=Chichester

|isbn= 0-900178-26-4

|page=448

}}

Leighton married Mary Parker of Sweeney Hall near Oswestry, Shropshire, in 1832. She inherited the Sweeney estate on the death of her brother Rev. John Parker an amateur artist and prolific painter. She was also a very competent amateur artist[http://wbo.llgc.org.uk/en/s-PARK-JOH-1798.html Welsh Biography On-Line - John Parker] and her works include a portrait of her husband in Egyptian attire.[http://www.artnet.com/Artists/LotDetailPage.aspx?lot_id=0066ED078ED64D01 Artnet - Mary Leighton Past Auction Results]

Their sons Baldwyn Leighton and Stanley Leighton both represented Shropshire seats in parliament. Their daughter Charlotte married General William Feilding.[http://thepeerage.com/p24543.htm the Peerage.com]

Leighton died at Norton Hall, near Daventry, Northamptonshire on 26 January 1871 aged 65, and was buried in Loton Park's parish churchyard of St Michael, Alberbury.