Manners, Francis, 6th Earl of Rutland (1578 -1632)

Francis Manners was the second son of John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland, and Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Charlton of Apley Castle in Shropshire. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he was admitted with his brothers a Fellow Commoner in 1595. In 1598 he travelled on the Continent, and in November 1601 was admitted to the Inner Temple. Implicated in the Essex plot, he was imprisoned in the Poultry Counter, but was released and his fine commuted at the request of Lord Burghley. At court under James I, he was made a Knight of the Bath in 1604. On the death of his elder brother, Roger, 5th Earl of Rutland, in 1612, he succeeded to the title. He was Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, and Constable of Nottingham Castle. In 1612 he entertained James I at Belvoir Castle. In 1616, he was created Lord Ross of Hamlake, and made a Knight of the Garter, In 1623 he commanded the fleet sent to escort Prince Charles back from Spain.