John Meldrum

Sir John Meldrum (c. 1590 – died 1645) was a soldier of Scottish origin who spent 36 years in the service of the Stuart kings of Scotland, England and Ireland, James VI and I and Charles I.

He was granted lands in County Fermanagh as a result of his Irish service and was knighted by King James I in 1622.

In 1627, he took part in the Duke of Buckingham's ill-fated expedition to La Rochelle then spent several years as a colonel in the Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus.

[1] In 1636, he benefited from a letters-patent (a controversial monopoly) on several lighthouses built by Charles I on the North and South Forelands that entitled him to levy a penny per ton of cargo carried by ships that passed them.

In 1642, he found himself opposed to the policies of Charles' government and supported the Parliamentarian cause in the Civil War.