Sir John Stawell or Stowell, 29 August 1600 – 21 February 1662, was MP for Somerset at various times from 1625 to 1662, and one of the leading Royalists in the West Country during the First English Civil War.

He married Elizabeth Killgrew (died 1657) in December 1617;[1] they had two daughters, and five sons who survived to adulthood, three of whom fought for the Royalists in the First English Civil War.

Phelips was a prominent opponent of Charles' Personal Rule, and it is suggested Stawell's support for the king in the 1630s was primarily aimed at undermining his local rivals.

A return to the policy of armed neutrality adopted by various counties in 1642, it also reflected the strength of the Clubmen movement in Somerset, but few of the leaders were prepared to consider such a solution, least of all Charles.

[5] Captured when Exeter surrendered in 1646, he refused to take the covenant, or to swear not to bear arms against Parliament in future, and held on charges of high treason.