Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Whitehaven

Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 November 1642 – 17 January 1706) was an English politician and landowner.

[3]: 7 He secured the grant of the right to hold a market and a fair to Whitehaven,[1] and its recognition as a separate customs 'member-port' (under the 'head-port' of Carlisle) responsible for the Solway coast from Ravenglass to Ellenfoot (later Maryport).

He also secured (against a rival grant to the Earl of Carlingford), recognition of his title to the foreshore (land between low-water and high-water) of the manor of St.

[1] He oversaw the rise of Whitehaven from a small fishing village (at his birth it consisted of some fifty houses and a population of about 250) to a planned town three times the size of Carlisle.

He left the family estates (under entail) to his younger son, James,[6][7] who although noted in 1688 to have 'contracted a great liking for strong drink than is usual in those of his age' (13) was by 1701 declaring himself (to his father) to be a water-drinker for the sake of his health.