John Stanhope was the son of Sir Thomas Stanhope (d. 1596) of Shelford Manor, Nottinghamshire, and Margaret Port, the daughter of Sir John Port of Etwall, Derbyshire, and Elizabeth Giffard.
Charles Cavendish had a feud with the Stanhope family over issues including a fish weir in the River Trent.
He arranged to fight a duel with John Stanhope at Lambeth choosing rapiers as the weapon.
It was discovered that Stanhope was wearing a sword-proof padded doublet.
[1] In November 1599 Cavendish was shot in the backside by Stanhope's followers while visiting Kirkby Hardwick.