Ludlow was born at Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, the son of Sir Edmund Ludlow and his second wife Lady Margaret Howard, widow of Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount Howard of Bindon, and daughter of Sir Henry Manning, knight marshal of the Household.
He matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford on 16 October 1607 aged 15 and graduated Bachelor on 6 February 1609. He was re-elected Member of Parliament for Heytesbury in 1621 and 1624. He inherited the estate of Maiden Bradley.
In 1633 he was Sheriff of Wiltshire.
In November 1640, Ludlow was elected Member of Parliament for Wiltshire in the Long Parliament and sat until his death in 1643. Ludlow died at the age of about 51 and was buried on 1 November 1643 at Street Andrews, Holborn, London.
Ludlow"s half-brother also named Henry was an Member of Parliament.
Happy Parliament; Addled Parliament]
In 1614, he was elected Member of Parliament for Heytesbury.
