Background
John Blakiston was born in 1603 in Sedgefield, County Durham, as the third son of Marmaduke Blakiston, Prebendary of York and Durham Cathedral.
John Blakiston was born in 1603 in Sedgefield, County Durham, as the third son of Marmaduke Blakiston, Prebendary of York and Durham Cathedral.
In 1636 he entered into an ideological dispute with Yeldard Alvey, an Arminian vicar at Newcastle, accusing him of heresy. Alvey emerged victorious from the fray, thanks to the support from Archbishop William Laud. Blakiston was fined and excommunicated.
In 1645 he was elected Mayor of Newcastle.
He was voted an allowance of 4l. a week, from 3 June 1645, until 20 August 1646. According to Noble, he was given the post of coal meter at Newcastle, worth 200l. a year.
He was appointed one of the king"s judges, was present at every sitting during the trial. In January 1649, as a commissioner of the High Court of Justice at the trial of King Charles, he was 12th of the 59 signatories on the death warrant of the King.
He died in June 1649.
In 1660, following the restoration, his estate was confiscated by the sheriff of Durham.
He served as a member of parliament for Newcastle in the Long Parliament where he voiced republican ideas early on, but did not take up his seat until 1641 due to a contest over the result.