Chaytor baronets

Sir Christopher Chaytor (knighted 1571)

The first member of the Chaytor family to receive a grant to bear arms, in 1571, was Christopher Chaytor of Butterby in the County of Durham, JP, (1494-1592), who served as surveyor-general for Elizabeth of Durham and Northumberland in 1575 and registrar of the Consistory Court of Durham. He was the youngest son but eventual heir of John Chaytor, privateer of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Marriage, Inheritance of the Clervaux Estate, Continuation of the Clervaux Line

Sir Christopher married Elizabeth, the sole surviving heir of the ancient Norman French House of Clervaux, which descended directly from the House of Plantagenet and Charlemagne. The progenitor of the English branch of the House of Clervaux/Clervaulx was Sir Hamon de Clervaulx, who accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy and was present at the Battle of Hastings, after which he was granted lands in Botham in York. Coincidentally, the wife of the grandson of Sir Christoper, Sir William Chaytor of Croft Hall (see below), Frances Bellingham, was a direct descendant of William the Conqueror himself. Via the marriage of Elizabeth Clervaux, the last surviving heir of the family, to Sir Christopher Chaytor, the estates of the Clervaux passed to the Chaytor family, many of whom, and many of whose descendants, are buried in the Clervaux vault. The descendants of Christopher Chaytor and Elizabeth Clervaux were the last descendants of the House of Clervaux, intermarried frequently, and many members of the subsequent Chaytor dynasty, such as Major General Sir Edward Walter Clervaux Chaytor, received the name 'Clervaux', or its variant, 'Clervaulx', as middle names. Sir William Chaytor, 1st Baronet built Clervaux Castle on the manor of Croft.

Sir William Chaytor of Croft Hall (knighted 1612)

The eldest paternal grandson of Christopher Chaytor of Butterby, by his son Anthony (d.1612), was Sir William Chaytor of Croft Hall in the County of York (1592 - 1640), who separately received a grant of arms, in 1612. Sir William (b.1592) married Frances, d. of Sir James Bellingham of Helsington and Levins (d.1642) by Agnes, daughter of Sir Henry Curwen, and sister of Sir Henry Bellingham, 1st Baronet. Frances Chaytor was a descendant of Edward III via Lady Margaret Percy. The children of Sir William (b. 1592) and Frances included royalist Colonel Henry Chaytor of Croft (1617 – 1664) and Agnes Chaytor (1616 – 1669) who married three times: first, to Nicholas Forster of Bamburgh (d.1636), by whom her issue included Sir William Forster of Bamborough (d.1674) and Frances Forster, wife of Francis Liddell of Redheugh (b.1633), the son of Sir Francis Liddell (b.1606); second, to one Mr Dawson of Ripon; and third, as his second wife, to Sir Francis Liddell (b.1606), son of Sir Thomas Liddell, 1st Baronet.

Sir William Chaytor, 1st Baronet of Croft (bart. 1671)

Another paternal grandson of Christopher Chaytor of Butterby, by his son Thomas Chaytor (1553 – 1618) was Royalist Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholas Chaytor of Butterby and Haughton Field (1608 – 1665) who served under the Marquis of Newcastle. Nicholas was the father of Sir William Chaytor of Croft (1639 – 1720) who was created a baronet, of Croft Hall in the County of York, in the Baronetage of England on 26 June 1671 and appointed Colonel of the Richmondshire Regiment of the militia in 1689. He married Perigrina, daughter of Sir Joe Cradock of Richmond, in 1675, and was the grandfather of William Chaytor (MP) of Croft and Spenningthorne (1732 – 1819), JP, MP for Hedon, Recorder of Richmond and Vice-Lieutenant for the North Riding of Yorkshire. Sir William (bart. 1671) had no surviving male issue at the time of his death and the baronetcy became extinct.

Sir William Chaytor, 1st Baronet of Witton Castle and Croft (bart. 1831)

The son of William Chaytor (MP) of Croft and Spenningthorne (1732 – 1819), JP, Member of Parliament for Hedon (UK Parliament constituency), Recorder of Richmond and Vice-Lieutenant for the North Riding of Yorkshire, and great-grandson of Sir William Chaytor (bart. 1671) was Sir William Chaytor, 1st Baronet of Witton Castle and Croft JP (1771-1847) who was created a baronet (the second creation in the family), of Croft in the County of York and of Witton Castle in the County of Durham, in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 30 September 1831. Sir William (bart. 1831) was an industrialist Whig politician who served as MP for Richmond in the first Reform Parliament. He built Clervaux Castle on the manor of Croft. He was buried under the Clervaux tomb.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baronet, who represented Durham in the House of Commons. His grandson, the fourth Baronet, was High Sheriff of County Durham in 1902 and a Deputy Lieutenant of the county. He died unmarried at an early age and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Baronet, who served as a Justice of the Peace. The fifth baronet also died at a young age and was succeeded by his younger brother, the sixth Baronet. On the death of his only son, the seventh Baronet, in 1976, the line of the third Baronet failed. The late Baronet is believed to have been succeeded by his second cousin George Reginald Chaytor, the presumed eighth Baronet, the son of William Chaytor, eldest son of Reginald Chaytor, son of the second marriage of the second Baronet. However, he never successfully proved his succession and was never on the Official Roll of the Baronetage. As of 2008 the title is believed to be held by the presumed seventh Baronet's first cousin, Gordon Chaytor, the presumed ninth Baronet, the son of Herbert Archibald Chaytor, second son of the aforementioned Reginald Chaytor.

Another member of the family to gain distinction was Major-General Sir Edward Chaytor. He was the grandson of John Chaytor, second son of the first Baronet. His son Edward John Clervaux Chaytor (1903–1976) was a Brigadier in the Royal Artillery.

Chaytor baronets, of Croft and Witton Castle (1831)

The heir apparent to the presumed 9th Baronet is his eldest son, Bruce Gordon Chaytor (born 1949).

His heir apparent is his only son, Bruce Gordon Chaytor (born 1973).