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Biography
Colonel Henry Luttrell (c. 1655 – 22 October 1717) was an Irish soldier, the second son of Thomas Luttrell of Luttrellstown.
Luttrell spent his early life on the Continent, where he killed the so-called 3rd Viscount Purbeck in a duel at Liège. He was commissioned a Captain in Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot in 1685 and in 1686 was given command of the 4th Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. He served James II in Ireland in 1689 and 1690, but his precipitate withdrawal with the cavalry of the left flank at the Battle of Aughrim gave rise to suspicions of disloyalty.
During the Siege of Limerick, he was found to be in correspondence with the besiegers, and scarcely escaped hanging, bringing his regiment of horse over to the Williamite side after the surrender of the city. As a reward, he received the forfeited estates of his elder brother, Simon Luttrell, including Luttrellstown, and was made a major general in the Dutch army.
He attempted to deprive his brother's widow, Catherine, of her jointure by discreditable means, but was ultimately obliged to yield it to her.
On 13 October 1704, he married Elizabeth Jones and had two sons:
- Robert Luttrell (d. 1727), while abroad "on his travels"
- Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton (1713–1787)
He was shot and mortally wounded in his sedan chair on the night of 22 October 1717, on the Blind-quay in Dublin as he was proceeding form Lucas' Coffee House on Cork-hill to his house in Stafford Street. He died the next day, at the age of sixty-three. Despite large rewards, the murderers were never apprehended.
His Grandson Henry Luttrell, 2nd Earl of Carhampton sold Luttrellstown Castle which the family had owned for almost 600 years in 1800.. After Luttrellstown Castle was sold Colonel Luttrell's grave was opened and the skull smashed.