Portrait of a Gentleman, said to be John, 1st Lord Poulett (1586-1648/9), half-length, in a black fur trimmed coat, and a lace collar, a landscape seen through a window beyond

The presumed sitter was Member of Parliament for Somerset, 1610-11, and again in 1614, and for Lyme Regis between 1621 and 1622. He was created 1st Baron Poulett in 1627 having for nearly a year, and much to the king's satisfaction, played host to the Hugenot admiral, the Duke of Soubise, who had, in October 1625, put into Plymouth after his defeat by the Duke of Montmorency. During the Civil War he was an active Commander for the Royalist cause. He married, c. 1614, Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Kenn of Kenn Court, Somerset and was succeeded by his eldest son John.