John Oldcastle John Oldcastle Sir John Oldcastle (died 14 December 1417) was an English Lollard leader. Being a friend of Henry V, he long escaped prosecution for heresy. When convicted, he escaped from the Tower of London and then led a rebellion against the King. Eventually, he was captured and executed in London. He formed the basis for William Shakespeare's character John Falstaff, who was originally called John Oldcastle. Oldcastle's date of birth is unknown, although dubious and possibly apocryphal sources place it variously at 1360 or 1378. His father was Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest Herefordshire. His grandfather, also called
Sir John Pakington, 4th Baronet Sir John Pakington, 4th Baronet Sir John Pakington, 4th Baronet (1671–1727) of Westwood, near Droitwich, Worcestershire was a British politician. He was the only son of Sir John Pakington, 3rd Baronet and educated at St John’s College, Oxford. He succeeded his father to the baronetcy and Westwood House in 1688. He represented Aylesbury and Worcestershire in Parliament, where he was known for his Tory and High Church views. In the latter part of the eighteenth century he was said to be the model for Roger de Coverley, the mildly satirical figure of the Tory gentry guyed in "The Spectator", though