SIR JOHN DUTTON 2ND BT.
Sir John Dutton 2nd. Bt. was the son of Sir Ralph Dutton 1st Bt. (c.1645-1721) and his second wife Mary, the heiress of Peter Barwick, physician to King Charles II. Sir Ralph was a committed gambler, consequently his estate was made over to John in 1710 and he left Gloucestershire to live in Ireland where he died in 1721. Sir John followed his father becoming M.P. for Gloucester. He married Mary Cullen, daughter of Sir Rushout Cullen, 3rd Bt. but the marriage failed to produce an heir, therefore Sir John was required to settle his estate on one of the sons of his two sisters, however, he was unsure as to which of his sisters' eldest sons should become his heir.

His eldest sister Mary had married Sir Thomas Reade Bt. of Shipton Court, Oxfordshire and they had a son John and his sister Anne had married the Irish landowner James Naper (d.1718) of Loughcrew House, co. Meath, and they had a son James Lenox. The convention of time suggested the son of the elder sister was the more likely heir, however, according to a tale recounted in the Connoisseur article on the family published in May 1911 (vol. 30, p. 12), shortly before he died Sir John called the two nephews to his bedside and engaged them in conversation on a number of subjects to gauge their character. He asked both men what they were reading. Reade replied he had no idea of the subject of his book beyond the fact it had a blue cover. In contrast Naper was reading a Latin grammar. Supposedly this settled the choice in Sir John’s mind and the Dutton estates passed to James.