Baconsthorpe passed to Christopher's eldest son Sir William in 1623, but William died four years later during the Île de Ré expedition, leaving it to his younger brother, Sir John III. John became the Lieutenant General of the Ordnance and when civil war broke out in 1642, he fought on the side of King Charles I. In response, Parliament seized his lands and he was declared delinquent in 1646. He bought his estates back, but began to demolish Baconsthorpe around 1650 in order to sell off the stonework.