Henry Ireton was baptised on 3 November 1611 in Attenborough, Nottinghamshire. The Iretons had moved from the area of Kirk Ireton, Little Ireton or Ireton wood in Derbyshire into Nottinghamshire at some point after 1600. In 1544 a German Ireton of Little Ireton made his will after being appointed to go in the retinue of the Earl of Shrewsbury against the Scots. Ireton's grandfather, William, was still described as ‘of Ireton’. In his will of January 1604 he was referred to as of ‘Little Ireton’. Henry Ireton's father, another German Ireton, was also described as ‘of Ireton’ in 1591. The fact that land in Ireton Wood remained in the hands of Ireton's father German would also suggest that this is from where the family originated. In 1591 German purchased a lease of Hurst Grange, Norton Cuckney, Nottinghamshire. His move to Attenborough seems to have taken place sometime between 1602 and 1608 but the poor condition of the Kirk Ireton Register does not give us any indication and may also mask his marriage to his wife Jane, whose family no one has yet been able to clarify. German Ireton dismantled the estate at Little Ireton, Caldwell and Coton-in-the-Elms in 1611 thus marking the transfer of the family to Attenborough.

Born in 1611, Henry Ireton was his parents' eldest son. The Ireton family was to become relatively extensive, Henry ultimately having four brothers and three sisters. Naturally his relationship with his parents and siblings would be a strong, formative influence and in Ireton’s case helps explain his activism in 1642 and the later direction of his life. What stands out most visibly is how his early family experiences helped shape him into the ‘Puritan’ that the historical record allows us to see more clearly after 1642. Ireton’s religion was to be the driving force behind his allegiance in 1642 and at the heart of his revolutionary actions after 1647.