Silius Titus (1623 – 16 December 1704), of

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

, was an English politician, Captain of Deal Castle, and

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

to King Charles II. Titus was an organizer in the attempted escape of King Charles I from Carisbrooke Castle.

Early life

He was born in London, the son of Silas Titus, a salter and Constatia (Constance) Colley. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he matriculated in 1638, and the Middle Temple.

Killing No Murder

Titus began his political aspirations by writing a pamphlet titled ''

Killing No Murder ''Killing No Murder'' is a pamphlet published in 1657 during The Protectorate period of the English Interregnum era of English history. The pamphlet of disputed authorship advocates the assassination of Oliver Cromwell. The publication was i ...

'' in 1657 during

The Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, was the English form of government lasting from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659, under which the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotl ...

period of the English

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

era of English history. The pamphlet advocated the assassination of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

. Due to the danger involved in writing such a politically charged opinion against the Protector, ''Killing No Murder'' was published under the pseudonym 'William Allen'. Cromwell was said to have been so disturbed after the publication of ''Killing No Murder'' that he never spent more than two nights in the same place and always took extreme precaution in planning his travel. Titus's authorship of this pamphlet has been disputed in some circles; it has also been attributed to Edward Sexby, or a man by the real name of William Allen. These attributions are usually unfounded as King Charles II awarded Titus the title of

for his service in authoring the work.

Political life

Silius Titus first took up arms for the Parliament. Although he was a strong

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Titus became an ardent

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

devoted to Charles I and King Charles II. He became a member of parliament, successively representing Ludgershall (1660),

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; ) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 census. The Lostwi ...

(1670–1678),

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

(1678–1679),

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

(1679–1685) and

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

(1691–1695). Though not eloquent, he would often illustrate his speeches with a humor that rendered them effective. For instance, when it was complained that Titus made sport of the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

, he retorted that "things were not necessarily serious because they were dull". Once again, when Charles II offered to impose limitations on a

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

sovereign rather than exclude his brother from the throne, Titus likened such a plan to "having a lion in the lobby and then voting to secure ourselves by letting him in and chaining him, rather than by keeping him out". Titus also served King James II but later transferred his allegiance to William III. During his life he held a number of royal appointments: Keeper of Deal Castle (1661–1669), Colonel of the Cinque Ports Militia (1661–1669), Commissioner for Assessment for Middlesex (1661–1663), for Kent (1664–1669), for Leicestershire (1673–1679), for Hertfordshire (1673–1680), and for Huntingdonshire (1677–1680), assistant, Royal Adventurers into Africa (1663), assistant, Royal Fishing Company (1664), captain of a company in the Admiral's Regiment (1666), Privy Councillor (1688), Commissioner for Trade and Plantations (1688–1674), Conservator of the Bedford Level (1679-death), deputy-lieutenant of Hertfordshire (1680–1681, 1687–1689, 1701-death) and Commissioner for Inquiry into Recusancy Fines (1687). He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in January 1669. When he died in 1704, Titus was buried at

. He had married c. 1645 Katherine, daughter of James Winstanley, Counsellor-at-law, of Gray's Inn and Braunstone, Leicestershire.

Mentioned in Samuel Pepys' Diary

Captain Titus was mentioned in the diary kept by

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

on two occasions. The following excerpts come from the entries of those days. * 7 May 1660 :

"Very great deal of company come today, among others Mr. Bellasses, Sir Thomas Lenthropp, Sir Henry Chichley, Colonel Philip Honiwood, and Captain Titus, the last of whom my Lord showed all our cabins, and I suppose he is to take notice what room there will be for the King's entertainment."

* 11 October 1664 :

"This day with great joy Captain Titus told us the particulars of the French's expedition against Gigery upon the Barbary Coast, in the Straights, with 6,000 chosen men. They have taken the Fort of Gigery, wherein were five men and three guns, which makes the whole story of the King of France's policy and power to be laughed at."Tuesday 11 October 1664 (Pepys' Diary)
/ref>

References

External links

*

University of Western Ontario: Books Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titus, Silius 1623 births 1704 deaths Members of the English Royal Household English civil servants English monarchists Captains of Deal Castle English Presbyterians of the Interregnum (England) Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Privy Council of England Fellows of the Royal Society English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1690–1695 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Huntingdonshire Members of the Parliament of England for Hertfordshire Grooms of the Chamber