Bridget Cromwell (1624 – June 1662) was

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 ...

's eldest daughter. She married General

Henry Ireton Henry Ireton (baptised 3 November 1611; died 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and a son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He died of disease outside Limerick in November 165 ...

and after he died, General Charles Fleetwood.

Life

She was born to Elizabeth (born Bouchier) and Oliver Cromwell in 1624. Cromwell comes to notice in 1646 when she marries Henry Ireton who was a close colleague of her father. Her portrait was painted by Cornelius Johnson and that picture is now in Chequers Court.Bridget Cromwell
ArtUK, Retrieved 19 April 2016 In 1651 they went to Ireland where Henry encouraged the Parliamentarian cause. Bridget did not stay long and she was in England when the news of her husband's death reached her. He had died on 26 November 1651 at Limerick.
OliverCromwell.org, Retrieved 19 April 2016 In 1652 she married another friend of her father, General Charles Fleetwood. Like her first husband, he was sent to Ireland to lead the army. This time Bridget went to Ireland for much longer and staying from 1652 to 1655. After the Restoration, she lived in London. Her husband was prevented from further leadership and she had to withstand the exhumation of her and Fleetwood's infant child from Westminster Abbey where the child had been buried. Her first husband was not only exhumed but his dead body was hanged in revenge for Henry's involvement in the regicide of Charles I.

Death and legacy

She died in June 1662 and she was survived by at least seven children. At least three of them had Fleetwood as a father and the rest were the children of Ireton. She was buried in St Anne's Church in

Blackfriars, London Blackfriars is in central London, specifically the south-west corner of the City of London. Blackfriars Priory The name first occurs in records of 1317 in many orthographies. Friar evolved from as has, meaning 'brother'. Black refers to the ...

. One of her daughters was

Bridget Bendish Bridget Bendish (née Ireton; 1650–1726), was a daughter of General Henry Ireton and Bridget Cromwell, Oliver Cromwell's eldest daughter. She was born in Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, England. She married Thomas Bendish, a distant relative o ...

. She features in an image in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

where she is shown in the foreground when her family were imagined to be pleading with

to spare the life of Charles I. The original was by William Fisk and James Scott creating the engraving in 1839.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell, Bridget 1624 births 1662 deaths 17th-century English women Cromwell family Children of Oliver Cromwell