Sir Edward Nicholas (4 April 15931669) was an English officeholder and politician who served as Secretary of State to

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and Charles II. He also sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

at various times between 1621 and 1629. He served as secretary to Edward la Zouche and the Duke of Buckingham in the Admiralty and became a clerk of the Privy Council. He supported the

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 ...

cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

and accompanied the court into exile, before assuming the post of Secretary of State on the Restoration.

Life

Nicholas was the eldest son of John Nicholas of a

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

family. He was educated at Salisbury grammar school,

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, and

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

. After studying law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, in 1618 Nicholas became secretary to

Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche (6 June 1556 – 18 August 1625) was an English diplomat. He is remembered chiefly for his lone vote against the condemnation of Mary, Queen of Scots, and for organising the stag hunt where his guest, the Ar ...

, lord warden and admiral of the

Cinque Ports The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

. In 1621 he was elected as a Member of Parliament for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...

. He was re-elected as one of the Members for Winchelsea in 1624 for what became known as the

Happy Parliament The 4th Parliament of King James I was the fourth and last Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England, summoned on 30 December 1623, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 29 May 1624, and thereafter kept out of session with repeated pro ...

. Nicholas kept diaries of all the parliaments in which he sat. When Zouche resigned his office of lord warden to the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...

, the Duke, upon Zouche's recommendation, on 9 December 1624 appointed Nicholas as his secretary for the business of the Cinque Ports. In 1625 Nicholas became the first holder of the office of

Secretary to the Admiralty S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...

; shortly afterwards he was appointed an extra clerk of the privy council, with duties relating to Admiralty business. In 1628 he was elected a Member for

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

and sat until 1629, when King Charles decided to rule without parliament and in the event did so for eleven years. Appended to a copy of Charles's speech at the dissolution of this parliament on 10 March 1629 is a poem of twenty-four verses in Nicholas's hand, beginning:

:The wisest king did wonder when he spide :The nobles march on foot, their vassals ride :His majestie may wonder now to see :Some that would needs be king as well as he.

From 1635 to 1641 Nicholas was one of the clerks in ordinary to the council. In this situation, he had much business to transact in connection with the levy of ship-money. When in 1641 King Charles I went to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, he remained in London and was responsible for keeping the king informed of the proceedings of parliament. When Charles returned to London, Nicholas was knighted and appointed a privy councillor and a Secretary of State, in which capacity he attended the king while the court was at Oxford and carried out the business of the

Treaty of Uxbridge The Treaty of Uxbridge was a significant but abortive negotiation in early 1645 to try to end the First English Civil War. Background Parliament drew up 27 articles in November 1644 and presented them to Charles I of England at Oxford. Much input ...

. Throughout the Civil War, Nicholas was one of Charles's wisest and most loyal advisers. He arranged the details of the king's surrender to the Scots on 5 May 1646, although he does not appear to have advised or even to have approved of the step. He also had the duty of treating for the capitulation of Oxford on 24 June 1646, which included permission for Nicholas himself to retire abroad with his family. He went to France, being recommended by the king to the confidence of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. In 1648 Nicholas wrote a pamphlet
''An Apology for the Honorable Nation of the Jews''
which called for the readmission of the Jews to England. It is one of the few examples of pro-admission writing that does not also call for the

conversion of the Jews Conversion of the Jews may refer to the: * Conversions of Jews to Christianity * Conversion of the Jews (future event) See also *"The Conversion of the Jews", 1958 short story by Phillip Roth, included in the collection '' Goodbye, Columbus'' ...

and is cited by

Menasseh Ben Israel Manoel Dias Soeiro (; 1604 – 20 November 1657), better known by his Hebrew language, Hebrew name Menasseh or Menashe ben Israel (), was a Jewish scholar, rabbi, Kabbalah, kabbalist, writer, diplomat, printer (publisher), printer, publishe ...

in his ''Humble Addresses'', although

Cecil Roth Cecil Roth (5 March 1899 – 21 June 1970) was an English historian. He was editor-in-chief of the ''Encyclopaedia Judaica''. Life Roth was born in Dalston, London, on 5 March 1899. His parents were Etty and Joseph Roth, and Cecil was the younge ...

wonders whether the pamphlet might actually have been written by a Jew. After the king's death, Nicholas remained on the continent, concerting measures on behalf of the exiled Charles II with Hyde and other royalists, but the hostility of

Queen Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France ( French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until his execution on 30 January 1649. She was ...

deprived him of any real influence in the counsels of the young sovereign. He lived at

the Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

and elsewhere in a state of poverty which hampered his power to serve Charles, but which the latter did nothing to relieve. Charles appointed him secretary of state while in exile in 1654. As an enthusiastic Royalist, in a letter dated 10 September 1657 to Sir Edward Hyde, Nicholas speaks of

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 a ...

... I conceive his Majesty should do well to set a good price on his head and all the heads of the chief commanders in Ireland and also in Scotland ...'The Nicholas Papers, Vol IV' p.13, London: Offices of the Society, 1920

Nicholas returned to England at the Restoration and duly took office as Secretary of State along with William Morice, a former parliamentary supporter. Nicholas was soon retired, much against his own wishes, in favour of Charles's favourite Henry Bennet. He received a grant of money and the offer of a peerage, which he felt too poor to accept. He retired to a country seat in Surrey (the manor of West Horsley) which he purchased from

Carew Raleigh :''This article concerns Sir Walter Raleigh's brother. For his namesake and nephew, Sir Walter's son, see Carew Raleigh (1605–1666)'' Sir Carew Raleigh or Ralegh (ca. 1550ca. 1625) was an English naval commander and politician who sat in the ...

, son of Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

, and there he lived till his death in 1669.

Family

Nicholas married Jane Jay, a daughter of Henry Jay, an alderman of London and had several sons and daughters. His eldest son was Sir John Nicholas, a Clerk of the Signet and Clerk of the Privy Council. His daughter Susannah married as his second wife the Irish statesman

George Lane, 1st Viscount Lanesborough George Lane, 1st Viscount Lanesborough (c. 162011 December 1683) was an Irish politician. He was the son of Sir Richard Lane, 1st Baronet, of Tulsk, by his wife Mabel Fitzgerald. Career He was attached to the exiled Court of Charles II of Engl ...

: like her father, he spent years in exile with Charles II, and by 1659 the couple were almost destitute, but was well rewarded after the Restoration. Susannah died in 1671. His younger brother

Matthew Nicholas Matthew Nicholas (1594–1661) was an English Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Life He was a younger brother of Sir Edward Nicholas, born on 26 September 1594. He was elected scholar of Winchester College in 1607. He matriculated as scholar ...

(1594–1661) was successively

Dean of Bristol The Dean of Bristol is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Bristol, England. The Dean is Mandy Ford, since her installation on 3 October 2020. List of deans Early modern *1542–1551 William Sn ...

, canon of Westminster and

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also '' ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of th ...

. His country seat was at Sunninghill in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

Correspondence

The collected correspondences of Nicholas were published in three volumes by the Royal Historical Society in 1920.

Arms

The arms of Nicholas’s father were: ''Argent, a fess wavy between three ravens sable'', a differencing of the arms of Nicholas of Winterborne Earls, Wiltshire.Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p.732 In 1649, augmented arms were granted to Sir Edward Nicholas,

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed ''Argent, on a cross gules an imperial crown or'', which he bore in the 1st & 4th quarters, with his paternal arms in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

Life

Family

Correspondence

Arms

References

Further reading