John Bodvel
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John Bodvel (1617 – March 1663) was a Welsh politician who sat in 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 ...
(and Wales) from 1640 to 1644. He was a colonel in 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 ...
army 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 ...
. Bodvel was the son of Sir John Bodvel (died 1631) and his wife Elizabeth Wynn, daughter of Sir John Wynn of Gwydir and Sidney Gerard. He was admitted to
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 1633. Bodvel's grandfather had acquired by marriage the estate of Caerfryn on
Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...
and in April 1640, Bodvel was elected member of parliament for
Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...
in the
Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...
. He was re-elected MP for Anglesey for the
Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...
in November 1640. He stood with the militant Protestants who opposed the court, and was nominated as Deputy Lieutenant of
Caernarvonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...
in March 1642. On 2 August 1642, he was given leave of absence by the House of Commons and provided with a stock of arms with which to defend his home in Wales. However, by May 1643 Bodvel had become a Commissioner of array for Caernarvonshire and a Custos Rotulorum of Anglesey. He attended King Charles' Oxford Parliament in January 1644 and was awarded the degree of D.C.L. from
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. When the Oxford Parliament adjourned in July 1644, Bodvel went with his family to Caerfryn and became governor of Caernarvon Castle from March 1646. As colonel and commissioner of array, he helped in both the defence of the island of Anglesey and in the negotiations for its surrender in July 1646. His wife, Anne Russell, was a strong
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
and in 1646 she appealed to the Lords to have their children removed from their father's custody because he set a bad example, and for
alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide ...
to support herself and the children. His estates were sequestered in November 1647 and he was further fined for supporting the Royalist rising of 1648 in Anglesey. After the execution of the King, he fled abroad, and when he returned his name was listed in the Act of 1651 for the sale of delinquents' estates. These sales were cancelled in 1652 and he was finally cleared of delinquency in April 1655. Bodvel married Ann Russell, daughter of
Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet, of Chippenham Sir William Russell, 1st Baronet, of Chippenham (before 1585 – 1654), was an English politician who sat as MP for New Windsor (UK Parliament constituency), New Windsor. He was a prominent member of several of the great trading companies. He was ...
and his second wife Elizabeth Gerard, in September 1638 but there was no male heir. In 1657 his wife arranged a marriage between their second daughter Sarah and Robert Robartes, son of
John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor (160617 July 1685) was an English politician, peer and military officer who fought for the Roundheads, Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. He retired from public life before the trial and executi ...
, a wealthy Cornish Presbyterian and former Parliamentarian field-marshal. The marriage was without Bodvel's consent and he refused to recognize the match. After the
Restoration of Charles II The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...
, probably mindful of the Earl of Radnor's prominent role in Government, where he held office as
Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...
, he relented and promised to make his grandson Charles Bodvel Robartes his heir. However, Bodvel's distant cousin Thomas Wynn of Boduan hid him from creditors in London, where he made a new will leaving his estates to Wynn's son Griffith and another distant cousin. After Bodvel's death in March 1663 Lord Robartes and his son contested the will in Chancery and the House of Lords and obtained an Act of Parliament which set it aside in favour of Charles Robartes. The case aroused great public interest and was described 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 ...
in his celebrated Diary.


References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodvel, John 1617 births 1663 deaths 17th-century Welsh politicians Cavaliers Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 17th-century Welsh military personnel