Sir Lislebone Long (1613–1659) was an English landowner and politician who was briefly Speaker of the House of Commons. Long was a supporter of the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

cause during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, and a

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 ...

. He resisted

Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...

and although not secluded by Pride, he shortly afterwards absented himself for a short while from the House. After the

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

of Charles I, in which he took no part, he was an active member of the three

Protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

parliaments and was knighted by the

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') is a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometime ...

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 ...

Biography

Lislebone Long, baptised Loveban, was born at

Beckington Beckington is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, across the River Frome from Lullington about three miles north of Frome. According to the 2011 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of Rudge, which has a population of 9 ...

, Somerset, the son of William Long of Stratton on the Fosse and Mary Lovibond. He graduated from

Magdalen Hall Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

, Oxford, 1630–1631 with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and in 1640 was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. Long was descended from the Longs of

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 ...

. In local affairs he identified both before and during the Civil War with at least one of his Wiltshire relatives,

Sir Walter Long, 1st Baronet of Whaddon Sir Walter Long, 1st Baronet of Whaddon (1592 – 15 November 1672) was an English politician. Early life The second son of Henry Long (1564–1612) and Rebecca Bailey, Long was educated at Lincoln's Inn. He had inherited no land at his fathe ...

who was an outspoken critic of the King. Like his cousin, he was a

and became an elder in parliament's Presbyterian national church, with a later appointment to the parliamentary committee charged with settling the form of church government in England (1648). Following the end of royalist occupation, parliament's county committee in Somerset was revived in 1645, and Long was appointed as a member. Long was known for his moderate stance in politics, which was also demonstrated in parliament, following his election to 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 ...

as a recruiter MP for Wells (1645–1653). He voiced his strong opposition to

(6 December 1648), and on the day following the purge, he acted as a teller on a critical vote. After occasional appearances, he eventually absented himself from 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 ...

in protest. He became a

conformist Conformity or conformism is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to social group, group norms, politics or being like-minded. Social norm, Norms are implicit, specific rules, guidance shared by a group of individuals, that guide t ...

by taking his dissent and resuming his seat in the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament describes the members of the Long Parliament who remained in session after Colonel Thomas Pride, on 6 December 1648, commanded his soldiers to Pride's Purge, purge the House of Commons of those Members of Parliament, members ...

, although he played no part in the trial and execution of

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 ...

. From that point on he played an active role in the work of committees, his moderating influence reflected in government policies. Long was also a regular participant in parliamentary debates. In the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the H ...

(1654–1655), he sat as MP for Wells; in the

Second Protectorate Parliament The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons. In its first sess ...

(1656–8), for

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

; and again for Wells in

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1658 to 1659. He was the son of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Following his father ...

's parliament (the

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a po ...

of 1659). He was described by one of his contemporaries as 'a very sober, discreet gentleman, and a good lawyer', making intelligent contributions during sessions of the Cromwellian parliaments on points of law, precedent, and procedure. Highly respected within his local community, he was appointed Justice of the Peace (JP) for Somerset 1654–1659, elected

Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

in 1655, knighted by

in 1656, and that same year was appointed treasurer of

, a Master of Requests, and a Commissioner of Treasons. On 9 March 1659, the speaker of Richard Cromwell's parliament,

Chaloner Chute Chaloner Chute I (died 14 April 1659) of The Vyne, Sherborne St John, Hampshire, was an English lawyer, Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Commons during the Commonwealth. Origins Chute was the son of Charles Chute of the Middle ...

, suddenly became indisposed as a result of being "tired out with the long debates and late sitting" (Diary of Thomas Burton, 4.92). This was after a long nine days' debate, during which the House sat through one entire night up to 10 p.m. As a tribute to the high regard in which he was held, Sir Lislebone was duly elected 'by general consent of the House' (JHC, 7.612) to take the chair during the speaker's illness. One week later, on 16 March, Burton notes in his diary that Long "being very sick, could not attend". He died later the same day and was buried at Stratton on the Fosse, leaving an estate which included a number of ecclesiastical and royalist lands purchased after confiscation by parliament.

Family

He had married on 18 February 1640 at London, Frances Mynne, daughter of John Mynne of Epsom.A pedigree of Mynne in relation to the manor of Horton, of which Woodecote Park was a sub-manor, may be found in Manning and Bray's History of Surrey. They had two sons and two daughters. His wife died in 1691.

References

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Biography

Family

See also

References

Further reading