Luke Robinson (''c.'' 1610–1669), of Riseborough, was an English Member of Parliament and of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

during the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

period. Robinson was the eldest son of Sir Arthur Robinson of Deighton, Northallerton, Yorkshire and his first wife Elizabeth Walthall, daughter of William Walthall mercer of London. He was baptised on 6 September 1610. He was educated at Shenley, Hertfordshire, Aughton, Yorkshire and St Peter's, York before attending

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

in 1627. He was a student of

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

in 1630. History of Parliament Online - Robinson, Luke
/ref> Robinson was elected MP for

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

in 1645, taking the place of a member who had been expelled for his

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 ...

sympathies, and sat for the town through the remainder of 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 ...

, being an active member of the

Rump Rump may refer to: * Rump (animal) ** Buttocks * Rump steak, slightly different cuts of meat in Britain and America * Rump kernel, software run in userspace that offers kernel functionality in NetBSD Politics *Rump cabinet * Rump legislature * Rum ...

after

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 also served as Bailiff of

in 1652. He subsequently represented

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

in the

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and Malton in the

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

Parliaments of the Protectorate, before resuming his seat for Scarborough when the Rump was reinstated in 1659. He was elected a member of the

in 1649, 1650 and 1659. In January 1660, Robinson was chosen (together with

Thomas Scot Thomas Scot (or Scott; died 17 October 1660) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1645 and 1660. He was one of the men who signed the death warrant of Charles I and was executed as one of the kin ...

, the Secretary of State) as the Rump's emissary to the advancing

General Monck George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (6 December 1608 3 January 1670) was an English military officer and politician who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support ...

. Their ostensible purpose was to convey congratulations and expressions of good will, but in fact Parliament clearly intended them both to spy on him and if possible to hinder him from any course of action except that which would help the Rump's survival. (At this stage it was not clear that Monck was contemplating the restoration of the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

.) Scot and Robinson met Monck outside

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Thereafter they dogged his footsteps, insisting on being quartered at the same inn as Monck at every town. At

Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the 2021 census. It is the administrative headquarters of the Harborough dis ...

, they intercepted the delegation sent by the City of London and insisted on answering it on Monck's behalf; at

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Monck discovered they had bored a hole in the wall so they could spy on him from their own quarters. When Monck entered London on 3 February 1660, Scot and Robinson rode with him at the head of his troops as visible demonstration that he derived his authority to act only from Parliament. But their efforts were in vain and Monck was undeterred from following his own course of action. Later the same month, both Scot and Robinson lost their seats on the Council of State. After the Restoration, Robinson was elected once more to represent Scarborough in the Convention Parliament. On 1 May 1660, the King's letter containing the

Declaration of Breda The Declaration of Breda (dated 4 April 1660) was a proclamation by Charles II of England in which he promised a general pardon for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum for all those who recognised Charles as the la ...

was read out in the House of Commons, and the previously republican Robinson apparently underwent a dramatic conversion to the Royal cause; he was first to speak after the letter was read, and did so ''"bathed in tears"''. (The incident is recorded 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 diary the following day: ''"Luke Robinson himself stood up and made a recantation for what he had done, and promises to be a loyal subject to his Prince for the time to come."'') Nevertheless, Robinson was soon after expelled from the Commons, by order of the House on 21 June 1660. The House of Commons Journals record no reason for the expulsion, but it seems reasonable to assume that his record during the Commonwealth was considered unacceptable. He apparently took no further part in public life before his death in 1669. Robinson was clearly a figure well-known and disliked by the Royalists, and he was one of a number of Roundhead figures mocked in a popular Cavalier song of the period:

''Luke Robinson shall go before ye,
that snarling northern tyke;
Be sure he’ll not adore ye,
for honour he doth not like;
He cannot honour inherit,
and he knows he can never merit,
And therefore he cannot bear it
that any one else should wear it.

Sing hi ho, envious lown,
you're of the beagle's kind,
Who always bark'd at the moon,
because in the dark it shined.
Sing hi ho, etc.''

and another popular ballad of the period described him:

''Luke Robinson, that clownado,
Though his heart be a granado,
Yet a high shoe with his hand in his poke
Is his most perfect shadow.''

References

* ''Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803'' (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808

* Thomas Hinderwell, ''The history and antiquities of Scarborough and the vicinity'' (2nd edition, York: Thomas Wilson & Son, 1811

* Charles Mackay (ed), ''The Cavalier Songs and Ballads of England from 1642 to 1684'
Project Gutenberg
* Patrick Morrah, ''1660: The Year of Restoration'' (London: Chatto & Windus, 1960) {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Luke 1610s births 1669 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for constituencies in Yorkshire Politics of the Borough of Scarborough Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1648–1653 English MPs 1656–1658 English MPs 1659 English MPs 1660 People educated at St Peter's School, York