Sir Oliver Cromwell ( – 28 August 1655) was an English landowner, lawyer and politician who 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 1589 and 1625. He was the uncle of

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 ...

, the Member of Parliament, general, and Lord Protector of England.

Biography

Born around 1562, Cromwell was the eldest son and heir of Sir Henry Williams, alias Cromwell, of Hinchingbrooke, and his wife Joan, a daughter of

Sir Ralph Warren Sir Ralph Warren (c. 1486 – 11 July 1553) was twice Lord Mayor of London, for the first time in 1536 and the second in 1543. Biography Ralph Warren was the son of Sir Thomas Warren of Feering, Essex, and grandson of William Warren. Warren was ...

, Lord Mayor of London. He matriculated from

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

, at Lent 1579 and was admitted at

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 ...

on 12 May 1582. He lived at

Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman roads ...

until the death of his father. Cromwell held a number of local offices: In 1585 he was captain of musters for Huntingdonshire and at the time of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

he was one of the officers in charge of the men raised in Huntingdonshire. He was recorder of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

in 1596. He was

Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire This is an ''incomplete'' list of sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in England from 1154 until the abolition of the office in 1965. Exceptionally, the two counties shared a single sheriff. Sheriffs had a one-year term of office, bei ...

from 1598 to 1599 and while Sheriff, in 1598, Queen Elizabeth may have dubbed him a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

. He was a Justice of the Peace from about 1585 but was removed in 1587, when there was one of the periodic purges of justices. In 1594 he was restored to his position as a J.P.; as the online History of Parliament observes: "It was felt that in a county as small as Huntingdonshire, the custom by which only one member of a family could be a justice was inapplicable — particularly in the case of the owners of Hinchingbrooke". In 1600 the lutenist and composer

John Dowland John Dowland ( – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", " Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", " N ...

dedicated a

pavane The ''pavane'' ( ; , ''padovana''; ) is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance). The pavane, the earliest-known music for which was published in Venice by Ottaviano Petrucci, in Joan Ambrosio Dalza's ...

to him which was published in his ''Second Book of Songs''. Cromwell was first elected one of the members of parliament for

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

in 1589. He was re-elected to each Parliament up to and including the

Addled Parliament The Parliament of 1614 was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James VI and I and sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614. Lasting only two months and two days, it saw no bills pass and was not even regarded as a parliament by contemp ...

of 1614 (that is, in 1593, 1597, 1601, 1604, and 1614). In 1621, the seat was occupied by Richard Beavill, but Sir Oliver stood for and was elected to 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 ...

of 1624, and its successor, the

Useless Parliament The Useless Parliament was the first Parliament of England of the reign of King Charles I, sitting only from June until August 1625. It gained its name because it transacted no significant business, making it 'useless' from the king's point o ...

of 1625, after the dissolution at King James' death. He entertained King James at Hinchingbrooke on 27 April 1603, when the King was travelling south to occupy the English throne. Cromwell's presents to the King included "a cup of gold, goodly horses, deep-mouthed hounds, and divers hawks of excellent wing" and some of the heads of Cambridge University came dressed in scarlet gowns and corner caps to present a Latin oration. It was described as "the greatest feast that had ever been given to a king by a subject". King James made him a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

at the coronation on 24 July 1603. He became attorney to Queen

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

and a gentleman of the privy chamber. On 6 January 1604, his father died and Sir Oliver succeeded to Hinchingbrooke and the family estates; about 1605, he also succeeded to his father's office,

Custos Rotulorum of Huntingdonshire This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum (Keeper of the Rolls) of Huntingdonshire. * Sir Richard Cromwell bef. 1544 * William Cooke 1544–1553 * Sir Robert Tyrwhitt bef. 1558 – bef. 1562 * William Lawrence bef. 1562 ...

. King James was frequently at Hinchingbrooke, apparently treating the place as his own – in 1614 he appointed a keeper of the wardrobe there. By 1623 Sir Oliver was trying to sell Hinchingbrooke to the King, to pay off his debts, but the death of James I in March 1625 ended the negotiations on Hinchingbrooke. Hinchingbrooke was finally sold on 20 June 1627 to Sir Sidney Montagu. Other estates had been sold to meet debts contracted to London moneylenders and he was left with the property at

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire Ramsey is a market town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town is about north of Huntingdon. Ramsey parish includes the settlements of Ramsey Forty Foot, Ramsey Heights, Ramsey Mereside, Rams ...

Cromwell was loyal to the crown at the outbreak of 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 ...

. His nephew and godson

was sent by parliament to the house at Ramsey to search for arms which could be sent to the King at York. The younger Cromwell is said to have stood head uncovered in the presence of his uncle. Later the Ramsey estates were sequestered but were restored to him on 18 April 1648 through the influence of his nephew who became 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 ...

. Cromwell died in 1655 and was buried at Ramsey on the same day, 28 August, to prevent his body being seized by creditors. According to Sir

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Colesh ...

, he died two days after becoming 'scorched' when falling or collapsing into a hearth at his home while drying himself after being out in rain.

Marriages and issue

Cromwell married firstly Elizabeth, daughter of

Thomas Bromley Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicitor General for England and ...

, the Lord Chancellor and Elizabeth Fortescue, by whom he had four sons and four daughters: * Henry * John * William * Thomas * Hannah * Katherine * Jane * Elizabeth He married secondly in July 1601,

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

, widow of the financier Sir

Horatio Palavicino Sir Horatio Palavicino (c. 1540 – 5 July 1600), born in Italy, was a financier and political agent in England. Life Palavicino came from a celebrated Italian family, the elder branch of which possessed a district on the Po called the , while the ...

and daughter of Gillis Hooftman of Antwerp, by whom he had two sons and two daughters: * Oliver * Giles * Mary * Anne He had a total of twelve children, he himself being the oldest of 11 siblings: two of Cromwell's sons by his first marriage subsequently married two of Anne's daughters by her first marriage. Another daughter, Elizabeth (probably also by his first marriage), married secondly the

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

Sir Richard Ingoldsby: one of their many children,

Richard Ingoldsby Colonel Sir Richard Ingoldsby (10 August 1617 – 9 September 1685) was an English officer in the New Model Army during the English Civil War and a politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1647 and 1685. As a Commission ...

, was among those who signed

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 ...

's death warrant. His second son John married Abigail Clere, daughter of Sir Henry Clere, 1st Baronet; Abigail is familiar to readers of the

Diary of Samuel Pepys A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital ...

as "Madam Williams", who left her husband to live openly with Pepys' colleague

William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker FRS ( – 5 April 1684) was an Anglo-Irish peer and mathematician who served as the president of the Royal Society from 1662 to 1677. Best known for introducing Brouncker's formula, he also worked a ...

. It seems that John and Abigail, like many of the Cromwells, thought it prudent after 1660 to use the older family name, Williams. Another daughter, Mary, married Edward Rolt (born cir 1600) in 1628. They had a son Thomas Rolt (1632-1710). Mary died in 1634. He was the brother of

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

(the father of the

) and Henry Cromwell.

Notes

References

External links

The Cromwell Museum, HuntingdonPedigree of Oliver Cromwell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell, Oliver 1560s births 1655 deaths English landowners Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 17th-century English lawyers English lawyers English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 Cromwell family 16th-century English lawyers

Biography

Marriages and issue

Notes

References

Further reading

External links