John Claypole was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

in 1654. He supported the

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

Biography

Claypole was the son of Adam Claypole of Lolham Hall, Maxey, Northamptonshire, and his wife Dorothy Wingfield, daughter of Robert Wingfield, of Upton, near Castor, Northamptonshire and his wife Elizabeth Cecil, who was sister to

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

. His name was spelt in a great variety of ways, including Cleypole, Cleypoole, Chappole, Clappoole, Claipol, and Claypole.

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder and is well remembered for his time at English club West Ham United, spending eighteen years with the club. Apart from two sh ...

, ''Memoirs of several persons and families who, by females, are allied to, or descended from the Protectorate-House of Cromwell, chiefly collected from original papers and records. To which is added a catalogue of such persons who were raised to honors or great employments by the Cromwells, with the lives of many of them.'' Volume II, Birmingham, Printed by Pearson and Rollanson, 1784. "Chapter 24 John Cleypole, Esq"
pp. 249–362
/ref> In 1637 Claypole was summoned as a gentleman before the

Star Chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...

, and the attorney-general was ordered to begin a prosecution against him for refusing to pay

ship money Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs co ...

. He declared for the Parliament at the start of the Civil War in 1643, and in 1644, he was appointed one of their assessors for the county of Northampton. In 1654, Claypole was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

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 Ho ...

. . He may have been

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respo ...

in 1655, as major-general

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recommends him to

John Thurloe John Thurloe (June 1616 – 21 February 1668) was an English politician who served as secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell and held the position of Postmaster General between 1655 and 1660. ...

, in a letter to him, dated 16 November. Claypole was created a baronet by the Protector on 16 July 1657. Also in 1657, he was made a commissioner with his son, for levying the taxes upon the county of Northampton; to distinguish them, he is called "John Claypole, esq. senior", and his son "Lord Claypole".

Family

Claypole married Mary Angell, the daughter of a wealthy London merchant. They had fourteen children, one of whom was

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

(1625–1688) who married a daughter of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1634–1687) another son, became a merchant, emigrated to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

becoming a prominent member of the colony.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claypole, John Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown English MPs 1654–1655 Roundheads People from Northamptonshire (before 1974)