Sir John Danvers (c. 1585–buried 28 April 1655) was an English courtier and politician who was one of the signatories of the
death warrant
An execution warrant (also called death warrant or black warrant) is a writ that authorizes the execution of a condemned person. An execution warrant is not to be confused with a " license to kill", which operates like an arrest warrant bu ...
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 ...
.
Life
Danvers was the third and youngest son of
Sir John Danvers of
Dauntsey
Dauntsey is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies and takes its name from Saxon for Dantes- eig, or Dante's island. It is set on slightly higher ground in ...
, Wiltshire, by
Elizabeth Neville. In his youth, he travelled through France and Italy, developing sophisticated tastes in gardening and architecture, which in later life he indulged at his house in
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. In 1597 he entered the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...
as a student, prior to returning to England where he carried on his education at
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
(entered 1598),
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
(entered 1601) and
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
where he was a law student in 1612. Danvers was knighted by
James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...
on 3 March 1609; and under Charles I became a
gentleman of the privy chamber.
He sat as a member of parliament for
Arundel
Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England.
The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...
in 1610,
Montgomery Boroughs in the
Addled Parliament
The Parliament of 1614 was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James VI and I, which 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 its c ...
of 1614,
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 1621,
Newport (Isle of Wight) in 1624 and again for Oxford University from 1625 to 1629.
[
Danvers was engaged in mercantile transactions, and in 1624 he learned that the government were contemplating a seizure of the papers of the ]Virginia Company
The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Main ...
. With the aid of Edward Collingwood
Sir Edward Foyle Collingwood LLD (17 January 1900 – 25 October 1970) was an English mathematician and scientist. He was a member of the Eglingham branch of a prominent Northumbrian family, the son of Col. Cuthbert Collingwood of the Lancashir ...
, the secretary, he had the whole of the records copied out and entrusted them to the care of Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton
Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, (pronunciation uncertain: "Rezley", "Rizely" (archaic), (present-day) and have been suggested; 6 October 1573 – 10 November 1624) was the only son of Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of So ...
, a family friend, who deposited them at his house at Titchfield
Titchfield is a village in southern Hampshire, by the River Meon. The village has a history stretching back to the 6th century. During the medieval period, the village operated a small port and market. Near to the village are the ruins of Titch ...
, Hampshire.
Danvers fell into debt, and from 1630 to 1640 was apparently struggling with creditors. About 1640 he began an active political career in opposition to the king. He refused to contribute to the expenses of the king's expedition to Scotland in 1639, and was returned to the Short parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks.
Aft ...
of 1640 by Oxford University. In 1642 he took up arms for the parliament, and was granted a colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
's commission which he held in command of the Wiltshire foot militia until 1650, but he did not play a prominent part in military affairs.[ He gives an account of the opening incidents of the war in letters written to friends from Chelsea in July and August 1642.
Danvers was ordered by the parliament to receive the Dutch ambassadors late in 1644, and on 10 October 1645 was returned to the house as member for ]Malmesbury
Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...
in the place of Anthony Hungerford, disabled to sit. He took little part in the proceedings of the house, but was appointed a member of the commission nominated to try the king in January 1649. He was only twice absent from the meetings of the commission, and signed the death-warrant. In February of the same year Danvers was given a seat on 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 o ...
, which he retained till the council's dissolution in 1653. He died at his house at Chelsea in April 1655, and was buried at Dauntsey.[ His name was in the Act of Attainder passed at the Restoration.
]
Gardener
At a young age Danvers acquired a fine garden and house at Chelsea: the latter he furnished sumptuously and curiously, and the former he laid out after the Italian manner. ' 'Twas Sir John Danvers of Chelsey,' John Aubrey
John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the ''Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist, ...
writes, 'who first taught us the way of Italian gardens.' His house, called Danvers House, adjoined the mansion, once the home of Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
, which was known in the seventeenth century as Buckingham and also as Beaufort House
Beaufort House is an 18th-century grade II listed house in Ham, near Richmond, Surrey.
History
Beaufort House was built in about 1780. It was originally the dower house to Ham House.
In about 1855, a private Catholic girls school moved to Bea ...
. Danvers House was pulled down in 1696 to make room for Danvers Street, therefore named after him.
Through his second marriage he came into possession of the estate of Lavington, Wiltshire, where he elaborately laid out gardens.
Marriages and family
In about March 1609 he married Magdalen Herbert (''née'' Newport), widow of Richard Herbert,[ and mother of ten children, including ]George Herbert
George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...
the poet, and Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury. She died in 1627.[
On 10 July 1628, a year after the death of his first wife, Danvers, then reportedly aged 40, married Elizabeth, daughter of the late Ambrose Dauntsey, and granddaughter of Sir John Dauntsey. His second wife died on 9 July 1636.][
His children by his second wife consisted of Henry (b. 5 December 1633), who inherited much of his uncle Henry's property, and died before his father in November 1654, when ]Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller (baptised 19 June 1608 – 16 August 1661) was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his ''Worthies of England'', published in 1662, after his death. He was a prolific author, and ...
is stated to have preached the funeral sermon; Charles, who died in infancy; Elizabeth (b. 1 May 1629), who married Robert Danvers
Robert Danvers also Wright, Howard and Villiers (19 October 1624 – 1674) was an English soldier and landowner who briefly sat in the House of Commons in 1659 and 1660. The illegitimate child of a notorious liaison, Danvers had at least fou ...
, self-styled Viscount Purbeck
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
; and Mary, who died in infancy.
Danvers married a third time at Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, on 6 January 1649, his wife being Grace Hewes, daughter of Thomas Hewes of Kemerton
Kemerton is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire in England. It lies at the extreme south of the county in the local government district of Wychavon. Until boundary changes in 1931, it formed part of neighbouring Gloucestershire, and it ...
, Gloucestershire, and he had by her a son, John (b. 10 August 1650). Grace survived her husband and died in 1678.[
Danvers' elder brothers were ]Charles Danvers
Sir Charles Danvers (c. 1568 – 1601), was an English MP and soldier who plotted against Elizabeth I of England.
Early life
He was born the eldest son of Sir John Danvers of Dauntsey, Wiltshire and Elizabeth, fourth daughter and coheiress of J ...
and Henry Danvers. His brother Henry, who became Lord Danby, was a royalist, and died early in 1644; he left his property to his sister Lady Catherine Gargrave, wife of Sir Richard Gargrave, High Sheriff of Yorkshire. Still in pecuniary difficulties, Danvers resisted this disposition of his brother's property, and his influence with the parliamentary majority led the House of Commons to pass a resolution declaring that he had been deprived of his brother's estate 'for his affection and adhering to the parliament' (14 June 1644), and that Danvers's eldest son Henry was entitled to the property. The son Henry bequeathed the estate in his power to his sister Ann, who married Sir Henry Lee 3rd Baronet of the Lee Baronets
There have been four baronetcies created for people with the surname Lee, all extinct.
Lee baronets, of Quarendon, Buckinghamshire (1611–1776)
This branch of the family owned Ditchley House, current home of the Ditchley Foundation. The last ...
of Ditchley in 1655, and had a daughter, Eleanor, who became the wife of James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon
James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon (16 June 1653 – 22 May 1699), styled Hon. James Bertie until 1657 and known as the 5th Baron Norreys from 1657 until 1682, was an English nobleman.
Early life and relations
Bertie was the eldest son of Montag ...
. Lord Abingdon thus ultimately came into possession of the property at Chelsea.
Notes
References
;Attribution
Further reading
*''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' (1930)
*David Plant
Sir John Danvers, Regicide, 1588–1655
the British Civil Wars and Commonwealth website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danvers, John
1580s births
1655 deaths
Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England for the University of Oxford
Regicides of Charles I
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 ...
People from Wiltshire
English knights
English MPs 1614
English MPs 1621–1622
English MPs 1624–1625
English MPs 1625
English MPs 1626
English MPs 1628–1629
Members of Parliament for the Isle of Wight