Reverend Dr. John Hewett (or Huett; September 1614 – ''buried'' 8 June 1658) was chaplain to

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 ...

and later executed for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

as a

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 governm ...

. The son of clothworker Thomas Hewett, he was born in Eccles,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, and educated in nearby Bolton-le-Moors. He matriculated sizar at Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1633, and in 1643 he was awarded a degree of D.D. by

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 th ...

, where he served as a chaplain to Charles I. He then became chaplain to

Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey, KG, PC (1608 – 25 July 1666) was an English soldier, courtier, and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1624 and 1626. He was created Baron Willoughby de Eresby by writ of acceleration in ...

, at

Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, before moving to London, where he preached to larger congregations. He was openly loyal to the exiled Prince Charles (the future King Charles II), and was involved in the secret preparations for his return. In April 1658 a fellow sympathiser, John Stapley, confessed to

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 ...

that, thanks to Hewett, he had been offered funds to raise an army to support the return of Prince Charles. Hewett was arrested, along with Lord Mordaunt and Sir Henry Slingsby, and brought to trial, refusing to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty and claiming the right to

trial by jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

. The court, however, sentenced Hewett and Slingsby to be beheaded for treason (Mordaunt having been narrowly acquitted on a technicality) and three other less well-born conspirators to be hanged, drawn and quartered. The

beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

s were carried out on

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

. These events were depicted in a drama of 1660 called ''Cromwell's Conspiracie'', in which Hewet's ghost haunts Cromwell's deathbed.D.B.J. Randall, ''Winter Fruit: English Drama, 1642-1660'' (University Press of kentucky, Lexington 1995)
at p. 110
(Google). Hewett married twice: firstly Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Skinner of London, with whom he had three children; and secondly Mary, daughter of

Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey KG (16 December 1582 – 24 October 1642) was an English peer, soldier and courtier. Early life Robert Bertie was the son of Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (b. 12 October 1555 – d. 25 J ...

, with whom he had two daughters who died young. His eldest son John became a merchant in Barbados.

References

* Portrait and text a
Historical Portraits Image Library (Philip Mould)
* J.P. Earwaker, ''Notes of the Life of Dr. John Hewytt, A Lancashire Worthy'' (Reprinted from "Local Gleanings" in the ''Manchester Courier''), (Thomas Sowler and Sons, Manchester 1877
(Google)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewett, John 1614 births 1658 deaths Anglican chaplains Cavaliers Executions at the Tower of London People executed under the Interregnum (England) by decapitation People executed under the Interregnum (England) for treason against England People from Eccles, Greater Manchester Executed people from Lancashire 17th-century English Anglican priests