Sir John Stawell or Stowell, 29 August 1600 – 21 February 1662, was MP for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

at various times from 1625 to 1662, and one of the leading

Royalists 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 governme ...

in the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

. Captured at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

in 1646, he was excluded from the general pardon, and held in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

until 1653. After the

Stuart Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

in 1660, his estates were returned and he was re-elected to the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

in April 1661.

Personal life

John Stawell was born in August 1600, eldest surviving son of Sir John Stawell of

Cothelstone Manor Cothelstone Manor in Cothelstone, Somerset, England was built in the mid-16th century, largely demolished by the parliamentary troops in 1646 and rebuilt by E.J. Esdaile in 1855–56. It is closely associated with the Church of St Thomas of Ca ...

and Elizabeth Touchet, daughter of the

Earl of Castlehaven Earl of Castlehaven was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, created on 6 September 1616. It was held in conjunction with the Barony of Audley (created 1312 in the Peerage of England), the Barony of Audley of Orier (created with the earldom in t ...

. He married Elizabeth Killgrew (died 1657) in December 1617; they had two daughters, and five sons who survived to adulthood, three of whom fought for the

in the

Career

Educated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, Stawell 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 ...

in 1625 for

. Created a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

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 ...

in 1625, he supported the Forced Loans imposed when

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

refused to approve taxes. As a result, he was not elected in 1628, and Charles appointed him

High Sheriff of Somerset The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government A ...

. The Somerset gentry were split between those like Sir John who supported Lord Poulett, and their opponents, led by Sir

Robert Phelips Sir Robert Phelips (c. 1586–1638) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1604 and 1629. In his later Parliaments he was one of the leading spirits in the House of Commons and an opponent of James I ...

. Phelips was a prominent opponent of Charles'

Personal Rule The Personal Rule (also known as the Eleven Years' Tyranny) was the period from 1629 to 1640, when King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland ruled without recourse to Parliament. The King claimed that he was entitled to do this under the Roya ...

, and it is suggested Stawell's support for the king in the 1630s was primarily aimed at undermining his local rivals. Re-elected for Somerset in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

of 1640, he supported Charles when the

began in August 1642, and was suspended from Parliament in 1643. At the outbreak of the war he commanded a regiment of the

Somerset Trained Bands The Somerset Trained Bands were a part-time military force in the county of Somerset in South West England from 1558 until they were reconstituted as the Somerset Militia in 1662. They were periodically embodied for home defence, for example in ...

, which may have formed the basis of his later regiments. A man of considerable wealth, he raised five regiments at his own expense for the Royal army, serving under the

Marquess of Hertford The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain. The third Earldom of Hertford was created in 1559 for Edward Seymour, who was simultaneously created Baron Be ...

in the

. He was appointed governor of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

when it surrendered to the Royalists in June 1643, but withdrew to

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

before it was recaptured by the Parliamentarian army in June 1644. In September 1644, he urged Charles to make peace, a campaign he continued over the next year. Many on both sides wanted to end the war; Stawell proposed Charles should put himself at their head, and accompany a peace petition to Parliament. A return to the policy of armed neutrality adopted by various counties in 1642, it also reflected the strength of the

Clubmen Clubmen were bands of local defence vigilantes during the English Civil War (1642–1651) who tried to protect their localities against the excesses of the armies of both sides in the war. They sought to join together to prevent their wives and d ...

movement in Somerset, but few of the leaders were prepared to consider such a solution, least of all Charles. Captured when

surrendered in 1646, he refused to take the covenant, or to swear not to bear arms against Parliament in future, and held on charges of high treason. He was imprisoned in the

and after many delays finally brought to trial in December 1650, but the High Court referred him back to Parliament. Although much discussed, his case was never settled, and he was not released until 1653. Following his capture,

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

, commander of the Parliamentarian garrison of Taunton, had been ordered to ensure

could not be fortified again. Stawell's lands were sold for £64,000 in 1651, although his family were allowed to live in the semi-ruined manor house. He reportedly spent his time "practising chemistry and eschewing breakfast", presumably an ironic reference to his poverty. His estates were restored after the

in May 1660, and he was elected to the

in 1661.

Death

He died on 21 February 1662, and was buried in the

Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, Cothelstone The romanesque red sandstone Church of St Thomas of Canterbury in Cothelstone, Somerset, England dates from the 12th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. It was largely restored in 1864. It includes memorials to the ...

. He was succeeded by his son George, who died in 1669 and was in turn succeeded by his younger brother

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

(c.1641–1689). Ralph also sat as an MP and in 1683 was created Baron Stawell.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stawell, John 1600 births 1662 deaths People from Somerset Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford High Sheriffs of Somerset Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath People from Somerset West English MPs 1625 English MPs 1640–1648 English MPs 1661–1679 Somerset Militia officers Royalist military personnel of the English Civil War