Sir John Oglander (12 May 1585 – 28 November 1655) 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. T ...

from 1625 to 1629. He is now remembered as a diarist.

Life

Oglander was born at Nunwell House on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, the son of William Oglander of West Dean, Sussex. He matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford on 8 July 1603, aged 18 and was a student of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1604. He was knighted on 22 December 1615. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Oade-Oxwick', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714 (1891), pp. 1084-1103. Date accessed: 8 May 2012
/ref> In 1620, he was appointed deputy-governor of Portsmouth by William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. He resigned in 1624 when he was made Deputy Governor of the Isle of Wight.

John Debrett John Debrett (8 January 1753 – 15 November 1822) was an English publisher and compiler. His name has become associated with reference books. Life Debrett took over the business of John Almon, opposite Burlington House in Piccadilly, in 1781. His ...

, William Courthope
''Debrett's Baronetage of England: with alphabetical lists of such baronetcies''
/ref> In 1625, Oglander 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 o ...

for Yarmouth (Isle of Wight). He was re-elected MP for Yarmouth in 1626 and 1628 and sat until 1629 when

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 ...

decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. During the king's personal rule Oglander was a firm royalist. He became

High Sheriff of Hampshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Hampshire. This title was often given as High Sheriff of the County of Southampton until 1959. List of High Sheriffs *1070–1096: Hugh de Port "Domesday Book Online" *1105: Henry de Port (son of Hugh) *1129: W ...

in 1637, and was an energetic collector of

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 ...

. Sir John Oglander lost his deputy-governor position, and was twice arrested by the parliamentarians 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 ...

, but was treated leniently in the end, in 1645. He took a concerned interest in the king's safety in 1647 and 1648 when Charles was in

Carisbrooke Castle Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke (near Newport), Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial. Early history The site of Carisb ...

. Warned, however, of informers among the courtiers by Robert Hammond, he backed off. In 1650 he was visited by

Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (8 July 164013 September 1660) was the youngest son of Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and his wife, Henrietta Maria of France. He is also known as Henry of Oatlands. From the age of two, Henry ...

and Princess Elizabeth; was arrested again in early 1651; and was again released on surety. Nunwell House

Oglander married Frances More, daughter of Sir George More of

Loseley Park Loseley Park is a large Tudor manor house with later additions and modifications south-west of Guildford, Surrey, England, in Artington close to the hamlet of Littleton. The estate was acquired by the direct ancestors of the current owners, t ...

in Surrey. He had four sons including

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

who was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

and three daughters. Oglander died at the age of 70.

Diarist

Sir John kept detailed accounts of his household and estate, which survive today. They are of particular interest because they evolved into a personal diary. These records were used superficially by

Sir Richard Worsley, 7th Baronet Sir Richard Worsley, 7th Baronet, (13 February 17518 August 1805), of Appuldurcombe House, Wroxall, Isle of Wight, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1801. He was a noted collector of antiquities. Early ...

in his ''History of the Isle of Wight'' (1781). An edition was published by William Henry Long in 1888, as ''The Oglander Memoirs''. At times of great personal emotion, some entries were written in his own blood. In April 2013, Sir John was one of five contrasting subjects featured in the first episode of the BBC Four series, ''The Century that Wrote Itself'', presented by

Adam Nicolson Adam Nicolson, (born 12 September 1957) is an English author who has written about history, landscape, great literature and the sea. He is also the 5th Baron Carnock, but does not use the title. He is noted for his books ''Sea Room'' (about t ...

.BBC Media Centre, Programme information
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oglander, John 1585 births 1655 deaths Members of Parliament for the Isle of Wight Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English diarists 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 High Sheriffs of Hampshire People from the Isle of Wight