Nathaniel Stephens (1589 – 30 May 1660) 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. ...

at various times between 1628 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentarian 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

Stephens was the son of

Richard Stephens of Eastington Richard Stephens (died 1599) of Eastington, Gloucestershire, was an English lawyer. He was appointed a justice of the peace in Gloucestershire in 1592 and was a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Newport Iuxta Launceston Newport ...

. He inherited

Chavenage House Chavenage House, Beverston, Gloucestershire is a country house dating from the late 16th century. The house was built in 1576 and is constructed of Cotswold stone, with a Cotswold stone tiled roof. David Verey and Alan Brooks, in their Gloucester ...

and enhanced the house which had been reconstructed by his father.Chavenage History
/ref> He 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

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King

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. In November 1640, Stephens was re-elected MP for Gloucestershire 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 ...

. He was Colonel of a regiment of horse which he raised in support of Parliament in the Civil War. In 1644 he was sent to Gloucester to secure the town and relieve Colonel

Edward Massey Sir Edward Massey () was an English soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1646 and 1674. He fought for the Parliamentary cause for the first and second English Civil Wars before changing allegiance and ...

for other duties. In 1645 he was granted a commission to investigate the spoils of

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...

Stephens acquiesced in the

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

and

execution of Charles I The execution of Charles I by beheading occurred on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall. The execution was the culmination of political and military conflicts between the royalists and the parliamentarians in Eng ...

in 1649, and a few months later he was struck down with a fatal sickness, which gave rise to the legend of Chavenage.

Henry Ireton Henry Ireton ((baptised) 3 November 1611 – 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He died of disease outside Limerick in November 16 ...

had been sent to visit Stephens at Christmas time in 1648 to persuade him to acquiesce in the execution of the King. Stephens, known as a mild man, was wavering but it is said the Ireton sat up all night and persuaded him. In the New Year, Stephens' daughter Abigail returned home and angrily laid a curse on her father for bringing the family name into disrepute. The story goes that after being taken terminally ill, he never rose from his bed again. Stephens died at the age of 71 and was buried at Eastington on 30 May 1660. It was said that at his funeral, a hearse drew up at the door of the manor house driven by the figure of a headless man, and thereupon the ghost of Stephens rose from the coffin and paid deep reverence.

Family

By 1617 Stephens had married Catherine, daughter of Robert Beale of Barnes, Surrey. They had three sons and six daughters (a son and a daughter predeceased him). On 25 February 1661 Stephens's daughter Abigail married Edward Harley. They had four sons (one of whom predeceased his father) and one daughter, Their son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

became 1st

Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half centuries, until the death of the 20th Earl in 1703. ...

, and another son

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

(1664–1735) became a Member of Parliament for the constituencies of

Droitwich Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. The ...

and

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Nathaniel 1589 births 1660 deaths English ghosts Roundheads English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640–1648 Politicians from Gloucestershire