Sir Oliver Cromwell ( – 28 August 1655) was an English landowner, lawyer and 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 1589 and 1625. He was the uncle of

Oliver 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 ...

, the Member of Parliament, general, and Lord Protector of England.

Biography

Born around 1562, Cromwell was the eldest son and heir of Sir Henry Williams, alias Cromwell, of Hinchingbrooke, and his wife Joan, a daughter of

Sir Ralph Warren Sir Ralph Warren (c. 1486 – 11 July 1553) was twice Lord Mayor of London, for the first time in 1536 and the second in 1543. Biography Ralph Warren was the son of Sir Thomas Warren of Feering, Essex, and grandson of William Warren. Warren wa ...

, Lord Mayor of London. He matriculated from

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, at Lent 1579 and was admitted at

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 ...

on 12 May 1582. He lived at

Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman road network, the town has a lo ...

until the death of his father. Cromwell held a number of local offices: In 1585 he was captain of musters for Huntingdonshire and at the time of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

he was one of the officers in charge of the men raised in Huntingdonshire. He was recorder of

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

in 1596. He was

Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire This is an ''incomplete'' list of Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in England from 1154 until the abolition of the office in 1965. Exceptionally, the two counties shared a single sheriff. Sheriffs had a one-year term of office, bei ...

from 1598 to 1599 and while Sheriff, in 1598, Queen Elizabeth may have dubbed him a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

from about 1585 but was removed in 1587, when there was one of the periodic purges of justices. In 1594 he was restored to his position as a J.P.; as the online History of Parliament observes: "It was felt that in a county as small as Huntingdonshire, the custom by which only one member of a family could be a justice was inapplicable — particularly in the case of the owners of Hinchingbrooke". In 1600 the lutenist and composer John Dowland dedicated a

pavane The ''pavane'' ( ; it, pavana, ''padovana''; german: Paduana) is a slow processional dance common in Europe during the 16th century (Renaissance). The pavane, the earliest-known music for which was published in Venice by Ottaviano Petrucci, ...

to him which was published in his ''Second Book of Songs''. Cromwell was first elected one of the members of parliament for

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

in 1589. He was re-elected to each Parliament up to and including 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 (that is, in 1593, 1597, 1601, 1604, and 1614). In 1621, the seat was occupied by

Richard Beavill Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, but Sir Oliver stood for and was elected to the

Happy Parliament The 4th Parliament of King James I was the fourth and last Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England, summoned on 30 December 1623, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 29 May 1624, and thereafter kept out of session with repeated pror ...

of 1624, and its successor, the

Useless Parliament The Useless Parliament was the first Parliament of England of the reign of King Charles I, sitting only from June until August 1625. It gained its name because it transacted no significant business, making it 'useless' from the king's point of ...

of 1625, after the dissolution at King James' death. He entertained King James at Hinchingbrooke on 27 April 1603, when the King was travelling south to occupy the English throne. Cromwell's presents to the King included "a cup of gold, goodly horses, deep-mouthed hounds, and divers hawks of excellent wing" and some of the heads of Cambridge University came dressed in scarlet gowns and corner caps to present a Latin oration. It was described as "the greatest feast that had ever been given to a king by a subject". King James made him 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 ...

at the coronation on 24 July 1603. He became attorney to Queen

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

and a gentleman of the privy chamber. On 6 January 1604, his father died and Sir Oliver succeeded to Hinchingbrooke and the family estates; about 1605, he also succeeded to his father's office,

Custos Rotulorum of Huntingdonshire This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum (Keeper of the Rolls) of Huntingdonshire. * Sir Richard Cromwell bef. 1544 * William Cooke 1544–1553 * Sir Robert Tyrwhitt bef. 1558 – bef. 1562 * William Lawrence bef. 1562 ...

. King James was frequently at Hinchingbrooke, apparently treating the place as his own – in 1614 he appointed a keeper of the wardrobe there. By 1623 Sir Oliver was trying to sell Hinchingbrooke to the King, to pay off his debts, but the death of James I in March 1625 ended the negotiations on Hinchingbrooke. Hinchingbrooke was finally sold on 20 June 1627 to Sir Sidney Montagu. Other estates had been sold to meet debts contracted to London moneylenders and he was left with the property at

Ramsey, Cambridgeshire Ramsey is a market town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town is about north of Huntingdon. Ramsey parish includes the settlements of Ramsey Forty Foot, Ramsey Heights, Ramsey Mereside, Ramsey ...

. Cromwell was loyal to the crown at the outbreak of 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 ...

. His nephew and godson

was sent by parliament to the house at Ramsey to search for arms which could be sent to the King at York. The younger Cromwell is said to have stood head uncovered in the presence of his uncle. Later the Ramsey estates were sequestered but were restored to him on 18 April 1648 through the influence of his nephew who became the

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...

. Cromwell died in 1655 and was buried at Ramsey on the same day, 28 August, to prevent his body being seized by creditors. According to Sir

William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...

, he died two days after becoming 'scorched' when falling or collapsing into a hearth at his home while drying himself after being out in rain.

Marriages and issue

Cromwell married firstly Elizabeth, daughter of

Thomas Bromley Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicito ...

, the Lord Chancellor and Elizabeth Fortescue, by whom he had four sons and four daughters: * Henry * John * William * Thomas * Hannah * Katherine * Jane * Elizabeth He married secondly in July 1601,

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, widow of the financier Sir

Horatio Palavicino Sir Horatio Palavicino (c. 1540 – 5 July 1600), born in Italy, was a financier and political agent in England. Life Palavicino came from a celebrated Italian family, the elder branch of which possessed a district on the Po called the , while the ...

and daughter of

Gillis Hooftman Gillis Hooftman van Eyckelberg, (german: Ägidius Hauptmann; 1521 – 19 January 1581, Antwerp) was a Dutch merchant, trader, banker, and shipbuilder from the Duchy of Limburg. Hooftman was one of richest men of his time in the prosperous city of ...

of Antwerp, by whom he had two sons and two daughters: * Oliver * Giles * Mary * Anne He had a total of twelve children, he himself being the oldest of 11 siblings: two of Cromwell's sons by his first marriage subsequently married two of Anne's daughters by her first marriage. Another daughter, Elizabeth (probably also by his first marriage), married secondly the

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

Sir Richard Ingoldsby: one of their many children,

Richard Ingoldsby Colonel Sir Richard Ingoldsby (10 August 1617 – 9 September 1685) was an English officer in the New Model Army during the English Civil War and a politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1647 and 1685. As a Commissione ...

, was among those who signed

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 ...

's death warrant. His second son John married Abigail Clere, daughter of Sir Henry Clere, 1st Baronet; Abigail is familiar to readers of the

Diary of Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

as "Madam Williams", who left her husband to live openly with Pepys' colleague

William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker William Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker, PRS (1620 – 5 April 1684) was an Irish born mathematician who introduced Brouncker's formula, and was the first president of the Royal Society. He was also a civil servant, serving as a commission ...

. It seems that John and Abigail, like many of the Cromwells, thought it prudent after 1660 to use the older family name, Williams. Another daughter, Mary, married Edward Rolt (born cir 1600) in 1628. They had a son

Thomas Rolt Sir Thomas Rolt (c.1631–1710) was a British official of the East India Company, President of Surat and Governor of Bombay from 1677 to 1681. His father was Edward Rolt of Pertenhall in Bedfordshire; his mother was Edward Rolt's second wife Mary ...

(1632-1710). Mary died in 1634. He was the brother of

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

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 ...

(the father of the

) and Henry Cromwell.

Notes

References

External links

The Cromwell Museum, HuntingdonPedigree of Oliver Cromwell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell, Oliver 1560s births 1655 deaths English landowners Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 17th-century English lawyers English lawyers English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 Oliver 16th-century English lawyers

Biography

Marriages and issue

Notes

References

Further reading

External links