Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, (1604–1661), was an English
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
who owned extensive estates in
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, and was
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
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
at various times between 1628 and 1653. 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 ...
, he was commander of
Parliamentarian forces in the
North Midlands
The North Midlands is a loosely defined area covering the northern parts of the Midlands in England. It is not one of the ITL regions like the East Midlands or the West Midlands.
A statistical definition in 1881 included the counties of Derbys ...
.
In the 1630s, he travelled extensively through
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
; his travel journals from 1634 and 1635 were published in the 19th century. His records and letters from the Civil War are a primary source for
Parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
local administration in the period, as well as the internal divisions that led to the
Second English Civil War
The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641†...
.
Despite a lack of prior military experience, he proved an energetic and capable soldier, and was one of the most powerful men in England when the First Civil War ended in 1646. However, he gave up his local offices, and although nominated as a judge, refused to attend the
trial of 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 January 1649. He was elected to the
English Council of State
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I.
Charles' execution on 30 January was delayed for several hour ...
in 1652 and 1653 but rarely attended, living in semi-retirement in London. He resumed his seat for Cheshire when 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 ...
was reinstated in 1659, until its dissolution in March 1660, and died on 7 April 1661.
Biography
![Handforth Hall, Handforth, Cheshire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Handforth_Hall%2C_Handforth%2C_Cheshire.JPG)
Brereton was born 13 September 1604 at the family home,
Handforth Hall
Handforth Hall is a former manor house in Handforth, Cheshire, England. It is dated 1562, and was built for Sir Urian Brereton. Alterations have been made to it in the 17th century, and subsequently. The hall is a timber-framed bu ...
, eldest son of William Brereton (1584–1610), and Margaret Holland (1585–1609). Orphaned at the age of six, he was made a
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of his grandfather, Richard Denton (1549–1618).
As well as Handforth Hall, he inherited over 3,000
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
s from his parents; in 1623, he married Susanna Booth, fourth daughter of another substantial local landowner, Sir George Booth, of
Dunham Massey Hall, Cheshire.
Before her death in 1637, they had four children; Susanna (1627, after 1661), Thomas (1632–1674), Frances (1635–1676), and Catherine (c. 1637 – after 1661). He took a second wife in 1641, Cicely Mytton, a wealthy Staffordshire widow, who died in 1649, and they had a daughter, Cecilia (c. 1642–1704).
His will left Catherine and Cecilia £1,000 each.
Career
Pre-1642
He graduated from
Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1621, and as was then common, studied law at
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
prior to his marriage in 1623. Like his grandfather and father-in-law, Brereton was a zealous
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
, a generic term for anyone who wanted to reform, or 'purify', the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, which covered many different
sect
A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that b ...
s. The most prominent were
Presbyterians, who wanted to bring its doctrine and structure into line with the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
, and included Parliamentary leaders like
John Pym
John Pym (20 May 1584 – 8 December 1643) was an English politician, who helped establish the foundations of Parliamentary democracy. One of the Five Members whose attempted arrest in January 1642 sparked the First English Civil War, his use ...
and
John Hampden
John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of th ...
. Based on his support for the
Congregationalist radical,
Samuel Eaton
Samuel Eaton (1596?–1665) was an English independent divine.
Life
Eaton was the third son of Richard Eaton, vicar of Great Budworth, Cheshire, and was born in the hamlet of Crowley in Great Budworth. He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambr ...
, and the reforms advocated by Sir
Henry Vane the Younger
Sir Henry Vane (baptised 26 March 161314 June 1662), often referred to as Harry Vane and Henry Vane the Younger to distinguish him from his father, Henry Vane the Elder, was an English politician, statesman, and colonial governor. He was brie ...
in 1641, Brereton appears to have sympathised with
religious Independents who rejected the concept of state-ordained religion.
Appointed
Deputy lieutenant for Cheshire, he was an unusually active
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 ...
, or JP, attending over 80% of sessions held between 1625 and 1641; in the same period, only one other person managed over 40%. In 1627, he was given a
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 14th ...
cy in return for funding 30 soldiers in Ireland for three years. In the
1628 Parliament, Brereton was elected
MP for
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
;
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 ...
dissolved Parliament in 1629, and did not call another until 1640, instituting a period of
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 ...
sometimes called the "Eleven Year Tyranny".
In the summer of 1634, Brereton visited the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
and later published a detailed account of his travels. He installed the Dutch system of
duck decoys on his lands, leading to disputes with his neighbours, who claimed it interfered with their hunting and
hawking
Hawking may refer to:
People
* Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist
* Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name)
Film
* ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Ha ...
. Another journal covered his trip through
North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
, the
Scottish Lowlands
The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...
, and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in 1635. He later visited
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and possibly
Northern Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
, although these writings have not survived.
Despite his opposition in principle to taxes levied without Parliament, he paid
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 ...
and took little part in the political debates that dominated the late 1630s. His main interests were religious and he strongly opposed
Archbishop Laud
William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 16 ...
's reforms to the Church of England. In 1640, he was re-elected for Cheshire in both the
Short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
and
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 ...
s, and appointed to a number of Parliamentary Committees on religion. He organised a
petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...
from Cheshire demanding the expulsion of
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
s from the Church of England and also supported the removal of
church monuments
Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, and comm ...
.
First English Civil War
![John1stLordByron](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/John1stLordByron.jpg)
Following the outbreak of the
Irish Rebellion in October 1641, Brereton supervised the transport of troops and supplies from
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
to Ireland; when 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 ...
began in August 1642, this made him an obvious choice for commander of
Parliamentarian forces in the area. However, most of the Cheshire gentry was
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 governme ...
, including his cousin,
William, Baron Brereton, and he was forced to withdraw to London.
Along with a number of other regions, at the beginning of the war some prominent Cheshire notables attempted to remain neutral and in December 1642 issued the
Bunbury Agreement, which demanded an end to fighting in the area. This proved impossible to enforce and in March 1643, Parliament sent Brereton back to Cheshire with 500 men, where he linked up with 2,000 local volunteers. Despite lacking military experience, he soon proved an energetic and resolute commander, winning minor victories at
Middlewich
Middlewich is a town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, east of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,595 ...
and
Hopton Heath
Hopton Heath, or Hoptonheath, is a hamlet in south Shropshire, England. The border with Herefordshire is close by. It lies on the border of the civil parishes of Clungunford and Hopton Castle.
There is a railway station here - Hopton Heath rai ...
. Establishing his headquarters at
Nantwich
Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...
, he soon attained superiority over
Arthur Capell
Arthur Capell (28 March 1902 – 10 August 1986) was an Australian linguist, who made major contributions to the study of Australian languages, Austronesian languages and Papuan languages.
Early life
Capell was born in Newtown, New South Wales ...
, Royalist commander in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, Cheshire, and
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
.
Over the next few years, Brereton waged an aggressive and relentless campaign throughout the
North Midlands
The North Midlands is a loosely defined area covering the northern parts of the Midlands in England. It is not one of the ITL regions like the East Midlands or the West Midlands.
A statistical definition in 1881 included the counties of Derbys ...
, one of his key subordinates being Colonel
Robert Venables
Robert Venables (ca. 1613–1687), was an English soldier from Cheshire, who fought for Parliament in the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and captured Jamaica in 1655.
When the Anglo-Spanish War began in 1654, he was made joint comm ...
, a long-time family connection and friend, who later commanded in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Their activities forced the Royalists to divert resources from other areas, as Chester was essential for funnelling men and material from their supporters in Ireland and North Wales.
In October 1643, Capell was replaced by
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
, who assembled an army of over 5,000, many of them veterans from the war in Ireland. Defeated at
Second Middlewich in December, Brereton appealed to Sir
Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...
for support. At
Nantwich
Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...
in January 1644, their combined force routed Byron, who lost over 1,500 men, most of his artillery, and baggage train and spent most of the next two years blockaded in Chester.
At
Malpas in August 1644, Brereton added to his reputation by routing Royalist cavalry under
Marmaduke Langdale
Marmaduke Langdale, 1st Baron Langdale ( – 5 August 1661) was an English landowner and soldier who fought with the Royalists during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
An only child who inherited large estates, he served in the 1620 to 1622 Palati ...
who had escaped from the defeat at
Marston. Combined with his influence in the region, this meant Brereton was one of the few to be exempted from the February 1645
Self-Denying Ordinance
The Self-denying Ordinance was passed by the English Parliament on 3 April 1645. All members of the House of Commons or Lords who were also officers in the Parliamentary army or navy were required to resign one or the other, within 40 days fro ...
, under which army officers could not also be MPs.
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
surrendered in February 1646, and in March Brereton fought in the last major battle of the war at
Stow-on-the-Wold
Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman origin. The town was found ...
. He then besieged
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
, one of the few remaining Royalist strongholds in England, which capitulated in July 1646.
More than 2,000 of his letters from this period survive, and are one of the most important sources for understanding Parliamentary administration during the war. They also provide insights into its internal politics; Brereton was a member of the 'War Party', those who viewed military victory as essential before any negotiations with Charles. The 'Peace Party' included
Denzil Holles, one of the
Five Members
The Five Members were Members of Parliament whom King Charles I attempted to arrest on 4 January 1642. King Charles I entered the English House of Commons, accompanied by armed soldiers, during a sitting of the Long Parliament, although the Fi ...
whose failed arrest in January 1642 was a major step on the road to war.
Post 1646
![Old Palace School - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Old_Palace_School_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1215017.jpg)
Historian
John Morrill writes that in 1646, Brereton was 'one of the most powerful and influential men in England'. As a reward for his services, Parliament granted him possession of
Eccleshall Castle
Eccleshall Castle is located in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, England (). It was originally built in the 13th century. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade II* listed building.
Origins
The land was reputedly granted to St Chad, the mediev ...
, seat of the
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Mi ...
, and
Croydon Palace
Croydon Palace, in Croydon, now part of south London, was the summer residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury for over 500 years. Regular visitors included Henry III and Queen Elizabeth I. Now known as "Old Palace", the buildings are still in us ...
, owned by the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. He survived
Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England.
Despite defeat in the ...
in December 1648, and was appointed one of the judges for the
trial of 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 January 1649, although he did not attend the court.
Despite being elected to the
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
in 1651 and 1652, during the
Commonwealth he lived in semi-retirement in Croydon Palace. The precise reasons are unclear, although it has been suggested he was disillusioned by the post-war religious and political settlement. In the
1656 election, he unsuccessfully stood for Cheshire in opposition to the list proposed by
Major-General Bridge.
When the Long Parliament re-assembled in 1659, he took his seat once more but did not stand for the
Convention Parliament. After the
1660 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 ...
, he was obliged to return the church properties awarded in 1646 but was apparently allowed to stay on at Croydon, where he died on 7 April 1661. Despite later claims his coffin was lost while being transported to Handford, parish records show he was buried in
St John Baptist Churchyard, Croydon Minster.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton, Sir William 1st Baronet
1604 births
1661 deaths
Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
Members of Gray's Inn
Roundheads
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
English travel writers
17th-century English writers
17th-century English male writers
English letter writers
English MPs 1628–1629
English MPs 1640 (April)
English MPs 1640–1648
English MPs 1648–1653
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 ...
Deputy Lieutenants of Cheshire
English justices of the peace
Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War
17th-century diarists
Burials at Croydon Minster