Thomas Colepeper (1637–1708) was an English

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Life

Colepeper was the only son of Sir Thomas Colepeper, knt., lieutenant of

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the ...

, and St. Stephen's, otherwise

Hackington Hackington is an area of Canterbury in Kent, England, also known (especially historically) as St Stephen's, incorporating the northern part of the city, as well as a semi-rural area to the north. It is an ancient ecclesiastical parish, with the ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, by his wife, Lady Barbara, daughter of

Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester (19 November 1563 – 13 July 1626), second son of Sir Henry Sidney, was a statesman of Elizabethan era, Elizabethan and James I of England, Jacobean England. He was also a patron of the arts and a poet ...

, and widow of

Thomas Smythe, 1st Viscount Strangford Viscount Strangford was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in for Sir Thomas Smythe. He was a son of John Smith (also Smythe) J.P., High Sheriff of Kent 1600–1601, also M.P. for Aylesbury (in 1584) and Hythe (in 1586, 1587 an ...

. He was born on the Christmas Day of 1637. Colepeper lost both his parents six years later. Colepeper lived as a steward with the Strangford family. With his half-brother, Philip, Viscount Strangford, he busied himself in promoting the king's return and was imprisoned by the council of state in August and September 1659. In 1662 he married Frances, third and youngest daughter of John, Lord Frecheville, of

Staveley Staveley may refer to: Places * Staveley, Cumbria, village in the former county of Westmorland and now in Cumbria, England ** Staveley railway station * Staveley-in-Cartmel, village formerly in Lancashire, now in Cumbria, England * Staveley, D ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, by his second wife, Sarah, daughter and heiress of Sir John Harrington, knt. It was a stolen match, and so displeasing to Lord Frecheville that while outwardly reconciled, he refused to make his daughter any settlement. At his death in March 1682, he left her an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...

of £300, which owing to the reduced state of his fortune, was probably never paid. Lord Frecheville had been obliged to sell his manor of Staveley and other lands to the

Earl of Devonshire The title of Earl of Devonshire has been created twice in the Peerage of England, firstly in 1603 for the Blount family and then recreated in 1618 for the Cavendish family, in whose possession the earldom remains. It is not to be confused with ...

in the October previous to his death. Colepeper afterward made this sale the subject of much

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

. He used every means in his power to set aside the sale, and, exasperated by repeated failure, he took occasion to publicly insult his opponent by striking him within the precincts of the court at

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Hen ...

on 9 July 1685;

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or memo ...

witnessed the assault. For this offense, Colepeper was imprisoned in the

Marshalsea Prison The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in ...

and subsequently condemned to lose his hand. His wife's letters to him during his imprisonment are in

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Harley Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, in L ...

MS 7005. At her request, Lord Danby used his influence with the king and Colepeper was pardoned. After

Monmouth's rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

, Colepeper was encouraged to show himself at court, where he would in all probability have obtained some minor office. But on the evening of 26 April 1687, the Earl of Devonshire, encountering him in the Vane Chamber at Whitehall, while the king and queen were in the presence, challenged him to walk out, and on Colepeper's refusal struck him with his cane. It was now the earl's turn to be imprisoned and tried. As the result, he was fined £30,000, and in default of payment was committed to the

King's Bench Prison The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, England, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were hea ...

, from which, however, he soon managed to escape. In the next reign, the fine was remitted. The sequel was recorded by

Narcissus Luttrell Narcissus Luttrell (1657–1732) was an English historian, diarist, and bibliographer, and briefly Member of Parliament for two different Cornish boroughs. His ''Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714'', a ch ...

who, under the date of 1 July 1697, wrote: "''Yesterday the Duke of Devon meeting Coll. Colpepper at the

auction house An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

in St. Albans Street, caned him for being troublesome to him in the late reign''." Colepeper had now lost all hope of

preferment A ferment (also known as bread starter) is a fermentation starter used in ''indirect'' methods of bread making. It may also be called mother dough. A ferment and a longer fermentation in the bread making, bread-making process have several benefi ...

at court, and having sold his family estate in 1675, was left without provision in his old age. His wife had died on 3 December 1698, leaving no issue. The rest of his life is a record of schemes, pretended discoveries of mines, and projects for the improvement of the army, navy, and revenue. He died at his lodging in Tothill Street,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, in December 1708 and was buried on the 28th in the neighboring church of St. Margaret. He had been elected to the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

on 28 May 1668 and was the friend of Thomas Bushell the engineer.

Works

Many of Colepeper's manuscripts are in the

. The more important is his transcript of the 'Frecheville Evidences', from a copy 'made by some herald,' probably Richard St. George (British Library Harley MS 7435), and the eighteen volumes of what he called 'Adversaria' (Harley MSS 7587–7605). Other manuscripts in the British Library are: *''Collections from Public Records'' (Harley MS 6833) *''Commonplace Books'' (Harley MSS 817–818) *''Memorandum Book'' (Add MS 11205) At the end of Harley MS 7560, ff. 293–7 are some sheets of a petition to the Court of Chancery, a document detailing a secret marriage between the colonel and Sir Thomas Grosvenor's widow.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Colepeper, Thomas 1637 births 1708 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society English army officers