The Treaty of Uxbridge was a significant but abortive negotiation in early 1645 to try to end 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 ...

Background

Parliament drew up 27 articles in November 1644 and presented them to

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Much input into these ''Propositions of Uxbridge'' was from

Archibald Johnston Archibald Johnston, Lord Wariston (1611 – 1663) was a Scottish judge and statesman. He assisted Alexander Henderson in writing the Scottish National Covenant in 1638, and was appointed Procurator of the Kirk in the same year. He helped n ...

. The conditions were very assertive, with

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

to be established south of the border, and Parliament to take control of all military matters. Charles had decided that the military situation was turning in his favour, after the Second Battle of Lostwithiel,

Second Battle of Newbury The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War fought on 27 October 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in la ...

and consequent relief of

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, and the campaign of

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, Lord Lieutenant, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wa ...

in Scotland. Montrose's victory at the Battle of Inverlochy was during the conference. His incentive to compromise was thereby reduced, but the same was true of the Parliamentary side, with its growing confidence in the

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

Proposals

Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1829–1902) summarized Parliament's demands (''formatting added''):

# exclusion from seats in the
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of
Peers Peers may refer to: People * Donald Peers * Edgar Allison Peers, English academician * Gavin Peers * John Peers, Australian tennis player * Kerry Peers * Mark Peers * Michael Peers * Steve Peers * Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...
created May_1642''.html" ;"title="Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttelton#The Great Seal">May 1642''">Edward Littleton, 1st Baron Lyttelton#The Great Seal">May 1642''unless with the consent of Parliament (§ 19) # permanent submission of appointments of officers and judges to the
approbation Approbation may refer to: * Approbation (Catholic canon law), an act in the Catholic Church by which a bishop or other legitimate superior grants to an ecclesiastic the actual exercise of his ministry * The process of granting a medical license ...
of Parliament (§ 20) # education and marriage of the King's children being placed under Parliamentary control (§ 21) # the right of declaring peace and war might only be exercised with the assent of Parliament (§ 23) # a permanent body of Commissioners ... in combination with ... Scottish Commissioners to control all military forces in both kingdoms (§ 17) # long lists ... of the names of those Royalists who were to be subjected to divers penalties 'including execution for treason'' and whole categories of unnamed persons were added, the 'Parliamentary''expenses of the war being laid upon these Royalist delinquents (§ 14) # religion in England ... to be brought to the nearest possible uniformity with that of
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 ...
(§ 5) # the King himself was to swear and sign the
Solemn League and Covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August 1 ...
(§ 2) Such demands can only have been made with the object of trampling upon the King's feelings as well as upon his political authority, and it would have been far more reasonable to ask his consent to an act of abdication than to such articles as these. Charles's counter-demands of January 21, 1645 (No. 62, p. 286), are conceived in a far more reasonable spirit: # the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
should be accepted as it had stood at the end of August, 1641 # the Common Prayer Book should be preserved from 'scorn and violence,' # a Bill should 'be framed for the ease of tender consciences.' 'i.e.,_religious_tolerance_(for_Protestants)''.html" ;"title="Protestant.html" ;"title="'i.e., religious tolerance (for Protestant">'i.e., religious tolerance (for Protestants)''">Protestant.html" ;"title="'i.e., religious tolerance (for Protestant">'i.e., religious tolerance (for Protestants)''The King's offer afforded at least an admirable basis for negotiation.

Proceedings

The two sides lodged in Uxbridge, the Royalists on the south side and the Parliamentarians in the north. Christopher Love preached a sermon, strongly against the Royalists, and he was rebuked by Parliament. The meetings were arranged in the house of

Sir John Bennet Sir John Bennet (1553 – 15 February 1627) was a judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1597 and 1621. His career ended in controversy after he was found guilty of extorting bribes and excessive fees. Education Benne ...

. The negotiations, which proved fruitless, went on from 29 January to 22 February. The King offered only to rein in the powers of the episcopate in religious matters, and to give Parliament some control of the militia, limited to a time period of three years.

Attendance

Royalists

* John Ashburnham * Sir Orlando Bridgeman * Lord Arthur Capel * Lord John Colepeper * Sir Thomas Gardiner *

Henry Hammond Henry Hammond (18 August 1605 – 25 April 1660) was an English churchman, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. Early life He was born at Chertsey in Surrey on 18 August 1605, the youngest son of John Hammond (c. 155 ...

(chaplain) * Lord Christopher Hatton * Edward Hyde, Chancellor of the Exchequer * Richard Lane, Lord Chief Baron * Francis Leigh, Earl of Chichester * Edward Nicholas, Secretary of State * Jeoffry Palmer * Henry Pierrepont, Earl of Kingston *

Lord Francis Seymour Lord Francis Seymour (1725 - 16 Feb 1799) was a clergyman of the Church of England and a younger son of Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset. He was Dean of Wells from 1766 until his death. Biography Seymour was the fifth child and fourth son of E ...

(brother of Hertford) * William Seymour, Marquess of Hertford *

Gilbert Sheldon Gilbert Sheldon (19 June 1598 – 9 November 1677) was an English religious leader who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1663 until his death. Early life Sheldon was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 J ...

* James Stewart, Duke of Richmond (commission leader) * Dr. Richard Steward (religion only) * Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton

Parliamentarians

* John Crew *

Erasmus Earle Erasmus Earle (15 September 1590 – 10 September 1667) was an English lawyer and politician, who became sergeant-at-law to Oliver Cromwell. Life He was the only son of Thomas Earle of Sall, Norfolk and his wife Anne Founteyn (spellings vary). H ...

(secretary) * Basil Feilding, Earl of Denbigh *

Nathaniel Hardy Nathaniel Hardy (1618–1670) was an English churchman, Dean of Rochester from 1660. Life He was son of Anthony Hardy of London, born in the Old Bailey, 14 September 1618, and was baptised in the church of St. Martin's, Ludgate. After being ed ...

* Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke * Denzil Holles * Stephen Marshall * Algernon Percy, Earl of Northumberland (commission leader) * William Pierrepont (brother of Kingston) * Edmund Prideaux * William Cecil, Earl of Salisbury *

Oliver St John Sir Oliver St John (; c. 1598 – 31 December 1673) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640-53. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Early life St John was the son of Oliver St ...

John Thurloe John Thurloe (June 1616 – 21 February 1668) was an English politician who served as secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell and held the position of Postmaster General between 1655 and 1660. ...

(secretary) * Sir Henry Vane the Younger * Richard Vines * Lord Thomas Wenman *

Bulstrode Whitelocke Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (6 August 1605 – 28 July 1675) was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England. Early life He was the eldest son of Sir James Whitelocke and Elizabeth Bulstrode, and was ...

Scottish

*Robert Barclay *Lord John Bolmerino * Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argile * John Campbell, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (commission leader) *Mr. Cheesly (secretary) *George Dundas * Charles Erskins * Alexander Henderson (religion only) * Sir Archibald Johnston *Hugh Kennedy * Lord John Maitland *Sir John Smith

Notes

{{Reflist

External links

''British Civil Wars'' page''The Uxbridge Treaty, 1645'', BCW Project

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

1645 treaties 1645 in England Proposed treaties History of the London Borough of Hillingdon 17th century in Middlesex Uxbridge