Colonel Thomas Pride (died 23 October 1658) was a
Parliamentarian commander during the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bi ...
, best known as one of the
regicides of Charles I and as the instigator of
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 ...
.
Personal details
Thomas Pride was born in
Ashcott
Ashcott is a small village and civil parish located in the Sedgemoor area of Somerset in the south-west of England. The village has a population of 1,186. The parish includes the hamlets of Ashcott Corner, Berhill, Buscott, Nythe and Pedwell.
...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
, son of William Pride, a local tradesman. His exact date of birth is unknown but he was apprenticed to a
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
merchant in January 1622 and since the normal age for this was between 14 and 17 years old, he was probably born between 1606 and 1608.
Shortly after his seven-year apprenticeship finished in 1629, he married Elizabeth Tomson, daughter of another London merchant. His 1658 will made bequests to four sons, Thomas, Joseph, William and Samuel, and a daughter, Elizabeth.
Career
Pride went into business for himself as a
brewer
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...
and by the early 1640s owned two brewhouses in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
and possibly one in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. He was also an
ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in the London
Trained bands and 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 Angl ...
began in August 1642, he served as a captain 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 ...
under
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, KB, PC (; 11 January 1591 – 14 September 1646) was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the 17th century. With the start of the Civil War in 1642, he became the first Captain ...
, and was eventually promoted to the rank of colonel. He distinguished himself at the
Battle of Preston in 1648 and with his regiment took part in the military occupation of London in December 1648, which was the first step towards bringing 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 ...
to trial.
Trial of King Charles I
The next step was the expulsion of the
Presbyterian
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 n ...
and
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 gov ...
elements 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. T ...
, who were thought to be prepared to reach a settlement with Charles. This action was resolved by the army council and ordered by the lord general, Fairfax, and was carried out by Colonel Pride's regiment. Taking his stand at the entrance of the House of Commons with a written list in his hand, he caused the arrest or exclusion of the members, who were pointed out to him. After about a hundred members had been thus dealt with, the reduced House of Commons, now reduced to about eighty in number, proceeded to bring the king to trial.
This marked the end of 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 Septe ...
and the beginning of the
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason.
"R ...
.
Pride was one of the trial judges and one of the
regicides of King Charles I, having signed and sealed the king's death warrant. His coat of arms appears on his seal.
Subsequent career
Pride commanded an infantry brigade under
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 ...
at the
Battle of Dunbar (1650)
The Battle of Dunbar was fought between the English New Model Army, under Oliver Cromwell and a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie, on 3 September 1650 near Dunbar, Scotland. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for the Englis ...
and at the
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...
(1651).
He purchased the estate of
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London B ...
in Surrey, and in 1655 was appointed
Sheriff of Surrey
The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066. At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex (1229–1231, 1232–1240, 1242–1567, 1571–1635).
1066–1228
(High Sheriffs of Surrey only)
1229– ...
.
Retirement and knighthood
When the
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execu ...
was established he abandoned his involvement in politics, except in opposing the proposal to confer the kingly dignity on Cromwell. In 1656 he was knighted by Cromwell, then
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 ...
, and was appointed to the second house added to Parliament
as a result of the
Humble Petition and Advice
The Humble Petition and Advice was the second and last codified constitution of England after the Instrument of Government.
On 23 February 1657, during a sitting of the Second Protectorate Parliament, Sir Christopher Packe, a Member of Parliam ...
.
Marriage
He married Elizabeth Monk (born 1628), a daughter of Thomas Monk of
Potheridge
Potheridge (''alias'' Great Potheridge, Poderigge, Poderidge or Powdrich) is a former Domesday Book estate in the parish of Merton, in the historic hundred of Shebbear, 3 miles south-east of Great Torrington, Devon, England. It is the site ...
in Devon by his wife Mary Gould, a daughter of William Gould of Hayes. Elizabeth's uncle was the royalist general
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cruc ...
(1608–1670),
KG, the key figure in effecting the
Restoration of the Monarchy
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
*Restoration ecology
...
to King
Charles II in 1660.
Death
Pride died in 1658 at his home of
Worcester Park House
Worcester Park House, built in 1607, whose ruins are in Surrey, in the United Kingdom, was one of the residences of the 4th Earl of Worcester, who was appointed Keeper of the Great Park of nearby Nonsuch Palace in 1606.
During the English Comm ...
, having bought it and the "Great Park" of
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–83. Its site lies in what is now Nonsuch Park on the boundaries of the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey and the London B ...
, Surrey.
[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e-UIAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA143 ''The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, for the Year 1837''] After the
Restoration of 1660 his body was ordered dug up and suspended on the gallows at
Tyburn
Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and sout ...
along with those of
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
John Bradshaw, though it is said that the sentence was not carried out,
probably because his corpse was too far decayed.
Bibliography
*
Mark Noble
Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder and is well remembered for his time at English club West Ham United, spending eighteen years with the club. Apart from two sh ...
, ''The lives of the English regicides.'' 1798.
*
George Bate
George Bate (1608–1668) was an English court physician.
Bate graduated with an M.D. from St Edmund Hall, Oxford in 1637. Three years later he treated Charles I in Oxford. He was physician to Oliver Cromwell and his family, physician to Charles ...
, ''The lives, actions, and execution of the prime actors, and principall contrivers of that horrid murder of our late pious and sacred soveraigne, King Charles the First.'' 1661.
*
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy.
Born in Ecclefechan, ...
, ''Oliver Cromwell's letters and speeches''
1845.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pride, Thomas
1658 deaths
Regicides of Charles I
People convicted under a bill of attainder
High Sheriffs of Surrey
Year of birth unknown
New Model Army personnel
English generals
Parliamentarian military personnel of the English Civil War
1606 births
People from Sedgemoor (district)
Military personnel from Somerset