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William Strode (1598 – 9 September 1645) was an English 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. ...
variously between 1624 and 1645. He was 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 impeachment and attempted unconstitutional arrest by King Charles I in the House of Commons in 1642 sparked the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
, during which he fought on the Parliamentarian side.


Origins

Strode was the second son of Sir William Strode (d. 1637), MP, of Newnham, Plympton St Mary, Devon, by his first wife Mary Southcote, daughter of Thomas Southcote of
Bovey Tracey Bovey Tracey () is a small town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". It ...
in Devon.


Education

He was admitted as a student of the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wa ...
in 1614, matriculated at
Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...
, in 1617, and took the degree of BA in 1619.


Career

In 1624, Strode was elected
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 ofte ...
for
Bere Alston Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. History and geography With a population of about 2,000, the village lies in the Bere peninsula, between the rivers ...
, and was re-elected MP for Bere Alston in 1625, 1626 and 1628. He opposed
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 ...
from the start, and took a leading part in the disorderly scene of 2 March 1629, when the speaker, Sir John Finch, was held down in the chair after refusing to put the resolution of
Sir John Eliot Sir John Eliot (11 April 1592 – 27 November 1632) was an English statesman who was serially imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he eventually died, by King Charles I for advocating the rights and privileges of Parliament. Early life T ...
against arbitrary taxation and innovations in religion (see Denzil Holles). Strode was prosecuted before the star chamber, but refused "to answer anything done in the House of Parliament but in that House." On 7 May a fresh warrant was issued, and a month later, to prevent his release on bail, he was sent by Charles with two of his fellow members to the Tower. Refusing to give a bond for his good behaviour, he was sentenced to imprisonment during the king's pleasure, and was kept in confinement in various prisons for eleven years. During those eleven years, King Charles ruled without parliament. In January 1640, in accordance with the king's new policy of moderation, Strode was released and on 13 April took his seat as MP for Bere Alston in the
Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks. Aft ...
. He was re-elected for 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 Septemb ...
, which met on 3 November 1640. He was the first to propose parliamentary control over ministerial appointments, the militia, and its own duration, He supported the Grand Remonstrance of 7 November 1641. He zealously pursued the prosecution of Strafford, and actually proposed that all who appeared as the prisoner's counsel should be charged as conspirators in the same treason. As a result, he was included among the Five Members impeached by Charles of
high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
on 3 January 1642. Strode opposed all suggestions of compromise with Charles and urged on the preparations for war. He was present at the Battle of Edgehill on 23 October 1642. He was as relentless in the prosecution of Laud as he had been in that of Strafford. It was he who carried up the message from the Commons to the Lords on 28 November 1644 which desired them to hasten on the ordinance for the archbishop's execution. Strode did not long survive his victim. He is mentioned as having been elected a member of the
Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopte ...
on 31 January 1645. He died on 9 September the same year, and by order of parliament was accorded a public funeral in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. The body was exhumed after the
Restoration 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 * ...
and thrown into a pit in the churchyard of
St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...
, with about twenty other rebels.


Identification

The identity of the W. Strode imprisoned in 1628 and of the W. Strode impeached in 1642 has been questioned, but is now established.J Forster, ''Arrest of the Five Members'', p 198, note; ''Life of Sir J. Eliot'', ed. 1872, ii. 237, note; John Langton Sanford, ''Studies and Illustrations of the Great Rebellion'' (1858), p. 397;
Samuel Rawson Gardiner Samuel Rawson Gardiner (4 March 1829 – 24 February 1902) was an English historian, who specialized in 17th-century English history as a prominent foundational historian of the Puritan revolution and the English Civil War. Life The son of ...
, ''History of England'', ix. 223.
On the other hand, he is to be distinguished from Colonel William Strode of Barrington, also parliamentarian and Member of Parliament, who died in 1666; and from
William Strode William Strode (1598 – 9 September 1645) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1624 and 1645. He was one of the Five Members whose impeachment and attempted unconstitutional arrest by King Charles I i ...
(1602–1645), the orator, poet and dramatist.


References

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strode, William 1598 births 1645 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Lay members of the Westminster Assembly Roundheads Five Members English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of England for Bere Alston Politicians from Plymouth, Devon