Henry Scobell (baptised 1610; died 1660) was an English Parliamentary official, and editor of official publications. He was clerk to 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 wrote on parliamentary procedure and precedents.

Life

Initially under-clerk of the parliaments, Scobell became

Clerk of the House of Commons The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England. The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of C ...

from 5 January 1649, his predecessor Henry Elsynge having resigned. Scobell also held a position as censor of publications, and then was

Clerk of the Parliaments The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parlia ...

for life with effect from 14 May 1649. He was the first editor, from 9 October 1649, of ''Severall Proceedings in Parliament'', an early official newspaper, and the second of Parliament's publications. In 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 ...

, Scobell found himself in the middle of the clashes leading to its dissolution in 1653. He remained Clerk to

Barebone's Parliament Barebone's Parliament, also known as the Little Parliament, the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints, came into being on 4 July 1653, and was the last attempt of the English Commonwealth to find a stable political form before the inst ...

. From 1655 Scobell became Clerk 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 ...

, a large jump in status, in succession to John Thurloe and sharing the position with William Jessop. Up to then he had been for a period an assistant secretary to the council. In 1658, as a preliminary to the Savoy Assembly, Scobell called together elders of Independent churches from the London area, in the house of George Griffith (bishop). He himself was an elder of the Congregational church of John Rowe, meeting 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 ...

. In October 1659 he was one of those calling on George Monck to intervene in the vacuum of power after the death of

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 ...

Works

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Notes

External links

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Henry Scobell: King Charles I Trial - UK Parliament Living Heritage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scobell, Henry 17th-century births 1660 deaths Clerks of the House of Commons Clerks of the Parliaments