John Claypole 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 Bicameralism, 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 ...

in 1654. He supported the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Biography

Claypole was the son of Adam Claypole of Lolham Hall, Maxey, Northamptonshire, and his wife Dorothy Wingfield, daughter of Robert Wingfield, of Upton, near Castor, Northamptonshire and his wife Elizabeth Cecil, who was sister to

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State (1550–1553 and ...

. His name was spelt in a great variety of ways, including Cleypole, Cleypoole, Chappole, Clappoole, Claipol, and Claypole.

Mark Noble Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of Premier League club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. A fan of the c ...

, ''Memoirs of several persons and families who, by females, are allied to, or descended from the Protectorate-House of Cromwell, chiefly collected from original papers and records. To which is added a catalogue of such persons who were raised to honors or great employments by the Cromwells, with the lives of many of them.'' Volume II, Birmingham, Printed by Pearson and Rollanson, 1784. "Chapter 24 John Cleypole, Esq"
pp. 249–362
/ref> In 1637 Claypole was summoned as a gentleman before the

Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...

, and the attorney-general was ordered to begin a prosecution against him for refusing to pay

ship money Ship money was a tax of medieval origin levied intermittently in the Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed typically on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English monarchs cou ...

. He declared for the Parliament at the start of the Civil War in 1643, and in 1644, he was appointed one of their assessors for the county of Northampton. In 1654, Claypole was elected Member of Parliament for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the H ...

. . He may have been

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

in 1655, as major-general

William Boteler William Boteler (''fl.'' 1640s and 1650s) was a member of the Parliament of England. After the English Civil War, he was appointed Major-General for Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland during the Rule of the Major-General ...

recommends him to

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

, in a letter to him, dated 16 November. Claypole was created a baronet by the Protector on 16 July 1657. Also in 1657, he was made a commissioner with his son, for levying the taxes upon the county of Northampton; to distinguish them, he is called "John Claypole, esq. senior", and his son "Lord Claypole".

Family

Claypole married Mary Angell, the daughter of a wealthy London merchant. They had fourteen children, one of whom was

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1625–1688) who married a daughter of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

(1634–1687) another son, became a merchant, emigrated to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

becoming a prominent member of the colony.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claypole, John Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown English MPs 1654–1655 Roundheads People from Northamptonshire (before 1974)