THETHE PATRIOTPATRIOT

Newsletter of the John Hampden Society No. 42 - Spring 2005

The John Hampden Society is a registered charity which exists to bring together people with an interest in John Hampden, and to encourage wider knowledge of this great 17th century Parliamentarian, his life and times

pring is just around the corner and GEORGE DOWNING affair as odious although useful to the S it is to be hoped that warmer OF DOWNING STREET – King. Downing was created a baronet weather will soon prevail. As I am typ- in 1663. ing this it is snowing heavily, but by the HERO OR SCOUNDREL ? Downing prospered under Charles II. time you receive your copy of ‘ The Pa- This was the title of a talk given on 5 th He served as Secretary to the Treasury triot’ , this should just be a memory . November to the Cholesbury and Saint Commission and as Head of the Cus- toms Commission. He amassed a huge This year the AGM will be held on 24th Leonard’s Local History Group by Henry Roseveare. personal fortune invested largely in April and once again the Society has been property but financed by income de- granted the use of for this or many members of the John rived in mysterious ways from the offi- event, giving members the opportunity to F Hampden Society Sir George cial positions that he held. His reforms not only walk in the footsteps of John Downing is chiefly remembered as the of the administration of the public fi- Hampden, but also to meet the Executive rogue whom tried to evict Hampden’s nances were fundamental and effective. Committee and discuss your thoughts on mother from her home. Mr The arrangements that he made for the how the Society should progress. Roseveare painted a more rounded sale of public debt (government stock) picture of an arrogant, energetic and paved the way for the policies pursued Unfortunately a poor response was re- talented man . by the Bank of England founded ten years after his death. ceived to the questionnaire circulated with Young George, newly graduated from the Winter edition of ‘ The Patriot’ lead- Harvard College, worked his passage to In 1671 the King sent Downing to Hol- ing to speculation that it is not outings that England in 1645 as Ship’s Chaplain. land as Ambassador specifically to in- most members want. Please give some Coming from a politically active Puritan cite another war between Holland and thought to what activities you would like family he was determined to enlist on England in furtherance of the French to take part in and come along to put for- the side of Parliament. His mother was policy. He was unpopular with the ward your suggestions. If you are unable sister to John Winthrop, the Governor of Dutch and after only three months he to attend, e-mail or post your ideas to the Massachusetts. George’s abilities and fled to England in fear for his life. King Secretary for discussion either at the AGM connections saw him rising quickly Charles was not amused at his unau- thorised return and sent him to the or at a subsequent Committee Meeting. through the ranks. He became Scoutmas- Tower but only for a few weeks. ter General of Cromwell’s Army in Scotland and an MP. Following the AGM there will be a short He was a hardworking member of par- talk about the Battlefield Walks at During he represented liament and sat on a huge number of Turnham Green and Brentford. England at The Hague, a key diplomatic committees, many of which he chaired. posting, and he became one of Crom- Downing was undoubtedly a man of The afternoon always ends with tea and well’s main foreign policy advisers. great political and diplomatic ability, but his character was marked by all the cake, affording the opportunity to relax George detested the Dutch and the feel- ing was mutual. However he was im- mean vices, treachery, avarice, servility and socialise. The Committee hope to see and ingratitude. In New England ‘a as many of you as possible this year. pressed by their system of public fi- nances, and their commercial skills. He George Downing’ became a proverbial Please put this date in your diary and come took the unusual step of learning to read expression for a false man who be- along to make your views known. and write Dutch in order to learn more. trayed those who trusted him. It is said that even Charles II was in awe of a Shrewd political footwork before the man who it was rumoured at one time Restoration saw him aligned with Gen- maintained six mistresses. eral Monck and able to make his peace with the King who confirmed him in his Henry Roseveare was also clearly in official posts. Charles II dispatched him awe of George. A scoundrel - yes. A on a successful undercover mission to hero - maybe. Strangely Mr Roseveare, capture the regicides Barkstead, Corbet a former Professor of History at King's and Okey who were living in exile in College, London, and author of a num- Holland. Okey had once been Down- ber of works on financial history and ing’s commanding officer. the Treasury, omitted to tell his audi- ence that he himself is an alumnus of Samuel Pepys, who worked for Down- Downing College Cambridge. ing, characterised his conduct in this Sam Hearn

BUCKS LOCAL HISTORY THE HOUSE OF WHARTON FAIR & CONFERENCE Part 1 held at The Civic Centre, on th n December, 1915 The House of Saturday 9 October 2004 I Lords Committee for Privileges met to discuss the petition of Mr. Charles nce again the Society was repre- Theodore Halswell Kemeys-Tynte to the O sented at the Fair by members who manned the bookstall and mobile exhi- barony of Wharton, in the peerage of bition, and answered questions about England, then in abeyance. the Society and The Patriot. The Barony was created in 1548 and was hereditary. It was awarded to Thomas Over forty leaflets advertising the Day School Event were given away. Ian Wharton who was the Governor of Carlisle Beckett’s lecture and the introduction to it OX9 2BW and Lord Warden of the Marches. He dis- by David Thorpe generated at great deal of TELEPHONE (01844) 213661 tinguished himself at the Battle of Solway interest in the Society’s stand. It pays to Moss 1 where he led a small force of three advertise. ACCOMODATION, RESTAURANT thousand men against a much larger Scot- & BANQUETING Ian Beckett’s lecture was largely the same tish army. one that he delivered at the Day School The Scotch upon facing the English with- and is reported on elsewhere in this news- WEDDING BELLS draw almost immediately, it is thought letter. It was clear from the audience reac- they believed they were facing only a tion that the Civil War is a popular topic A wedding has been announced and small portion of a much larger army. and that the speaker’s style of delivery will take place between Derek Lester th Wharton’s forces captured two hundred went down well. and Gill Blackshaw on Saturday 4 Scottish nobles, eight hundred soldiers and The next lecture ‘The household accounts June at St Mary’s Parish Church, twenty four cannon. James V took the of Sir Edward Don of Horsenden a Tudor , with a reception and news of this defeat badly. He died three ceilidh afterwards in Chalgrove Vil- Gentleman’ did not a first sight seem weeks later at Falkirk Palace and his lage Hall. promising material. However Professor daughter, Mary 2, who was only six days Griffith’s soft welsh cadences would have Derek is member of the Society’s old, succeeded him. made even the telephone directory sound Executive Committee, and Command- interesting. For students of Hampden, Sir ing Officer of Col. John Hampden’s Wharton’s seat was Shap Abbey, situated Edward Don’s Household Accounts Regiment of Foote in the English Civil between Kendal and Penrith in Westmor- (published by the Bucks Records Society) War Society. Gill is Clerk to Chal- land, The family is said to derive its name are particularly interesting. There are sev- grove Parish Council, and an admirer from a ‘fair Lordship’ upon the River eral references in the book to The Patriot’s of Prince Rupert. Eden. Thomas Wharton was summoned to great grandfather, Sir John Hampden, who Parliament in 1544 to serve Henry VIII was a near neighbour of Sir Edward. Both Although John Hampden’s Ale is only until 1546. He was later promoted by the men were knighted by Henry VIII in normally available in bottle, Richard strongly Protestant Lord Protector, Somer- France in 1513. Jenkinson of the Chiltern Brewery is set 3, and later by another strong but reck- supplying a couple of barrels on less Protestant Protector, Northumberland. Dr Leigh Shaw Taylor provided a fascinat- draught especially for the reception. ing insight into property ownership in He also served both Queen Mary and, in Bucks and the impact of parliamentary his old age, Queen Elizabeth. enclosures on rights to common land. Suf- Queen Elizabeth granted Letters Patent to fice to say that Dr Leigh is challenging Thomas Wharton in 1566 for permission many of the long held assumptions about to establish a Free Grammar School in his the effects of enclosure and the scale of access of the wider rural population to name at Kirkby-Stephen, Cumberland. common land. Thomas, the first Lord Wharton, died in 1568 and is buried in St. Stephens Church, Richard Wheeler’s enjoyable discourse on where there is an unusual monument. His West Wycombe: an 18 th Century land- Is Your Life Complex? statue lies between his two wives, Eleanor scape of politics, sex and nature, rounded The Special Risks Bureau has been and Anne. There is an Latin inscription off a great day. Many of us will be heading created to help those who might find beneath the tomb 4 which is humourously back to West Wycombe with a deeper ap- obtaining life assurance difficult by translated thus: preciation of both the politics and the per- virtue of a previous medical condition, versions of the Dashwoods. It was unfortu- hazardous pursuits or occupations or Here I, Thomas Wharton, do lie, expatriate residency. nate that although the speaker was pre- With Lucifer under my head, pared to quote several salacious poetic Special Risks Bureau Ltd And Nelly my wife hard bye, Latin inscriptions used at West Wycombe 46a Duke Street he would not translate them. Chelmsford And Nancy as cold as lead. CM1 1JA O, how can I speak without dread? The Society would like to thank Maurice Tel: 01245 491417 Kirtland, Valerie Horne, Liz Morris and See www.specialrisksbureau.com Who could my sad fortune abide? Sam Hearn for volunteering to represent Special Risks Bureau Ltd is an With one devil under my head, the Society at the Fair. Anyone who appointed representative of Johnston And another laid close on each side wishes to help out next year should contact Financial Services Ltd who are the Hon. Secretary. For those interested in Authorised and regulated by the And another laid close on each side. Financial Services Authority local history the Fair is an event not to be (continued on page 3) missed. 2 (continued from page 2) Earl of Sussex. He married Frances Clif-

His son and heir, also called Thomas, ford in June, 1577 in the presence of the 6 was devoted to the Catholic Princess Queen at St. Mary’s Overy, Southwark . Mary Tudor. Thomas was Steward of In spite of entertaining James I at Wharton her Household before her succession and Hall in 1617, it brought him little success DIARY DATES the fall of Northumberland. He was her of advancement at Court. His daughter, escort to Framlingham Castle, Suffolk Margaret, married Edward Lord Wotton 2005 during the abortive attempt to get the who was a Privy Councillor and Treasurer Wednesday 30th March Protestant Lady Jane Grey on the throne. of King James’ Household, but Wotton’s Mary was proclaimed Queen in July, career ended when he was excluded from The Buckingham Archaelogical & 1553. the Court on the accession of Charles I for Historical Society - an illustrated talk on being a Catholic. John Hampden at The University of For his services he became Master of the Buckingham, 7.30 p.m . Henchmen, a Privy Councillor, Sheriff Sunday 24th April of Cumberland and Warden of the East and Middle Marches. He was granted Remains of Wharton The Society’s Annual General Meeting. manors in Essex and Steward of several Hall, Kirkby-Stephen 2.30 pm, in the Great Hall, Hampden crown estates in Yorkshire. He was a House, Great Hampden. Member of Parliament between 1542 Saturday 18th June and 1559. The Society’s Annual Dinner at The Spread Eagle Hotel, Thame. Thomas travelled with the Earl of Arun- Free Grammar del to Southampton in 1554 to invest School, founded by All meetings commence at 8 pm, unless Philip of Spain with the Order of the 1st Lord Wharton otherwise stated. Garter. He was a witness to Mary’s will in 1558, and on the accession of Eliza- For up-to-date information, see the Diary page on the Society’s website at: beth he was excluded from Parliament and in 1561 sent to the Tower for carry- Tomb of Thomas, 1st www.johnhampden.org/diary.htm ing out unlawful religious practices. Lord Wharton, in St. Stephens Church Whilst he was in the Tower his wife died and he submitted his ‘wrong doings’ and professed enemy of Popery and profanes, a was released all within a couple of Another of the third Baron’s family, Sir true friend of all godly preachers, fre- months. During the Northern Rebel- 7 5 George Wharton , had a reputation for quenting God’s house several times on the lion , Cecil said, “Lords Scrope and being a quarrelsome young man. The King Lord’s Day”. The Puritan Sir Thomas died Wharton lie still and do nothing”. Tho- managed to stop a duel between him and in 1622 when his eldest son was only nine mas died in 1572 and is buried in West- the Earl of Pembroke over cards. years old. Three years later the third Lord minster Abbey, his father having died Wharton died and the title passed on to the However, in another incident in 1609 only three years earlier. twelve year old grandson, Philip. again over cards, Sir George and Sir James

Thomas, the second Lord Wharton, died Stuart, a royal favourite, fought a duel leaving a minor to succeed him. Philip, with swords; “at the first thrust each of Mike Portsmouth his son, thus became the third Lord them killed each other and fell dead in Wharton and was brought up as a Protes- each other’s arms”. The King ordered that 1Situated five miles north of Carlisle between tant under Lord Burleigh and the Earl of they be both buried together at Blantyre. the Rivers Esk and Lyne. Sussex as a royal ward. When he was 2 eighteen years old he was travelling the This disaster ended any hope of the Whar- Mary Queen of Scots. continent and was in Paris when the tons advancing themselves at Court. In 3 Wharton was one of the Peers who tried and massacre of St. Bartholomew was taking fact James I’s lavishness in an age of infla- condemned the Duke of Somerset in 1551. place (August 1572). He was sheltered tion brought hardships to many Peers. 4 There is also a replica of this tomb at by the English Ambassador Wharton at the turn of the century had an Healaugh in Yorkshire, where the family moved Walsingham. Wharton’s school master income of just over two thousand pounds their seat to. Thomas’ descendants were was slain and he and Philip Sydney were per annum and in 1626 this had been re- brought up as Yorkshiremen. It is also disputed ordered home. duced to just over four thousand pounds as to which tomb he is actually buried in. per annum. The Manor in Essex, the gift of 5 In November 1569 the Earls of Northumber- Queen Mary, was lost in this period. land and Westmorland, Percy and Neville, started a ‘religious’ rebellion by celebrating Philip Wharton’s second son, another Tho- mass in Durham Cathedral and set off to res- mas, married Philadelphia Carey, daughter cue Mary Queen of Scots from Tutbury Castle of the Earl of Monmouth. Sir Thomas did in Staffordshire. They were eventually de- not wish to pursue a career at Court, so he feated. Northumberland was later executed. co-purchased Aske Hall in Yorkshire and 6 Frances Clifford’s brother, George, also mar- shared it with his widowed cousin, Lady ried on the same date and place. He married Philip – 3rd Lord Wharton Bowes, sister-in-law of the wife of John Margaret, daughter of the Second Earl of Bed- Philip became a Member of Parliament Knox. During this period Sir Thomas be- ford. Their daughter was the famous lady Anne in 1580 and was present at the christen- came deeply Calvinist and was the first Clifford. Lord Wharton was her godfather. ing in August, 1594 at the Chapel Royal Puritan Wharton. The Minister of Morley 7 Married Ann Manners, daughter of the Earl Stirling Castle of Prince Henry, with the describes Sir Thomas thus, “He was the of Rutland. 3

CROMWELL ASSOCIATION This poem was submitted by Beryl Cross, whose ancestors farmed in the Chilterns Day School - 2005 and who loves this part of . She states that Hampden was a hero of hers since she first learned about him. An account of the march from Thame to Hamp- he Secretary of The Cromwell Asso- den’s burial place, which she read many years ago, remained vividly in her mind and T ciation has advised The John Hamp- inspired her poem: den Society that it hopes to hold this year’s Day School in November at The Royal LAST MARCH OF Armouries in Leeds. JOHN HAMPDEN’S ARMY The arrangements still need to be finalised Once more I hear the tramp of marching feet but details will be published in the Asso- And see those sombre faces as we stride ciation’s newsletter in July and in the Over the Chiltern hills; bereft, deplete. Autumn edition of ‘The Patriot’ . Our solemn pace a rhythmed, measured beat Timed to the deadened drum, we bear our pride. Once more I hear the tramp of marching feet.

That day all fighting ceased, psalms bitter-sweet From hearts grief-laden echoed, multiplied Over the Chiltern Hills; bereft, deplete.

We trudged, our arms reversed, your winding sheet, Your coffin, at the head, your horse beside. Once more I hear the tramp of marching feet.

On beech-fringed paths, our goal your country seat, We walked from Thame, your death-place, God our guide , Over the Chiltern Hills; bereft, deplete.

Now at this harvest time - golden with wheat, I stand before your tomb, head bowed, sad eyed. Professors John Morrill and Blair Worden Once more I hear the tramp of marching feet [right], two of the speakers at the joint Day Over the Chiltern Hills; bereft, deplete. School last November Beryl Cross

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Telephone: 01494 452921 Lord Buckinghamshire Haines Watts, Sterling House 5 Buckingham Place, Bellfield Road West studying the portrait of , Bucks, HP13 5HQ his ancestor displayed at the ‘Buckinghamshire in www.hwca.com/highwycombe the Civil War’ Exhibition.

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JOHN HAMPDEN AND THE PROVIDENCE ISLAND COMPANY Part 1

can still remember how Providence Island first caught my attention. As a callow teenager the books of C V Wedgwood had I been recommended to me as an excellent introduction to the . It was whilst ploughing through the elegant prose of ‘The King’s Peace’ that I first caught sight of this Island. I discovered to my surprise that John Hampden, along with fellow ‘leading Puritan Adventurers’, had been a shareholder in something called the Providence Island Company. This body, influenced by Puritan ideals and interests, had converted its antagonism to the Crown into actively promoting the establishment of English settlements in the Caribbean in the 1630’s.

In a couple of pages Wedgwood painted an extraordinary picture of Puritan settlers planted on the islands of Provi- dence, Association and Henrietta. This Godly band quickly set about creating a world of primitive virtue where cards and dice were banned along with whoring and profanity. As a special concession chess was apparently tolerated. A Calvinist min- ister, carefully chosen, for his godliness was sent home in disgrace for the crime of ‘singing catches on a Sunday’. During their brief decade on Providence Island the settlers were assailed, according to Wedgwood, by a multitude of prob- lems. The might of the Spanish Empire proved an ever present threat, African Nicaragua slaves imported to work the land grew mutinous, a plague of rats swept the Is- land and the tobacco and cotton crops Cos ta R Panama failed. The idealistic Puritan shareholders ica then turned to licensing pirate captains in exchange for a share of the loot. This was heady mix for an impressionable teenager; a desert island, pirates, treasure, slaves, rats and puritan fanatics. Where exactly was Providence Island or Santa Catalina as Wedgwood insisted on calling it? Most confusing of all was John Hamp- den’s involvement. How had Bucking- hamshire’s hero come to be mixed up in all this? Over the years Providence Island surfaced as a footnote in several books but none added much to Wedgwood’s narrative. The Island had a strong grip on my imagination and yet I could not find it on a map. Could it perhaps be off the coast of the Dominican Republic? In June 2000 the present Lord Saye and Sele addressed the Society’s annual dinner. This was a stroke of luck. I knew that in the 1630’s the then Lord Saye and Sele had been not only a close colleague of Hampden but also a substantial investor in the Providence Island Company. Lord Saye was happy to talk about his ancestor and to lend me a copy of Karen Ordhal Kupperman’s book, ‘Providence Island 1630 – 1641 the other Puritan Colony’. It is through reading this book that many of my original questions were answered but a host of others were raised. To be continued. This article is based on the notes prepared for the talk delivered by Sam Hearn at the Society’s annual dinner in June 2002. Part 2 of this interesting article will appear in a future edition of ‘The Patriot’.

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HAMPDEN IN THE DNB he new edition of the Dictionary of implying a birth date of about June Professor Russell points out that in 1635 T National Biography , published by 1595.’ Hampden owed in some the University Press and now dozen Bucks parishes, but declined to available in most public libraries and This is an amazing piece of new (or, pay the assessments only for Stoke Man- online at www.oxforddnb.com, has a perhaps, newly-discovered) information, deville and Great Kimble. completely revised section about John and, if true, puts the dates of Hampden’s Hampden, running to some 7½ pages. birth and death in the same month. So The whole of Lord Russell’s contribution This was written by Professor Conrad perhaps the Society’s Annual Dinner on John Hampden makes fascinating Russell (pictured) , better known as the should mark both in future. reading, though, without wishing to deni- 5th Earl Russell of Liverpool, latterly grate the style of the late Professor, you Professor of British History at King’s have to work at it! It certainly adds to our College, London, and a former Professor store of knowledge of the Patriot. of History at Yale University. As a professional historian, Russell is Dr Maija Jansson knew him well there rightly dispassionate about his subject over a long period of time, and writes, and, unlike the members of this Society, “Conrad was a great encouragement to he does not bestow unqualified admira- my teaching and research, although I tion upon our hero - indeed, he is at times took issue with him on his revisionist critical of Hampden’s behaviour. He does views. He was an archival historian, agree with Clarendon, however, that knew the sources well, and wrote history Hampden’s influence was due to his to be read. There is a generation of histo- skills of man-management. ‘As an organ- rians that grew up knowing Conrad and iser, a man of affairs, and the person ca- were much saddened by his death. He pable of holding a cause together, he was was a considerate and most generous of the highest standard.’ man, helpful to all who came his way. He Conrad Russell concludes that even if will be sorely missed in a world of schol- Hampden’s claims to fame over Ship arship too often rent by factional battles Money and The were and politics”. taken away, he ‘would deserve a reputa-

Earl Russell was a formidable historian Times The tion as one of the key members of the in- who published six books on the 17 th cen- tellectual and political powerhouse which However, we appear to have the edge on fashioned the parliamentarian cause in tury and the English Civil War period, so Lord Russell as far as John Hampden’s it is sad that he died in October 2004, just the English Civil War. He was a politi- personal life is concerned. He states that cian of no ordinary skill, whose day after the new DNB was published. He Hampden had 10 children (all the pedi- was the son of the famous philosopher might have come again in the negotia- grees show 9), and that the names of two tions for peace after the war was over; he Bertrand Russell, and a great-grandson of of the daughters are unknown (they are the Victorian Prime Minister Lord John is a man without whom the history of the first Mary, who died in infancy, and England might have been very different.’ Russell, who was an architect of the 1832 Judith.) Reform Bill and a scion of the Bedford Who among us would disagree with that? family. Conrad Russell reiterates the comments made by Professor John Morrill at our Roy Bailey With such a pedigree it is almost inevita- recent Joint Day School - that the Hamp- ble that Conrad Russell was known as a dens at the time of the future Patriot’s leading philosopher, had a deep interest th birth were not punching their weight HELP!!! in the events of the 17 century, and sat among Buckinghamshire society. He also in the House of Lords as a Liberal De- disagrees with the previous research Would you be interested in offering your mocrat. In fact he came top in his party in which suggested that the family owned assistance to the Society Secretary or Treas- the elections to retain some hereditary land in four or five counties, stating that, urer? The Secretary would welcome assis- peers in 1999. ‘The estate was compact, being all within tance with the Minutes of meetings whilst the Treasurer would be interested in hearing Lord Russell’s obituary in The Times Buckinghamshire except for some lands in Edgware, Middlesex.’ He also con- from anyone who would be willing to take stated that he was recognised as a signifi- over the Society accounts in due course. The cant figure in the so-called revisionist cludes that Hampden was not as wealthy as had previously been thought. Society also wonders whether any member school of British history, and his work has experience of archiving, who would be challenged both contemporary and his- Naturally Ship Money is dealt with by able to offer assistance in this field. torical ideas of Britain. So it is hardly Russell at some length, and his conclu- surprising that his research on John sions are revealing. Please give this some thought, and if you feel Hampden has thrown up some fascinat- able to help, contact a member of the ing new material. For instance, the head- He maintains that Hampden’s motive Committee to discuss the matter further . ing of the entry reads ‘ Hampden, John ‘was not to set out on a disruptive cam- (1595-1643) , politician, born about June paign of tax refusal; it was to secure a 1595…’ Hitherto, all authorities have court judgement on the legality of the de- Published by stated that Hampden was born in 1594, mand being made upon him. Once he had but Russell writes, ‘His father fell ill that judgement, however narrow and The John Hampden Society while visiting his cousin and namesake however pyrric, there is no suggestion of Little Hampden, Cryers Hill William Hampden of Ennington any refusal to pay on his part. Hampden High Wycombe, Bucks HP15 6JS (presumably Emington) , Oxfordshire. Af- was campaigning for the principles of the Tel: 07985 607224 ter a week’s illness he died, aged twenty- rule of law and taxation by consent, not e-mail: [email protected] six, on 2 April 1597, leaving two sons. for an arbitrary right to refuse any tax he John was reported by the inquisition post did not like’. Web Site: www.johnhampden.org/ mortem as aged one year and ten months, Registered charity no. 1098314

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