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Deposit Guide Contact: email The Political and Cultural Career of Philip Sidney, Lord Viscount Lisle, Third Earl of Leicester, 1619-1698: Nobility and Identity in the Seventeenth Century Hilary Maddicott Birkbeck College University of London 2014 Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 The work presented in this thesis is my own 2 Abstract The Political and Cultural Career of Philip Sidney, Lord Viscount Lisle, Third Earl of Leicester, 1619-1698: Nobility and Identity in the Seventeenth Century This thesis provides for the first time a detailed examination of the political and cultural career of the Philip Sidney, generally known by his courtesy title of Lord Lisle. Lord Lisle was one of the members of the court nobility who joined the parliamentarian opposition to Charles I in the 1640s and whose most eminent figures have not recently been the subject of individual biographies. Unlike the rest of his class, however, Lisle, appointed a councillor of state, supported the new governments of both the Commonwealth and Protectorate; he even returned to opposition to the crown in the Exclusion Crisis. It is suggested that such a stance was surprising, given Lisle’s descent from a family elevated to the peerage through service at court and financially dependent on court patronage. In addition, it is shown that Lisle was conscious of the requirements of noble status and sought to maintain the style of life expected of one of his class. To explain this paradox, it is argued that Lisle constructed his identity on the perceived image of his celebrated namesake and great-uncle, Sir Philip Sidney. Above all he was influenced in his move to political opposition by the reputation of Sir Philip as defender of Protestantism against the perils of popery and arbitrary government. Offering more than an account of one man’s political career and his cultural interests in art collecting and literary patronage, this thesis also provides new insights into the nature of religious affiliation in the Civil Wars and beyond, the factional politics of the mid 1640s, the inner workings of the Protectorate and the emergence of changed values after the Restoration. 3 Preface As with all academic productions, the thesis would have been impossible to write without the help of friends, family and experts in the subject. I would like to take the opportunity of expressing my gratitude to them all. Firstly, I would like to thank Jeremy Wood and Claire Tilbury, then of the Brookes University, Oxford, for recommending the topic of Lord Lisle’s art collection as a subject for a Master’s dissertation in the History of Art which I was then studying. Without their suggestion I would probably never have come across Lisle nor have been tempted to investigate his career further. They, in turn would probably be happy to acknowledge the role of the late Francis Haskell in rediscovering the importance of Lisle as an art collector in his lectures of 1994. Later Haskell himself encouraged me in the publication of an article on Lisle’s art collection of the 1650s, for which I have always been immensely grateful. Research on Lisle’s wider career has been possible only with the unfailing help of his descendant, Philip Sidney, Viscount De L’Isle. Not only has he readily given permission to consult the Sidney papers, but he proved an exemplary host at the 2003 Penshurst conference on the ‘Textures of Life at Penshurst Place, 1552-1743’, where I had the chance to meet other scholars involved in Sidney studies. I am very grateful to him for his support over many years. My thanks also go to Robert Lindsay, earl of Crawford and Balcarres, who, on my inquiry as to the whereabouts of a catalogue of the 1701 sale of Leicester’s pictures sent – by return of post and unasked – a photocopy of the complete catalogue. I owe much to his kindness in providing what has proved to be an invaluable research tool. Of the scholars who have provided information and encouragement over the years, I would like to single out Ian Green, Patrick Little, Germaine Warkentin and Blair Worden, for especial thanks. I am also indebted to John Cloake, the historian of Richmond, for material on the history of Lisle’s estate at Sheen and, not least, for a memorable expedition to explore the site of Lisle’s estate there, now the Royal Mid- Surrey Golf club. Drs Faramerz Dabhoiwala and Johanneke Sytsema helped me with the translations of seventeenth-century diplomatic Dutch. Of the many librarians and archivists who have provided documents with unfailing efficiency and helpfulness, I am particularly indebted to Robin Harcourt Williams, archivist at Hatfield House, for finding sources I would never have discovered for myself on my visit there and to Robin Darwall-Smith, archivist at University College, Oxford, for sending me Sidney 4 references during the closure of the college archives. My family has also provided vital assistance without which the thesis could never have been completed: John in having an eye to proof-reading the text, not to mention the buying or borrowing of key books for my initial research, and (inevitably), the grandchildren, Thea and Alex Hewett, in producing the IT graphics needed for the genealogical tables. My greatest debt, however, is owed to my two supervisors, the late Barry Coward and Laura Stewart. Barry’s calm but always acute judgment was a never- failing source of inspiration; I am very sorry that he did not live to see the completion of this thesis. Laura’s challenging and detailed criticisms have always provided a standard of excellence in writing which I have tried to emulate. It is largely thanks to her energy and enthusiasm that have I got as far as completion. Having finished the substance of the thesis, I requested and was allowed by Stephen Roberts to read the unpublished draft of the History of Parliament’s biography of Lord Lisle. As I guessed it might, it introduced me to yet another piece of information on Lisle, a reference in John Moore’s Parliamentary diary. This, with thanks and due acknowledgment, I was able to incorporate into the thesis. For the rest, I have made no attempt to check my text against the impeccable scholarship of the History of Parliament’s biography. All the mistakes in this thesis – and they are probably all too apparent – are my own, as authors customarily and ruefully admit. My heartfelt thanks, nevertheless, to all those who have so generously helped me over the years to complete this thesis. 5 Contents Preface 4 Abbreviations 8 Introduction 10 1. Background to the career of Philip Sidney, Lord Viscount Lisle 1. The Sidney family in the early seventeenth century 30 2. The education of Philip Sidney, Lord Lisle 34 3. First steps in a career, 1640-2 42 2. Lisle’s career, 1642-5: Irish rebellion and English politics 1. Ireland, 1642-3 55 2.English politics, 1643-5 67 3. Lisle and the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland, 1645-7 1. The Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland, 1645-September 1646 77 2. The Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland, September 1646-January 1647 89 3. Munster, February-April 1647 97 4. English Politics 1647-54: From Parliament to the Council of State 1. English Politics, 1647-9 106 2. A Councillor of State under the Commonwealth, 1649-52 116 3. Ambassador to Sweden, 1652-3 129 5. Lisle and English politics, 1653-60 1. A Councillor of State under the Nominated Assembly, 1653 135 2. A Councillor of State under the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, 1653-8 140 3. A Privy Councillor under the Protectorate of Richard Cromwell, 1658-9; the return of the Rump and the collapse of the Republic, 1659-60 164 6. Retirement, an earldom, and a return to politics, 1660-88 1. The years of retirement, 1660-77 171 2. An earldom and a return to politics, 1678-88 181 7. Cultural career, 1640-98 1. Literary patronage, 1672-98 190 2. A collector of works of art, 1640-95 195 6 8. Family and Finance, 1640-1700 1. Honour and profit: Lisle’s finances, 1640-60 204 2. A troubled inheritance: Lisle’s financial problems, 1645-83 213 3. The years of recovery: his financial legacy, 1682-1700 222 Conclusion 230 Appendix A: Line of descent of the Sidney family 241 Appendix B: Sidney family relationships to the earls of Manchester 242 and Pembroke Appendix C: Sidney family relationships to the earls of Northumberland, Essex, 243 Warwick and Newport Appendix D: Map of Ireland showing place named in chapters two and three 244 Appendix E: Sir Charles Sedley, The character of Lord Leicester 245 Appendix F: Table of Lisle’s attendances at the Councils of State 246 Appendix G: Calendar of Lisle’s letters 248 Bibliography 251 7 Abbreviations A&O C.H. Firth and R.S. Rait, eds, Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, 1642-1660 , 3 vols (1911) Add.