Henry Mildmay
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Mildmay was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons
at various times between 1621 and 1659. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War
and was one of the Regicide
s of Charles I of England
.
Mildmay was knighted in 1617 and made Master of the Jewel Office
in 1618. In 1621, Mildmay was elected Member of Parliament
for Maldon
. He was elected MP for Westbury
in 1624 and Maldon again in 1625 and 1628. He sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years He attended Charles I on a visit to Scotland in 1639.
In April 1640 Mildmay was elected MP for Maldon in the Short Parliament
. He was re-elected MP for Maldon in the Long Parliament
in November 1640 He supported parliament during the Civil War and was a revenue commissioner between 1645 and 1652. In 1646 he was left as hostage in Scotland. He remained in the Rump Parliament
after Pride's Purge
and was present at the trial of Charles I.
Mildmay was a member of the Councils of State from 1649 until 1652. He was called on to account for the king's jewels in 1660 and attempted to escape. He was disgraced and sentenced to imprisonment for life. In 1664 a warrant was issued for his transportation to Tangier, and he died at Antwerp on the way.
, where he entertained James I
in June of that year.
In April 1620 he was appointed Master of the King's Jewel House
, on 8 August following entered Gray's Inn, and was elected M.P. for Maldon, Essex, of which he became chief steward on 20 December. He was chosen one of the tilters before the king on the anniversary of his accession, 24 March 1622. On 3 February 1624 he was returned to the Happy Parliament
for Westbury, Wiltshire.
In the first parliament of Charles I reign (conviened on On 12 April 1625) Sir Henry sat again for Maldon (known as the Useless Parliament
). He also represented Maldon the parliament of 1627–8, and in the Short
and Long
parliaments of 1640. In parliament he took part in the great debate on the foreign policy of the crown, 6 August 1625, when, as a friend of Buckingham, he proposed a vote of money for completing the equipment of the fleet against Spain.
On 5 May 1627 Charles suspended a statute of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, for the removal of fellows at the time of commencing doctors, or within one year thereafter. Sir Henry being anxious, as grandson of Sir Walter Mildmay
, the founder, to maintain the statute, offered to annex five or six new benefices to the college within six years, and thus obtained its revocation. On 4 August 1630 he was appointed a commissioner for compounding with persons selected for knighthood, and likewise a collector. In 1639 he accompanied Charles I
on his expedition to Scotland, and maintained an interesting correspondence with Secretary Francis Windebank
. As deputy-lieutenant of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex
he endeavoured in May 1640 to collect the "conduct-money" in that county, but found the task little to his liking. On 21 April 1641 he voted against the bill for the attainder of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford
.
Sir Henry eventually deserted the king, and was appointed one of the committee of the commons on 9 September 1641. The parliament, regarding him as an important acquisition, refused, despite its ordinance, to expel him for his notorious peculation (Declaration of the King concerning the Proceedings of this Present Parliament, 12 August 1642; and allowed him to retain his salary as master of the jewel-house. He made himself useful by acting as master of the ceremonies to foreign ambassadors, and was an active committeeman for Essex.
In November 1643 he got into trouble with parliament by saying of Philip, Lord Wharton
, who had raised a regiment for the parliamentary service, and subsequently became a member of the council of state, "that he had made his peace at Oxon, and therefore was not fit to be entrusted with any public trust". After endeavouring to shift the blame on Lord Murray he thought it prudent to absent himself from the house. (It was not he but a cousin Sir Henry Mildmay of Woodham Walters and Moulsham who on 17 June 1645 vainly claimed, by petition, the barony of Fitzwalter
; From 1645 to 1652 he was a commissioner for the revenue.
By reason of his wealth Sir Henry was one of the hostages left with the Scots in December 1646. In January 1648, on the debate upon the letters of the Scottish commissioners, he made a long speech in praise of Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll
, and moved that the latter be paid his £10,000, and the rest of the Scottish debts be continued at interest at 8 per cent. For his "good service" in Hampshire at the trial of Captain John Burley he received the thanks of parliament on 2 February 1648.
Sir Henry was nominated one of the king's judges, and attended the trial
on 23 January 1649, but abstained from signing the warrant. He was a member of the councils of state elected in 1649, 1650, 1651, and 1652, and sat on the committee appointed to consider the formation of a West India Company
, and the regulation of the fishing upon the British coasts. In July 1649 parliament ordered the sum of £2,000. which he had lent to Charles I to be repaid him with interest from the fund accumulated by sales of cathedral lands.
When, in the summer of 1650, news reached London that Charles II had landed in Scotland, Sir Henry, who had often been sent on a commission to inquire into the state of the late king's three younger children, suggested, as a matter of public safety, that they should be immured in Carisbrooke Castle
, of which his brother Anthony was governor. Thenceforward he ceased to take a prominent part in affairs, though he signed the remonstrance promoted on 22 September 1656 by Sir Arthur Hesilrige on behalf of the excluded members.
On 15 May 1660 Sir Henry was ordered, to attend the committee appointed to consider Charles II's
reception, and give an account of the whereabouts of the crowns, robes, sceptres, and jewels belonging to the king. He attempted to escape abroad, but was seized by Lord Winchelsea at Rye, Sussex, and was excepted out of the General Pardon Bill
. On his petition he was ordered to be committed to the custody of the serjeant-at-arms
instead of to the Tower of London
. On 1 July 1661 he was brought to the bar of the House of Commons, and after evidence had been produced against him, and he had been made to confess his guilt, he was degraded from his honours and titles. He was likewise sentenced to be drawn every year on the anniversary of the king's sentence (27 January) upon a sledge through the streets to and under the gallows at Tyburn, with a rope about his neck, and so back to the Tower, there to remain a prisoner during his life. In a petition to the House of Lords, dated 25 July, he prayed for commiseration, alleging that he was present at the trial only to seek some opportunity of saving the king's life. On 31 March 1664 a warrant was issued for Mildmay's transportation to Tangier, but on account of his feeble health he was allowed a servant. He died, after setting out on the journey, between April 1664 and May 1665 at Antwerp. where a friend had a picture taken of him as he lay dead, to confute the popular notion that no regicide could die a natural death. Most of his vast accumulations were forfeited to the crown, his estate at Wanstead being granted to James, Duke of York
.
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
at various times between 1621 and 1659. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and was one of the Regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
s of Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
.
Mildmay was knighted in 1617 and made Master of the Jewel Office
Master of the Jewel Office
The Master of the Jewel Office is a position in the British Royal Household. The holders are responsible for running the Jewel Office, which holds the Sovereign's jewellry.-Masters of the Jewel Office:*1445–1448: John Merston*1465–1483: Thomas Vaughan...
in 1618. In 1621, Mildmay was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Maldon
Maldon (UK Parliament constituency)
Maldon is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
. He was elected MP for Westbury
Westbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Westbury was a parliamentary constituency in Wiltshire from 1449 to 2010. It was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, and then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801...
in 1624 and Maldon again in 1625 and 1628. He sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years He attended Charles I on a visit to Scotland in 1639.
In April 1640 Mildmay was elected MP for Maldon in the Short Parliament
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
. He was re-elected MP for Maldon in the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
in November 1640 He supported parliament during the Civil War and was a revenue commissioner between 1645 and 1652. In 1646 he was left as hostage in Scotland. He remained in the Rump Parliament
Rump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
after Pride's Purge
Pride's Purge
Pride’s Purge is an event in December 1648, during the Second English Civil War, when troops under the command of Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed from the Long Parliament all those who were not supporters of the Grandees in the New Model Army and the Independents...
and was present at the trial of Charles I.
Mildmay was a member of the Councils of State from 1649 until 1652. He was called on to account for the king's jewels in 1660 and attempted to escape. He was disgraced and sentenced to imprisonment for life. In 1664 a warrant was issued for his transportation to Tangier, and he died at Antwerp on the way.
Biography
Mildmay was second son of Humphrey Mildmay (d. 1613) of Danbury Place, Essex, by Mary (1560–1633), daughter of Henry Capel of Little Hadham, Hertfordshire, He was brought up at court, and excelled in all manly exercises. Clarendon terms him a "great flatterer of all persons in authority, and a spy in all places for them", On 9 August 1617 Mildmay, being then one of the king's sewers, was knighted at Kendal. In 1619 he made a wealthy match, through the king's good offices, and bought Wanstead House, Essex, of the George Villiers, Marquis of BuckinghamGeorge Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
, where he entertained James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
in June of that year.
In April 1620 he was appointed Master of the King's Jewel House
Master of the Jewel Office
The Master of the Jewel Office is a position in the British Royal Household. The holders are responsible for running the Jewel Office, which holds the Sovereign's jewellry.-Masters of the Jewel Office:*1445–1448: John Merston*1465–1483: Thomas Vaughan...
, on 8 August following entered Gray's Inn, and was elected M.P. for Maldon, Essex, of which he became chief steward on 20 December. He was chosen one of the tilters before the king on the anniversary of his accession, 24 March 1622. On 3 February 1624 he was returned to the Happy Parliament
Happy Parliament
The Happy Parliament was the fourth and last Parliament of England of the reign of King James I, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 24 May 1624 and then from 2 November 1624 to 16 February 1625...
for Westbury, Wiltshire.
In the first parliament of Charles I reign (conviened on On 12 April 1625) Sir Henry sat again for Maldon (known as the Useless Parliament
Useless Parliament
The Useless Parliament was the first Parliament of England of the reign of King Charles I, sitting only from June until August 1625. It gained its name because it transacted no significant business, making it 'useless' from the king's point of view...
). He also represented Maldon the parliament of 1627–8, and in the Short
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
and Long
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
parliaments of 1640. In parliament he took part in the great debate on the foreign policy of the crown, 6 August 1625, when, as a friend of Buckingham, he proposed a vote of money for completing the equipment of the fleet against Spain.
On 5 May 1627 Charles suspended a statute of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, for the removal of fellows at the time of commencing doctors, or within one year thereafter. Sir Henry being anxious, as grandson of Sir Walter Mildmay
Walter Mildmay
Sir Walter Mildmay was an English statesman who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer of England under Queen Elizabeth I, and was founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.-Early life:...
, the founder, to maintain the statute, offered to annex five or six new benefices to the college within six years, and thus obtained its revocation. On 4 August 1630 he was appointed a commissioner for compounding with persons selected for knighthood, and likewise a collector. In 1639 he accompanied Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
on his expedition to Scotland, and maintained an interesting correspondence with Secretary Francis Windebank
Francis Windebank
Sir Francis Windebank was an English politician who was Secretary of State under Charles I.The only son of Sir Thomas Windebank of Hougham, Lincolnshire, who owed his advancement to the Cecil family, Francis entered St John's College, Oxford, in 1599, coming there under the influence of the...
. As deputy-lieutenant of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
he endeavoured in May 1640 to collect the "conduct-money" in that county, but found the task little to his liking. On 21 April 1641 he voted against the bill for the attainder of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1632 to 1639 he instituted a harsh rule as Lord Deputy of Ireland...
.
Sir Henry eventually deserted the king, and was appointed one of the committee of the commons on 9 September 1641. The parliament, regarding him as an important acquisition, refused, despite its ordinance, to expel him for his notorious peculation (Declaration of the King concerning the Proceedings of this Present Parliament, 12 August 1642; and allowed him to retain his salary as master of the jewel-house. He made himself useful by acting as master of the ceremonies to foreign ambassadors, and was an active committeeman for Essex.
In November 1643 he got into trouble with parliament by saying of Philip, Lord Wharton
Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton
Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton was an English peer.A Parliamentarian during the English Civil War, he served in various offices including soldier, politician and diplomat. He was appointed as the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire by Parliament in July 1642...
, who had raised a regiment for the parliamentary service, and subsequently became a member of the council of state, "that he had made his peace at Oxon, and therefore was not fit to be entrusted with any public trust". After endeavouring to shift the blame on Lord Murray he thought it prudent to absent himself from the house. (It was not he but a cousin Sir Henry Mildmay of Woodham Walters and Moulsham who on 17 June 1645 vainly claimed, by petition, the barony of Fitzwalter
Baron FitzWalter
Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1295 for Robert FitzWalter. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. His great-grandson, the fourth Baron, was an Admiral of the Fleet. His grandson, the...
; From 1645 to 1652 he was a commissioner for the revenue.
By reason of his wealth Sir Henry was one of the hostages left with the Scots in December 1646. In January 1648, on the debate upon the letters of the Scottish commissioners, he made a long speech in praise of Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, was the de facto head of government in Scotland during most of the conflict known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, also known as the British Civil War...
, and moved that the latter be paid his £10,000, and the rest of the Scottish debts be continued at interest at 8 per cent. For his "good service" in Hampshire at the trial of Captain John Burley he received the thanks of parliament on 2 February 1648.
Sir Henry was nominated one of the king's judges, and attended the trial
High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I
The High Court of Justice is the name given to the court established by the Rump Parliament to try King Charles I of England. This was an ad hoc tribunal created specifically for the purpose of trying the king, although the same name was used again for subsequent courts.Neither the involvement of...
on 23 January 1649, but abstained from signing the warrant. He was a member of the councils of state elected in 1649, 1650, 1651, and 1652, and sat on the committee appointed to consider the formation of a West India Company
West India Company
There has been more than one West India Company:* The Dutch West India Company* The French West India Company* The Danish West India Company* The Swedish West India Company...
, and the regulation of the fishing upon the British coasts. In July 1649 parliament ordered the sum of £2,000. which he had lent to Charles I to be repaid him with interest from the fund accumulated by sales of cathedral lands.
When, in the summer of 1650, news reached London that Charles II had landed in Scotland, Sir Henry, who had often been sent on a commission to inquire into the state of the late king's three younger children, suggested, as a matter of public safety, that they should be immured in Carisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke, near Newport, Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial.-Early history:...
, of which his brother Anthony was governor. Thenceforward he ceased to take a prominent part in affairs, though he signed the remonstrance promoted on 22 September 1656 by Sir Arthur Hesilrige on behalf of the excluded members.
On 15 May 1660 Sir Henry was ordered, to attend the committee appointed to consider Charles II's
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
reception, and give an account of the whereabouts of the crowns, robes, sceptres, and jewels belonging to the king. He attempted to escape abroad, but was seized by Lord Winchelsea at Rye, Sussex, and was excepted out of the General Pardon Bill
Indemnity and Oblivion Act
The Indemnity and Oblivion Act 1660 is an Act of the Parliament of England , the long title of which is "An Act of Free and General Pardon, Indemnity, and Oblivion"....
. On his petition he was ordered to be committed to the custody of the serjeant-at-arms
Serjeant-at-Arms
A Sergeant-at-Arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word sergeant is derived from the Latin serviens, which means "servant"....
instead of to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. On 1 July 1661 he was brought to the bar of the House of Commons, and after evidence had been produced against him, and he had been made to confess his guilt, he was degraded from his honours and titles. He was likewise sentenced to be drawn every year on the anniversary of the king's sentence (27 January) upon a sledge through the streets to and under the gallows at Tyburn, with a rope about his neck, and so back to the Tower, there to remain a prisoner during his life. In a petition to the House of Lords, dated 25 July, he prayed for commiseration, alleging that he was present at the trial only to seek some opportunity of saving the king's life. On 31 March 1664 a warrant was issued for Mildmay's transportation to Tangier, but on account of his feeble health he was allowed a servant. He died, after setting out on the journey, between April 1664 and May 1665 at Antwerp. where a friend had a picture taken of him as he lay dead, to confute the popular notion that no regicide could die a natural death. Most of his vast accumulations were forfeited to the crown, his estate at Wanstead being granted to James, Duke of York
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.