Thomas Andrewes
Encyclopedia
Sir Thomas Andrewes was a London financier who supported the parliamentary cause during the English Civil War
s, and sat as a commissioner at the High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I
. During the Third English Civil War
, as Lord Mayor of London
, he made sure that there was no trouble in London. During the Interregnum he supported Oliver Cromwell, and was knighted by him in 1657.Noble, pp. 81,82 Many sources confuse him with another Thomas Andrewes, who had a more prominent role in the British East India Company
and was a contemporary of the London politician; this other Andrewes was still alive in 1660.
. During the 1630s he traded with the New England colonies, and as a member of the guild of the Leathersellers' Company, ran a successful wholesale linen drapery business at the White Lion, Fish Street Hill. By the end of the decade he had been the master of the guild (from 1638 to 1639), and had made enough money to be become an undersharer holder in a syndicate that farmed customs (a speculative venture where the syndicate paid the Crown
a fixed sum against the hope of collecting a larger sum from those who owed custom revenue to the Crown).
Andrewes was a devout Puritain who in the late 1630s followed Sydrach Simpson to Rotterdam to join his congregation. When Simpson first returned to London his congregation met at Andrewes' house.
During the 1640s Andrewes continued to develop his businesses linked to foreign trade. He was involved in trade in the Caribbean, and with Maurice Thompson
and Samuel Moyer
he financed trading ventures with west Africa.
In 1642 at the start of the Civil War Andrewes was a member of the committee which oversaw the City of London militia, a body of men willing to defend London against the Cavaliers (see for example the Battle of Turnham Green). It was also during 1642 that he became an Alderman of the City and a Sheriff of London. Thanks to his financial success, he was able to lend large sums to help parliament finance the war, and involved himself in the financial administration of the parliamentary cause. Between 1642 and 1645 he took on many treasurerships for the army and parliament. Two of the more significant were commissioner for the customs (appointed 1643), and, in 1645, one of the treasurers for war. Mark Noble notes that these treasury positions were very lucrative and states that as Treasurer of the money and plate sent to Guildhall, he and Lord Say and Sele
obtained very large sums, and as Treasurer at War his salary was three-pence in the pound. For his own financial benefit and to improve his social status he purchased lands sequestrated by parliament from bishops.
In 1647 Andrewes was appointed to the new militia committee which oversaw new militia set up under the auspices of the New Model Army
. In 1648 he supported Pride's Purge
and the other moves made by the Grandees in the New Model Army.
Andrewes sat as a commissioner at the trial of Charles I in January 1649. He attended the trial in Westminster Hall on January 2, 23, and on the 27th he, along with the other commissioners present, stood up to indicate his assent to the death sentence. He did not sign the warrant, but was present at King Charles I's
execution on 30 January 1649, and in March, when the Rump Parliament passed the Act abolishing the Office of King, he was responsible for proclaiming the abolition of monarchy in the City of London.
In April that year Andrewes was appointed to succeed Abraham Reynardson
, the Royalist Lord Mayor of London
, on the latter's deposition in April, 1649. Having served until the following October, he was, after a year's interval, again chosen for the year 1650–1651. His successful performance of his duties during his second period as Lord Mayor was of importance to the Commonwealth as he was responsible for keeping the capital quiet, and a bulwark against any resurgence of Royalism in support of the King Chales II
during the third English Civil War
.
Noble asserts that Andrewes fell out with Oliver Cromwell over Cromwell becoming Lord Protector
, and by presenting a petition, of a dangerous nature, he fell under the displeasure of the Protector Oliver. However in the much more modern Oxford Dictionary of National Biography A. W. McIntosh states that "he was a firm supporter of Oliver Cromwell and republicanism in the moderate City government in the fifties[, and] was knighted by Cromwell in 1657".
In the 1650s Andrewes continued a successful business career. In 1657 he became
deputy governor of the East India Company
and may have been its governor in 1659. He also acquired more sequestered properties including Mucking Hall in Essex.
There is no record of the place and date of his death, but he was buried on 20 August 1659. A year later the political landscape had changed and the monarchy had been restored. Under Section XXXVIII of the Indemnity and Oblivion Act
, he, like the other dead regicides, was not exempted from the general pardon so that his property could be sequestrated by the state. According to Noble "To the Royalists he was peculiarly obnoxious, as one of the High Court of Justice, where he had assisted in the condemnation of other illustrious characters, besides the unhappy monarch. ... Had he lived to have seen the return of his banished Sovereign, he would either have expiated his crime by an ignominious and painful death, or spent the remainder of his life in poverty and imprisonment."
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
s, and sat as a commissioner at the High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I
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...
. During the Third English Civil War
Third English Civil War
The Third English Civil War was the last of the English Civil Wars , a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists....
, as Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
, he made sure that there was no trouble in London. During the Interregnum he supported Oliver Cromwell, and was knighted by him in 1657.Noble, pp. 81,82 Many sources confuse him with another Thomas Andrewes, who had a more prominent role in the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
and was a contemporary of the London politician; this other Andrewes was still alive in 1660.
Life
In the 1620s Andrewes followed the lead of his father Robert and traded with the Plymouth ColonyPlymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
. During the 1630s he traded with the New England colonies, and as a member of the guild of the Leathersellers' Company, ran a successful wholesale linen drapery business at the White Lion, Fish Street Hill. By the end of the decade he had been the master of the guild (from 1638 to 1639), and had made enough money to be become an undersharer holder in a syndicate that farmed customs (a speculative venture where the syndicate paid the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
a fixed sum against the hope of collecting a larger sum from those who owed custom revenue to the Crown).
Andrewes was a devout Puritain who in the late 1630s followed Sydrach Simpson to Rotterdam to join his congregation. When Simpson first returned to London his congregation met at Andrewes' house.
During the 1640s Andrewes continued to develop his businesses linked to foreign trade. He was involved in trade in the Caribbean, and with Maurice Thompson
Maurice Thompson
James Maurice Thompson was an American novelist.-Biography:Raised on a Georgia plantation, Thompson first pursued a career as a lawyer. In 1871 he opened a law practice with his brother, William Henry Thompson...
and Samuel Moyer
Samuel Moyer
Samuel Moyer was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1653. He was a strong republican and supporter of the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War....
he financed trading ventures with west Africa.
In 1642 at the start of the Civil War Andrewes was a member of the committee which oversaw the City of London militia, a body of men willing to defend London against the Cavaliers (see for example the Battle of Turnham Green). It was also during 1642 that he became an Alderman of the City and a Sheriff of London. Thanks to his financial success, he was able to lend large sums to help parliament finance the war, and involved himself in the financial administration of the parliamentary cause. Between 1642 and 1645 he took on many treasurerships for the army and parliament. Two of the more significant were commissioner for the customs (appointed 1643), and, in 1645, one of the treasurers for war. Mark Noble notes that these treasury positions were very lucrative and states that as Treasurer of the money and plate sent to Guildhall, he and Lord Say and Sele
William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele
William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele was born at the family home of Broughton Castle near Banbury, in Oxfordshire. He was the only son of Richard Fiennes, seventh Baron Saye and Sele...
obtained very large sums, and as Treasurer at War his salary was three-pence in the pound. For his own financial benefit and to improve his social status he purchased lands sequestrated by parliament from bishops.
In 1647 Andrewes was appointed to the new militia committee which oversaw new militia set up under the auspices of the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
. In 1648 he supported 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 the other moves made by the Grandees in the New Model Army.
Andrewes sat as a commissioner at the trial of Charles I in January 1649. He attended the trial in Westminster Hall on January 2, 23, and on the 27th he, along with the other commissioners present, stood up to indicate his assent to the death sentence. He did not sign the warrant, but was present at King Charles I's
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...
execution on 30 January 1649, and in March, when the Rump Parliament passed the Act abolishing the Office of King, he was responsible for proclaiming the abolition of monarchy in the City of London.
In April that year Andrewes was appointed to succeed Abraham Reynardson
Abraham Reynardson
Abraham Reynardson was an English merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1649.Reynardson was a city of London merchant and a member of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors. He was a member of the committe of the East India Company from 1630 to 1631 and a Court Assistant from 1630 to 1632...
, the Royalist Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
, on the latter's deposition in April, 1649. Having served until the following October, he was, after a year's interval, again chosen for the year 1650–1651. His successful performance of his duties during his second period as Lord Mayor was of importance to the Commonwealth as he was responsible for keeping the capital quiet, and a bulwark against any resurgence of Royalism in support of the King Chales II
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...
during the third English Civil War
Third English Civil War
The Third English Civil War was the last of the English Civil Wars , a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists....
.
Noble asserts that Andrewes fell out with Oliver Cromwell over Cromwell becoming Lord Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
, and by presenting a petition, of a dangerous nature, he fell under the displeasure of the Protector Oliver. However in the much more modern Oxford Dictionary of National Biography A. W. McIntosh states that "he was a firm supporter of Oliver Cromwell and republicanism in the moderate City government in the fifties[, and] was knighted by Cromwell in 1657".
In the 1650s Andrewes continued a successful business career. In 1657 he became
deputy governor of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
and may have been its governor in 1659. He also acquired more sequestered properties including Mucking Hall in Essex.
There is no record of the place and date of his death, but he was buried on 20 August 1659. A year later the political landscape had changed and the monarchy had been restored. Under Section XXXVIII of the Indemnity and Oblivion Act
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"....
, he, like the other dead regicides, was not exempted from the general pardon so that his property could be sequestrated by the state. According to Noble "To the Royalists he was peculiarly obnoxious, as one of the High Court of Justice, where he had assisted in the condemnation of other illustrious characters, besides the unhappy monarch. ... Had he lived to have seen the return of his banished Sovereign, he would either have expiated his crime by an ignominious and painful death, or spent the remainder of his life in poverty and imprisonment."