Henry Powle
Encyclopedia
Henry Powle was Speaker of the House of Commons of England
from January 1689 to February 1689. He was also Master of the Rolls
and represented the constituency of Windsor
. He lived at Shottesbrooke
House in Berkshire
.
. His brother Sir Richard Powle was M.P. for Berkshire in 1660–1, was knighted in 1661, and died in 1678.
Henry matriculated from Christ Church, Oxford
, on 16 December 1646. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn
on 11 May 1647, and became a barrister in 1654 and bencher in 1659. He entered public life on 3 January 1671, when he was returned for Cirencester
to the Pensioners' parliament. At the time he held property at Williamstrop or Quenington
in Gloucestershire, and was usually described as of the latter place.
s during the recess without the speaker's warrant. As a result of the debate all the elections were declared void, 6 February 1673. Subsequently he opposed the Declaration of Indulgence
, Charles II of England
's measure of religious toleration
, wishing disabilities for Catholics and dissenters to continue.
Powle identified himself with the opponents of the court, and declined to support the king's claim to the dispensing power. He promoted the passing of the Test Act
in March. In the new session in October Powle led the attack on the proposed marriage between the Duke of York
and the Princess Mary of Modena
, and the king at once directed a prorogation. But before the arrival of Black Rod
to announce it, Powle's motion for an address was carried with little opposition. A week later another short session opened. Powle advised the withholding of supply till the grievances connected with Catholic favourites and a standing army were redressed, and he led the attack on the king's ‘villainous councillors,’ assailing in particular Anglesey and Lauderdale. Next year he denounced George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
, and had a large share in driving him from office.
In May 1677 he urged the wisdom of a Dutch alliance. When the Commons sent an address to the king dictating such an alliance on 4 February 1678, Charles indignantly summoned them to the banqueting-room at Whitehall Palace. After their return to the House Powle stood up, but Sir Edward Seymour
, the Speaker, informed him that the house was adjourned by the king's pleasure. Powle insisted, and the Speaker sprang out of the chair and, after a struggle, got away. On their re-assembling five days later Powle declared that the whole liberty of the house was threatened by the Speaker's conduct. In May 1678, when Charles sent a message to the house to hasten supply, Powle once more insisted on the prior consideration of grievances. Powle supported the impeachment of Danby
, but in the agitation of the Popish Plot
he kept a low profile.
He was returned for both Cirencester and East Grinstead
, Sussex
, in Charles's second parliament, which met on 6 March 1679. He elected to represent Cirencester. Seymour, the speaker chosen by the commons, was declined by the king. Powle denied that the king had such power of refusal, and moved an address ‘that we desire time to think of it.’ During the discussion that followed, Powle himself was named as speaker, but was not allowed to proceed. Finally, Serjeant Gregory
was elected. The new parliament pursued the attack on Danby. ‘Lyttleton
and Powle,’ says Gilbert Burnet
, ‘led the matters of the House of Commons with the greatest dexterity and care.’ Meanwhile, Paul Barillon
, the French ambassador, who wanted to ruin Danby, had entered into correspondence with Powle and other leaders of the opposition. Powle, like Harbord
and Lyttleton, finally accepted a pension from Barillon of five hundred guineas a year.
After Danby's committal to the Tower of London
and Charles's acceptance of Sir William Temple's abortive scheme of government by a new composite privy council of thirty members, Powle was, with four other commoners, admitted to the council on 21 April 1678. In the new parliament, which was called for October 1679, Powle was returned for Cirencester. But parliament was prorogued from time to time without assembling, and Powle, acting on Shaftesbury's advice, retired from the council on 17 April. Parliament met at length in October 1680. Powle at once arraigned the conduct of the chief justice, William Scroggs
, who had discharged the grand jury before they were able to consider Shaftesbury's indictment of the Duke of York. In the renewed debates on the Exclusion Bill
Powle held back to keep relations open with the king, but in the proceedings of December 1680 against Lord Stafford, he took a vehement part.
. He was a member of the Royal Society
, and was probably for part of the time abroad. He gained the confidence of William III
, at that point the Prince of Orange, and on 16 December 1688 he and Sir Robert Howard
held a long and private interview with the prince at Windsor
. When William called together at St. James's a number of members of Charles II's parliaments and common councilmen, Powle attended at the head of 160 former members of the House of Commons. On their return to Westminster to consider the best method of calling a free parliament, he was chosen chairman. He bluntly asserted that ‘the wish of the prince is sufficient warrant for our assembling;’ and on the following morning he read addresses to William, praying that he would assume the administration and call a convention. To the Convention parliament Powle was returned, with Sir Christopher Wren, for the borough of New Windsor, and he was voted to the Speaker's chair over the head of his old opponent, Sir Edward Seymour (22 January 1689).
Powle's speech on the opening of the convention exercised influence on subsequent debates. As Speaker, he congratulated William and Mary on their coronation, 13 April 1689, and presented to William the Bill of Rights
on 16 December 1689. Powle was summoned, with seven other commoners, to William's first privy council, and, on the remodelling of the judicial bench, when John Holt was appointed justice of the king's bench and Sir Robert Atkyns chief baron, Powle, on 13 March 1690, received the patent of master of the rolls.
While the convention sat, William relied on Powle's advice; he laid down his office at the dissolution of February 1690. Powle was returned for Cirencester for William's first parliament, which met on 20 March 1690, but was unseated on petition. Powle then devoted himself to his duties as master of the rolls, and successfully claimed, in accordance with precedent, a writ of summons to attend parliament as an assistant to the House of Lords. He spoke in the upper house in favour of the Abjuration Bill on 24 April 1690, but wished the oath imposed sparingly and only on office-holders.
, he formed a large library of manuscripts and records. A few of these now constitute the nucleus of the Lansdowne collection in the British Museum
. Other portions were dispersed, and were for a time in the possession of Lord Somers, Sir Joseph Jekyll, and Philip, earl Hardwicke. Powle's arms were placed in the window of the Rolls chapel and also of Lincoln's Inn hall.
, and widow of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset
. By his first wife he left an only child, Katharine, who married Henry, eldest son of Henry Ireton
, conveying to him the estates of Quenington and Williamstrop. Powle was subsequently involved in lawsuits over the property of his second wife.
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...
from January 1689 to February 1689. He was also Master of the Rolls
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
and represented the constituency of Windsor
Windsor (UK Parliament constituency)
Windsor is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In its modern form, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...
. He lived at Shottesbrooke
Shottesbrooke
Shottesbrooke is a hamlet and civil parish administered by the unitary authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. The parish has an area of and had a population of 154 at the 2001 census.-Geography:...
House in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
Early life
Born at Shottesbrook in 1630, he was second son of Henry Powle, who was sheriff for Berkshire in 1633, by his wife Katherine, daughter of Matthew Herbert of MonmouthMonmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
. His brother Sir Richard Powle was M.P. for Berkshire in 1660–1, was knighted in 1661, and died in 1678.
Henry matriculated from Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, on 16 December 1646. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
on 11 May 1647, and became a barrister in 1654 and bencher in 1659. He entered public life on 3 January 1671, when he was returned for Cirencester
Cirencester (UK Parliament constituency)
Cirencester was a parliamentary constituency in Gloucestershire. From 1571 until 1885, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, and one member between 1868 and 1885...
to the Pensioners' parliament. At the time he held property at Williamstrop or Quenington
Quenington
Quenington is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about eight miles east of Cirencester. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 566.Dom Joly is a resident of Quenington....
in Gloucestershire, and was usually described as of the latter place.
Parliamentarian under Charles II
Powle first appeared in debate in February 1673, when he attacked Lord-chancellor Shaftesbury's practice of issuing writs for by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s during the recess without the speaker's warrant. As a result of the debate all the elections were declared void, 6 February 1673. Subsequently he opposed the Declaration of Indulgence
Declaration of Indulgence
The Declaration of Indulgence was two proclamations made by James II of England and VII of Scotland in 1687. The Indulgence was first issued for Scotland on 12 February, and then for England on 4 April 1687...
, Charles II of England
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...
's measure of religious toleration
Religious toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
, wishing disabilities for Catholics and dissenters to continue.
Powle identified himself with the opponents of the court, and declined to support the king's claim to the dispensing power. He promoted the passing of the Test Act
Test Act
The Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and Nonconformists...
in March. In the new session in October Powle led the attack on the proposed marriage between the 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...
and the Princess Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...
, and the king at once directed a prorogation. But before the arrival of Black Rod
Black Rod
The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, generally shortened to just Black Rod, is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
to announce it, Powle's motion for an address was carried with little opposition. A week later another short session opened. Powle advised the withholding of supply till the grievances connected with Catholic favourites and a standing army were redressed, and he led the attack on the king's ‘villainous councillors,’ assailing in particular Anglesey and Lauderdale. Next year he denounced George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 20th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG, PC, FRS was an English statesman and poet.- Upbringing and education :...
, and had a large share in driving him from office.
In May 1677 he urged the wisdom of a Dutch alliance. When the Commons sent an address to the king dictating such an alliance on 4 February 1678, Charles indignantly summoned them to the banqueting-room at Whitehall Palace. After their return to the House Powle stood up, but Sir Edward Seymour
Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet
Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 4th Baronet, MP was a British nobleman, and a Royalist and Tory politician.-Life:...
, the Speaker, informed him that the house was adjourned by the king's pleasure. Powle insisted, and the Speaker sprang out of the chair and, after a struggle, got away. On their re-assembling five days later Powle declared that the whole liberty of the house was threatened by the Speaker's conduct. In May 1678, when Charles sent a message to the house to hasten supply, Powle once more insisted on the prior consideration of grievances. Powle supported the impeachment of Danby
Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds
Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, KG , English statesman , served in a variety of offices under Kings Charles II and William III of England.-Early life, 1632–1674:The son of Sir Edward Osborne, Bart., of Kiveton, Yorkshire, Thomas Osborne...
, but in the agitation of the Popish Plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
he kept a low profile.
He was returned for both Cirencester and East Grinstead
East Grinstead (UK Parliament constituency)
East Grinstead was a parliamentary constituency in the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. It first existed as a Parliamentary borough from 1307, returning two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons elected by the bloc vote system...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, in Charles's second parliament, which met on 6 March 1679. He elected to represent Cirencester. Seymour, the speaker chosen by the commons, was declined by the king. Powle denied that the king had such power of refusal, and moved an address ‘that we desire time to think of it.’ During the discussion that followed, Powle himself was named as speaker, but was not allowed to proceed. Finally, Serjeant Gregory
William Gregory (1625–1696)
Sir William Gregory was a British judge and politician. He was educated at All Souls College, Oxford and was then called to the Bar. In 1653 he married Elizabeth Smith, with whom he had one daughter, Sarah, who died in 1691 before her father. It was not until 1677 that William gained prominence,...
was elected. The new parliament pursued the attack on Danby. ‘Lyttleton
Sir Thomas Littleton, 3rd Baronet
Sir Thomas Littleton, 3rd Baronet , often Thomas de Littleton, was a British statesman. He was the son of Sir Thomas Littleton, 2nd Baronet and his wife and cousin Anne Littleton....
and Powle,’ says Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish theologian and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was respected as a cleric, a preacher, and an academic, as well as a writer and historian...
, ‘led the matters of the House of Commons with the greatest dexterity and care.’ Meanwhile, Paul Barillon
Paul Barillon
Paul Barillon d'Amoncourt, the marquis de Branges was the French ambassador to England from 1677 to 1688. His dispatches from England to Louis XIV have been useful to historians of the period, though an expected bias may be present...
, the French ambassador, who wanted to ruin Danby, had entered into correspondence with Powle and other leaders of the opposition. Powle, like Harbord
William Harbord (politician)
William Harbord , of Grafton Park, was an English politician and diplomat.-Life:Harbord was the second son of Sir Charles Harbord of Charing Cross, who had been surveyor-general to Charles I...
and Lyttleton, finally accepted a pension from Barillon of five hundred guineas a year.
After Danby's committal 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...
and Charles's acceptance of Sir William Temple's abortive scheme of government by a new composite privy council of thirty members, Powle was, with four other commoners, admitted to the council on 21 April 1678. In the new parliament, which was called for October 1679, Powle was returned for Cirencester. But parliament was prorogued from time to time without assembling, and Powle, acting on Shaftesbury's advice, retired from the council on 17 April. Parliament met at length in October 1680. Powle at once arraigned the conduct of the chief justice, William Scroggs
William Scroggs
Sir William Scroggs , Lord Chief Justice of England, was the son of an Oxford landowner; an account of him being the son of a butcher of sufficient means to give his son a university education is merely a rumour....
, who had discharged the grand jury before they were able to consider Shaftesbury's indictment of the Duke of York. In the renewed debates on the Exclusion Bill
Exclusion Bill
The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1678 through 1681 in the reign of Charles II of England. The Exclusion Bill sought to exclude the king's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland because he was Roman Catholic...
Powle held back to keep relations open with the king, but in the proceedings of December 1680 against Lord Stafford, he took a vehement part.
Politician under William and Mary
Although returned for East Grinstead to Charles's Oxford parliament (20 March 1681 and 28 March 1681), Powle took little further part in politics until the Glorious RevolutionGlorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
. He was a member of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, and was probably for part of the time abroad. He gained the confidence of William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, at that point the Prince of Orange, and on 16 December 1688 he and Sir Robert Howard
Robert Howard (playwright)
Sir Robert Howard was an English playwright and politician, born to Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire and his wife Elizabeth.-Life:...
held a long and private interview with the prince at Windsor
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. When William called together at St. James's a number of members of Charles II's parliaments and common councilmen, Powle attended at the head of 160 former members of the House of Commons. On their return to Westminster to consider the best method of calling a free parliament, he was chosen chairman. He bluntly asserted that ‘the wish of the prince is sufficient warrant for our assembling;’ and on the following morning he read addresses to William, praying that he would assume the administration and call a convention. To the Convention parliament Powle was returned, with Sir Christopher Wren, for the borough of New Windsor, and he was voted to the Speaker's chair over the head of his old opponent, Sir Edward Seymour (22 January 1689).
Powle's speech on the opening of the convention exercised influence on subsequent debates. As Speaker, he congratulated William and Mary on their coronation, 13 April 1689, and presented to William the Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
on 16 December 1689. Powle was summoned, with seven other commoners, to William's first privy council, and, on the remodelling of the judicial bench, when John Holt was appointed justice of the king's bench and Sir Robert Atkyns chief baron, Powle, on 13 March 1690, received the patent of master of the rolls.
While the convention sat, William relied on Powle's advice; he laid down his office at the dissolution of February 1690. Powle was returned for Cirencester for William's first parliament, which met on 20 March 1690, but was unseated on petition. Powle then devoted himself to his duties as master of the rolls, and successfully claimed, in accordance with precedent, a writ of summons to attend parliament as an assistant to the House of Lords. He spoke in the upper house in favour of the Abjuration Bill on 24 April 1690, but wished the oath imposed sparingly and only on office-holders.
Death
He died intestate on 21 November 1692, and was buried within the communion-rails of Quenington church, Gloucestershire, where a monument was erected to his memory. He is there described as master of the rolls and one of the judges delegates of the admiralty.Legacy
Powle's historical, legal, and antiquarian knowledge was highly esteemed. With the aid of John BagfordJohn Bagford
John Bagford was a British antiquarian, writer, bibliographer, ballad-collector and bookseller.-Life:...
, he formed a large library of manuscripts and records. A few of these now constitute the nucleus of the Lansdowne collection in the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. Other portions were dispersed, and were for a time in the possession of Lord Somers, Sir Joseph Jekyll, and Philip, earl Hardwicke. Powle's arms were placed in the window of the Rolls chapel and also of Lincoln's Inn hall.
Family
Powle married, first, in 1659, Elizabeth, daughter of the first Lord Newport of High Ercall. She died on 28 July 1672, and was buried at Quenington. His second wife was Frances, a daughter of Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of MiddlesexLionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex
Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex was a successful merchant in London, England.-Life:He was the second son of Thomas Cranfield, a mercer at London, and his wife Martha Randill, the daughter and heiress of Vincent Randill of Sutton-at-Hone, Kent. He was apprenticed in to Richard Sheppard, a...
, and widow of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset
Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset
Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset was an English peer and politician.He was born at Dorset House, the second of three children of Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset...
. By his first wife he left an only child, Katharine, who married Henry, eldest son of Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton was an English general in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. He was the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell.-Early life:...
, conveying to him the estates of Quenington and Williamstrop. Powle was subsequently involved in lawsuits over the property of his second wife.