Henry Vane the Elder
Encyclopedia
Sir Henry Vane, the elder (1589–1655) was an English politician and secretary of state
.
, Kent
, by his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Roger Twysden of East Peckham
, Kent. He matriculated from Brasenose College, Oxford
, on 15 June 1604, was admitted a student of Gray's Inn
in 1606, and was knighted by James I
on 3 March 1611.
. Immediately after his marriage, writes Vane in an autobiographical sketch, 'I put myself into court, and bought a carver's place by means of the friendship of Sir Thomas Overbury
, which cost me £5,000.' Next year he devoted the £3,000 of his wife's portion to purchasing from Sir Edward Gorges
a third part of the subpoena office in chancery, and later so ingratiated himself with the king that James gave him the reversion of the whole office for forty years. In 1617 Sir David Foulis sold him the post of cofferer
to the Prince of Wales
, and he continued to hold this office after Charles had become king. In about 1629 he became Comptroller of the Household
in place of John, first baron Savile. Finally, in September 1639 he was made Treasurer of the Household
.
Vane's career at court was interrupted by a quarrel with Buckingham
, from whom he underwent 'some severe mortification' mentioned by Clarendon
, but he made his peace with the favourite, and after Buckingham's death was in high favour with Lord-treasurer Weston
. He represented Lostwithiel
in the parliament of 1614, Carlisle
from 1621 to 1626, and East Retford
in 1628, but took no important part in the debates of the House of Commons of England
.
In February and again in September 1629, and in 1630, Charles sent Vane to Holland in the hope of negotiating a peace between the United Provinces
and Spain
, and obtaining the restoration of the palatinate by Spanish means. In September 1631 he was despatched to Germany to negotiate with Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
; but as Charles merely offered the king of Sweden
£10,000 per month, and expected him to pledge himself to effect the restitution of the palatinate, Gustavus rejected the proposed alliance. Vane's negotiations were also hindered by a personal quarrel with Gustavus, but he gave great satisfaction to his own master. 'Through your wise and dexterous carriage of that great business,' wrote Cottington to him, 'you have saved his majesty's money and his honour'.
A letter from Sir Tobie Matthew
to Vane, written about the same time, adds further testimony of Vane's favour at court. Clarendon, who is throughout very hostile to Vane, describes him as a man 'of very ordinary parts by nature, and he had not cultivated them at all by art, for he was very illiterate. But being of a stirring and boisterous disposition, very industrious and very bold, he still wrought himself into some employment.'
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For the office of controller and similar court offices, continues Clarendon, he was very fit, and if he had never taken other preferment he might probably have continued a good subject, for he had no inclination to change, and in the judgment he had liked the government both of church and state, and only desired to raise his fortune, which was not great, and which he found many ways to improve'. Vane began life with a landed estate of £460 per annum; in 1640 he was the owner of lands worth £3,000 a year. He had sold his ancestral estate of Hadlow
, and bought in its place Fairlawn
in Kent
, at a cost of about £4,000. He also purchased the seignories of Raby
, Barnard Castle
, and Long Newton in the county of Durham
, at a cost of about £18,000.
In May 1633 he entertained the king at Raby. In 1635 he was granted the wardenship of all forests and chases within the dominion of Barnard Castle, and in the following year the custody of Teesdale Forest and Manwood Chase.
Vane's political importance dates from 1630, when he became a member of the privy council. Sir Thomas Roe
describes him about that time, in a letter to the queen of Bohemia, as being 'of the cabinet,' that is, one of those councillors in whom the king most confided. On 20 November 1632 he was appointed one of the commissioners of the admiralty
, and on 10 April 1636 one of the commissioners for the colonies, and between 1630 and 1640 he was continually employed on different administrative commissions. When the disturbances
began in Scotland he was appointed one of the eight privy councillors to whom Scottish affairs were entrusted, and was one of the peace party in that committee. On 3 February 1640 the king, to the general surprise, appointed Vane secretary of state
in place of Sir John Coke
. This was effected, in spite of Strafford's
opposition, 'by the dark contrivance of the Marquis of Hamilton
and by the open and visible power of the Queen
.'
The intimacy between Vane and Hamilton dated from Vane's mission to Germany, and increased during the first Scottish war
, when Vane was the intermediary between Hamilton and the king. With Strafford Vane had been for some time on apparently friendly terms, but the mismanagement of the war against the Scots, and differences as to the policy to be pursued towards them in the future, caused a breach. It became permanent when Strafford on his creation as an earl (12 January 1640) selected Baron Raby as his second title, ‘a house,' says Clarendon, ‘belonging to Sir H. Vane, and an honour he made an account should belong to him too.' This, continues Clarendon, was an act 'of the most unnecessary provocation' on Strafford's part, 'though he contemned the man with marvellous scorn … and I believe was the loss of his head'.
On the meeting of the Short Parliament
of April 1640, in which Vane sat for Wilton
, he was charged to demand supplies for the war from the commons. On 4 May he informed the house that the king was willing to surrender ship-money
, adding that his master would not be satisfied with less than twelve subsidies in return. The debate showed that the king's demand would be refused, and led to the dissolution of parliament on 5 May. Clarendon, who attributes the breach entirely to Vane's mismanagement, charges him with misrepresenting the temper of parliament to the king, and even with ‘acting that part maliciously, and to bring all into confusion' in order to compass Strafford's ruin. Another contemporary rumour was that Vane brought about the dissolution in order to save himself from prosecution as a monopolist. But Vane was evidently acting by the king's instructions, and Clarendon omits to mention the dispute about the military charges and the intended vote against the Scottish war which complicated the question at issue. The king did not regard Vane as going beyond his orders, and continued to employ him as secretary. Throughout the second Scottish war
he was with the king, and his letters show that he was full of confidence even after the defeat at the Battle of Newburn
. Vane took part as an assistant in the debates of the great council and in the negotiations with the Scots at Ripon
. In the Long Parliament
, where, as in the Short parliament, Vane represented Wilton, he was fortunate enough to escape attack. This he owed partly to the fact that he had not been concerned in the most obnoxious acts of the government, partly to his son's connection with the opposition leaders.
In Strafford's trial Vane's evidence as to the words used by him in the meeting of the privy council on 5 May 1640 was of paramount importance. He asserted positively that Strafford had advised an offensive war with Scotland, telling the king, 'You have an army in Ireland; you may employ it to reduce this kingdom.' In the theory of the prosecution 'this kingdom' meant England, not Scotland, and Vane declined to offer any explanation of the words, though much pressed by Strafford's friends. Other privy councillors present could not remember the words, but Vane persisted in his statement, relying doubtless on the notes of the discussion which he had taken at the time. The notes themselves had been seen by the king and burnt by his orders a short time before the meeting of the parliament, but on 10 April John Pym
produced a copy which he had obtained from the younger Vane
, which corroborated the secretary's evidence. Vane owned the notes, but refused further explanations, and expressed great wrath with his son. Clarendon regards Vane's anger as a comedy played to deceive the public, but admits that for some time after 'there was in public a great distance observed between them.' There is no evidence, however, to justify either this theory of collusion, or the further statement that Vane had been throughout the trial the secret assistant of the prosecution.
would reconcile king and people. 'God send us now a happy end of our troubles and a good peace' was his comment on the passing of the bill. He did not see that it put an end to his prospects of remaining in the king's service, as its effects were for a time delayed by the difficulty of finding a suitable successor. He was even appointed one of the five commissioners of the treasury when William Juxon
resigned in May 1641.
In August 1641 Vane accompanied Charles I to Scotland, and as no successor to Francis Windebank
, his former colleague in the secretaryship, had yet been appointed, he was charged to correspond with (Sir) Edward Nicholas
, clerk of the council
. His letters during this period are printed in the ‘Nicholas Papers'. Although his post as treasurer of the household had already been promised to Thomas, second baron Savile
(afterwards Earl of Sussex
), he was confident that he should keep both it and the secretaryship. But as soon as Charles returned to London he gave the treasurership to Savile, and a few days later dismissed Vane from the secretaryship and all other posts at court (November 1641). It was remarked at the time that Vane had ‘the very ill luck to be neither loved nor pitied of any man,' and the king was convinced of his treachery.
. On 13 December 1641 Pym moved that Vane's name should be added to the committee of thirty-two for Irish affairs. Two months later, when the militia bill
was drawn up, parliament nominated him as lord lieutenant
of Durham
(10 February 1642). When the civil war broke out the county, which was predominantly royalist in feeling, fell at once under the control of the royalists, and Vane exercised no real authority there till after its reconquest at the end of 1644. John Lilburne
, bitterly hostile to all the Vanes, because Sir Henry had been one of his judges, accused him of causing the loss of Durham by negligence and treachery, but the charge met with no belief from parliament.
Vane was a member of the Committee of Both Kingdoms
from its first establishment (7 February 1644). In April 1645 he was employed as one of its representatives with the Scottish auxiliary army. At the Treaty of Uxbridge
Parliament asked the king to make Vane a baron, and ordinances for the payment of his losses during the war further show his favour with the parliament. These losses were very considerable, as Raby was three times occupied by the royalists, and after its recapture became a parliamentary garrison. He says, probably with truth, 'In my losses, plunderings, rents, and destructions of timber in my woods, I have been damnified to the amount of £16,000 at least'.
Vane continued to sit in parliament after the king's execution, but a proposal to appoint him a member of the English Council of State
in February 1650 was negatived by the house. He represented Kent in the First Protectorate Parliament
. He died about May 1655, and royalists reported that he had committed suicide, owing to remorse for his share in Strafford's death. His widow, Frances, lady Vane, died on 2 August 1663, aged 72, and was buried at Shipbourne
, Kent. Portraits of Vane and his wife were painted by Van Dyck.
(1613–1662), was a Puritan statesman. George, the second son, born in 1618, was knighted on 22 November 1640. He was parliamentary High Sheriff of Durham in September 1645, and apparently treasurer of the committee for the county. Many of his letters to his father on the affairs of the county are printed in the calendar of domestic state papers. He married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir Lionel Maddison of Rogerly, Durham, and was buried at Long Newton in the same county on 1 May 1679. Charles, the fourth son, matriculated from Magdalen College, Oxford
, on 17 March 1637. On 16 January 1650 the parliament appointed him agent of the Commonwealth
at Lisbon
, in which capacity he demanded Prince Rupert's
expulsion from Portuguese ports, but was obliged to leave and take refuge on board Blake's
fleet.
Two other sons, William and Walter, were soldiers in the Dutch service. Walter, who was knighted, seems to have been royalist in his sympathies, and a large number of intercepted letters from him to friends in England are printed in the 'Thurloe
Papers.' In 1665 Charles II
employed him as envoy to the elector of Brandenburg
. Vane was colonel of a Regiment of Foot in the English service in 1667, and on 12 August 1668 was appointed colonel of what was known as the Holland regiment. He was killed serving under the Prince of Orange
at the Battle of Seneffe
in August 1674, and was buried at the Hague
.
Of Vane's daughters, Margaret married Sir Thomas Pelham, bart., of Holland, Sussex; Frances married Sir Robert Honeywood, knight, of Pett in the county of Kent; Anne married Sir Thomas Liddell of Ravensworth
, Durham; Elizabeth married Sir Francis Vincent of Stoke d'Abernon
, Surrey
.
Secretary of State (England)
In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary....
.
Origins and education
Vane was born on 18 February 1589, the eldest son of Henry Vane or Fane of HadlowHadlow
Hadlow is a village in the Medway valley, near Tonbridge, Kent; it is in the Tonbridge and Malling district. The Saxon name for the settlement was Haeselholte...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, by his second wife, Margaret, daughter of Roger Twysden of East Peckham
East Peckham
East Peckham is a village in Kent, England, made up of nine hamlets and situated about east of Tonbridge on the River Medway. It was the centre for the hop growing industry in Kent and is still home to the Hop Farm which has the world's largest collection of Oast Houses.-History:The Domesday entry...
, Kent. He matriculated from Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, on 15 June 1604, was admitted a student of Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1606, and was knighted by 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...
on 3 March 1611.
Political advancement
At the age of twenty-three he married Frances Darcy, daughter of Thomas Darcy of Tolleshurst Darcy, EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Immediately after his marriage, writes Vane in an autobiographical sketch, 'I put myself into court, and bought a carver's place by means of the friendship of Sir Thomas Overbury
Thomas Overbury
Sir Thomas Overbury was an English poet and essayist, and the victim of one of the most sensational crimes in English history...
, which cost me £5,000.' Next year he devoted the £3,000 of his wife's portion to purchasing from Sir Edward Gorges
Baron Gorges of Dundalk
Baron Gorges of Dundalk was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 13 July 1620 for Sir Edward Gorges, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of Langford in the County of Wiltshire, in the Baronetage of England on 25 November 1611...
a third part of the subpoena office in chancery, and later so ingratiated himself with the king that James gave him the reversion of the whole office for forty years. In 1617 Sir David Foulis sold him the post of cofferer
Cofferer
In the history of the royal household of England, a cofferer was a principal officer in the court, next under the Comptroller of the Household. In the counting-house, and elsewhere at other times, he had a special charge and oversight of other officers of the house, for their good demeanor and...
to the Prince of Wales
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...
, and he continued to hold this office after Charles had become king. In about 1629 he became Comptroller of the Household
Comptroller of the Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the English royal household, currently the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department, and often a cabinet member. He was an ex officio member of the Board of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of the local...
in place of John, first baron Savile. Finally, in September 1639 he was made Treasurer of the Household
Treasurer of the Household
The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...
.
Vane's career at court was interrupted by a quarrel with Buckingham
George 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...
, from whom he underwent 'some severe mortification' mentioned by Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
, but he made his peace with the favourite, and after Buckingham's death was in high favour with Lord-treasurer Weston
Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland
Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland, KG , was Chancellor of the Exchequer and later Lord Treasurer of England under James I and Charles I, being one of the most influential figures in the early years of Charles I's Personal Rule and the architect of many of the policies that enabled him to rule...
. He represented Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel (UK Parliament constituency)
Lostwithiel was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1304 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
in the parliament of 1614, Carlisle
Carlisle (UK Parliament constituency)
Carlisle is a 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. It was a Labour seat from 1964 until 2010, although the Conservatives came close to victory in the elections in...
from 1621 to 1626, and East Retford
East Retford (UK Parliament constituency)
East Retford was a parliamentary constituency in Nottinghamshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons for the first time in 1316, and continuously from 1571 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished...
in 1628, but took no important part in the debates of the House of Commons of England
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...
.
In February and again in September 1629, and in 1630, Charles sent Vane to Holland in the hope of negotiating a peace between the United Provinces
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and obtaining the restoration of the palatinate by Spanish means. In September 1631 he was despatched to Germany to negotiate with Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
; but as Charles merely offered the king of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
£10,000 per month, and expected him to pledge himself to effect the restitution of the palatinate, Gustavus rejected the proposed alliance. Vane's negotiations were also hindered by a personal quarrel with Gustavus, but he gave great satisfaction to his own master. 'Through your wise and dexterous carriage of that great business,' wrote Cottington to him, 'you have saved his majesty's money and his honour'.
A letter from Sir Tobie Matthew
Tobie Matthew
Sir Tobie Matthew , born in Salisbury, was an English member of parliament and courtier who converted to Roman Catholicism and became a priest...
to Vane, written about the same time, adds further testimony of Vane's favour at court. Clarendon, who is throughout very hostile to Vane, describes him as a man 'of very ordinary parts by nature, and he had not cultivated them at all by art, for he was very illiterate. But being of a stirring and boisterous disposition, very industrious and very bold, he still wrought himself into some employment.'
Hadlow
Hadlow is a village in the Medway valley, near Tonbridge, Kent; it is in the Tonbridge and Malling district. The Saxon name for the settlement was Haeselholte...
, and bought in its place Fairlawn
Shipbourne
Shipbourne lies in the English county of Kent, in an undulating landscape traversed by the small streams of the River Bourne, set in a clay vale at the foot of the wooded Sevenoaks Greensand Ridge....
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, at a cost of about £4,000. He also purchased the seignories of Raby
Raby Castle
Raby Castle is situated near Staindrop in County Durham and is one of the largest inhabited castles in England. The Grade I listed building has opulent eighteenth and nineteenth century interiors inside a largely unchanged, late medieval shell. It is the home and seat of John Vane, 11th Baron...
, Barnard Castle
Barnard Castle (castle)
Barnard Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated in the town of the same name in County Durham. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1950...
, and Long Newton in the county of Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, at a cost of about £18,000.
In May 1633 he entertained the king at Raby. In 1635 he was granted the wardenship of all forests and chases within the dominion of Barnard Castle, and in the following year the custody of Teesdale Forest and Manwood Chase.
Vane's political importance dates from 1630, when he became a member of the privy council. Sir Thomas Roe
Thomas Roe
Sir Thomas Roe was an English diplomat of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Roe was an accomplished scholar and a patron of learning.-Life:...
describes him about that time, in a letter to the queen of Bohemia, as being 'of the cabinet,' that is, one of those councillors in whom the king most confided. On 20 November 1632 he was appointed one of the commissioners of the admiralty
Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty
The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised command over the Royal Navy.Officially known as the Commissioners for Exercising the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland &c. The Lords...
, and on 10 April 1636 one of the commissioners for the colonies, and between 1630 and 1640 he was continually employed on different administrative commissions. When the disturbances
Bishops' Wars
The Bishops' Wars , were conflicts, both political and military, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of the Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the Crown...
began in Scotland he was appointed one of the eight privy councillors to whom Scottish affairs were entrusted, and was one of the peace party in that committee. On 3 February 1640 the king, to the general surprise, appointed Vane secretary of state
Secretary of State (England)
In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary....
in place of Sir John Coke
John Coke
Sir John Coke was an English politician.Coke, the son of Richard and Mary Coke of Trusley, Derbyshire, was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge...
. This was effected, in spite of Strafford's
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...
opposition, 'by the dark contrivance of the Marquis of Hamilton
James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton
General Sir James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton KG was a Scottish nobleman and influential Civil war military leader.-Young Arran:...
and by the open and visible power of the Queen
Henrietta Maria of France
Henrietta Maria of France ; was the Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I...
.'
Quarrel with the Earl of Strafford
Bishops' Wars
The Bishops' Wars , were conflicts, both political and military, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of the Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the Crown...
, when Vane was the intermediary between Hamilton and the king. With Strafford Vane had been for some time on apparently friendly terms, but the mismanagement of the war against the Scots, and differences as to the policy to be pursued towards them in the future, caused a breach. It became permanent when Strafford on his creation as an earl (12 January 1640) selected Baron Raby as his second title, ‘a house,' says Clarendon, ‘belonging to Sir H. Vane, and an honour he made an account should belong to him too.' This, continues Clarendon, was an act 'of the most unnecessary provocation' on Strafford's part, 'though he contemned the man with marvellous scorn … and I believe was the loss of his head'.
On the meeting of 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....
of April 1640, in which Vane sat for Wilton
Wilton (UK Parliament constituency)
Wilton was the name of a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1295 to 1707, then in the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of the Parliament of the...
, he was charged to demand supplies for the war from the commons. On 4 May he informed the house that the king was willing to surrender ship-money
Ship money
Ship money refers to a tax that Charles I of England tried to levy without the consent of Parliament. This tax, which was only applied to coastal towns during a time of war, was intended to offset the cost of defending that part of the coast, and could be paid in actual ships or the equivalent value...
, adding that his master would not be satisfied with less than twelve subsidies in return. The debate showed that the king's demand would be refused, and led to the dissolution of parliament on 5 May. Clarendon, who attributes the breach entirely to Vane's mismanagement, charges him with misrepresenting the temper of parliament to the king, and even with ‘acting that part maliciously, and to bring all into confusion' in order to compass Strafford's ruin. Another contemporary rumour was that Vane brought about the dissolution in order to save himself from prosecution as a monopolist. But Vane was evidently acting by the king's instructions, and Clarendon omits to mention the dispute about the military charges and the intended vote against the Scottish war which complicated the question at issue. The king did not regard Vane as going beyond his orders, and continued to employ him as secretary. Throughout the second Scottish war
Bishops' Wars
The Bishops' Wars , were conflicts, both political and military, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of the Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the Crown...
he was with the king, and his letters show that he was full of confidence even after the defeat at the Battle of Newburn
Battle of Newburn
The Battle of Newburn was fought on 28 August 1640 during the Second Bishops' War between a Scottish Covenanter army led by General Alexander Leslie and English royalist forces commanded by Edward, Lord Conway. Conway, heavily outnumbered, was defeated, and the Scots went on to occupy the town of...
. Vane took part as an assistant in the debates of the great council and in the negotiations with the Scots at Ripon
Treaty of Ripon
The Treaty of Ripon was an agreement signed by Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Scottish Covenanters on 26 October 1640, in the aftermath of the Second Bishops' War...
. 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...
, where, as in the Short parliament, Vane represented Wilton, he was fortunate enough to escape attack. This he owed partly to the fact that he had not been concerned in the most obnoxious acts of the government, partly to his son's connection with the opposition leaders.
In Strafford's trial Vane's evidence as to the words used by him in the meeting of the privy council on 5 May 1640 was of paramount importance. He asserted positively that Strafford had advised an offensive war with Scotland, telling the king, 'You have an army in Ireland; you may employ it to reduce this kingdom.' In the theory of the prosecution 'this kingdom' meant England, not Scotland, and Vane declined to offer any explanation of the words, though much pressed by Strafford's friends. Other privy councillors present could not remember the words, but Vane persisted in his statement, relying doubtless on the notes of the discussion which he had taken at the time. The notes themselves had been seen by the king and burnt by his orders a short time before the meeting of the parliament, but on 10 April John Pym
John Pym
John Pym was an English parliamentarian, leader of the Long Parliament and a prominent critic of James I and then Charles I.- Early life and education :...
produced a copy which he had obtained from the younger Vane
Henry Vane the Younger
Sir Henry Vane , son of Henry Vane the Elder , was an English politician, statesman, and colonial governor...
, which corroborated the secretary's evidence. Vane owned the notes, but refused further explanations, and expressed great wrath with his son. Clarendon regards Vane's anger as a comedy played to deceive the public, but admits that for some time after 'there was in public a great distance observed between them.' There is no evidence, however, to justify either this theory of collusion, or the further statement that Vane had been throughout the trial the secret assistant of the prosecution.
Dismissal by the King
Vane thought that Strafford's attainderAttainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious capital crime . It entails losing not only one's property and hereditary titles, but typically also the right to pass them on to one's heirs...
would reconcile king and people. 'God send us now a happy end of our troubles and a good peace' was his comment on the passing of the bill. He did not see that it put an end to his prospects of remaining in the king's service, as its effects were for a time delayed by the difficulty of finding a suitable successor. He was even appointed one of the five commissioners of the treasury when William Juxon
William Juxon
William Juxon was an English churchman, Bishop of London from 1633 to 1649 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1660 until his death.-Life:...
resigned in May 1641.
In August 1641 Vane accompanied Charles I to Scotland, and as no successor to 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...
, his former colleague in the secretaryship, had yet been appointed, he was charged to correspond with (Sir) Edward Nicholas
Edward Nicholas
Sir Edward Nicholas was an English statesman.-Life:He was the eldest son of John Nicholas, a member of an old Wiltshire family.He was educated at Salisbury grammar school, Winchester College and Queen's College, Oxford...
, clerk of the council
Clerk of the Privy Council (United Kingdom)
The Clerk of the Privy Council is a civil servant in the government of the United Kingdom. He or she is the most senior civil servant in the Privy Council Office....
. His letters during this period are printed in the ‘Nicholas Papers'. Although his post as treasurer of the household had already been promised to Thomas, second baron Savile
Thomas Savile, 1st Earl of Sussex
Thomas Savile, 1st Earl of Sussex Thomas Savile was born on 14 September 1590, the son of John Savile, 1st Baron Savile of Pomfret and Elizabeth Cary. He was baptised at Doddington-Pigot in the English county of Cheshire....
(afterwards Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex
Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel were often also called Earls of Sussex....
), he was confident that he should keep both it and the secretaryship. But as soon as Charles returned to London he gave the treasurership to Savile, and a few days later dismissed Vane from the secretaryship and all other posts at court (November 1641). It was remarked at the time that Vane had ‘the very ill luck to be neither loved nor pitied of any man,' and the king was convinced of his treachery.
Parliamentarian
Vane lost no time in joining the oppositionRoundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
. On 13 December 1641 Pym moved that Vane's name should be added to the committee of thirty-two for Irish affairs. Two months later, when the militia bill
Militia Ordinance
The Militia Ordinance was a piece of legislation passed by the Long Parliament of England in March 1642, which was a major step towards the Civil War between the King and Parliament of England. Previously the King had the sole right to appoint the Lord Lieutenants, who were in charge of the county...
was drawn up, parliament nominated him as lord lieutenant
Lord Lieutenant
The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...
of Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
(10 February 1642). When the civil war broke out the county, which was predominantly royalist in feeling, fell at once under the control of the royalists, and Vane exercised no real authority there till after its reconquest at the end of 1644. John Lilburne
John Lilburne
John Lilburne , also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after English Civil Wars 1642-1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law...
, bitterly hostile to all the Vanes, because Sir Henry had been one of his judges, accused him of causing the loss of Durham by negligence and treachery, but the charge met with no belief from parliament.
Vane was a member of the Committee of Both Kingdoms
Committee of Both Kingdoms
The Committee of Both Kingdoms, , was a committee set up during the English Civil War by the Parliamentarian faction in association with representatives from the Scottish Covenanters, to oversee the conduct of the War and Foreign Policy...
from its first establishment (7 February 1644). In April 1645 he was employed as one of its representatives with the Scottish auxiliary army. At the Treaty of Uxbridge
Treaty of Uxbridge
The Treaty of Uxbridge of early 1645 was a significant but abortive negotiation to try to end the First English Civil War.-Background:Parliament drew up 27 articles in November 1644 and presented them to Charles I of England at Oxford. Much input into these Propositions of Uxbridge was from...
Parliament asked the king to make Vane a baron, and ordinances for the payment of his losses during the war further show his favour with the parliament. These losses were very considerable, as Raby was three times occupied by the royalists, and after its recapture became a parliamentary garrison. He says, probably with truth, 'In my losses, plunderings, rents, and destructions of timber in my woods, I have been damnified to the amount of £16,000 at least'.
Vane continued to sit in parliament after the king's execution, but a proposal to appoint him a member of the English Council of State
English Council of State
The English Council of State, later also known as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649 after the execution of King Charles I....
in February 1650 was negatived by the house. He represented Kent in the First Protectorate Parliament
First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....
. He died about May 1655, and royalists reported that he had committed suicide, owing to remorse for his share in Strafford's death. His widow, Frances, lady Vane, died on 2 August 1663, aged 72, and was buried at Shipbourne
Shipbourne
Shipbourne lies in the English county of Kent, in an undulating landscape traversed by the small streams of the River Bourne, set in a clay vale at the foot of the wooded Sevenoaks Greensand Ridge....
, Kent. Portraits of Vane and his wife were painted by Van Dyck.
Children
Vane's eldest son, Sir HenryHenry Vane the Younger
Sir Henry Vane , son of Henry Vane the Elder , was an English politician, statesman, and colonial governor...
(1613–1662), was a Puritan statesman. George, the second son, born in 1618, was knighted on 22 November 1640. He was parliamentary High Sheriff of Durham in September 1645, and apparently treasurer of the committee for the county. Many of his letters to his father on the affairs of the county are printed in the calendar of domestic state papers. He married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir Lionel Maddison of Rogerly, Durham, and was buried at Long Newton in the same county on 1 May 1679. Charles, the fourth son, matriculated from Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, on 17 March 1637. On 16 January 1650 the parliament appointed him agent of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
at Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, in which capacity he demanded Prince Rupert's
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...
expulsion from Portuguese ports, but was obliged to leave and take refuge on board Blake's
Robert Blake (admiral)
Robert Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into...
fleet.
Two other sons, William and Walter, were soldiers in the Dutch service. Walter, who was knighted, seems to have been royalist in his sympathies, and a large number of intercepted letters from him to friends in England are printed in the 'Thurloe
John Thurloe
John Thurloe was a secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell.-Life:...
Papers.' In 1665 Charles 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...
employed him as envoy to the elector of Brandenburg
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
|align=right|Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia – and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia – from 1640 until his death. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as the "Great Elector" because of his military and political prowess...
. Vane was colonel of a Regiment of Foot in the English service in 1667, and on 12 August 1668 was appointed colonel of what was known as the Holland regiment. He was killed serving under the Prince of Orange
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 the Battle of Seneffe
Battle of Seneffe
The Battle of Seneffe was fought on 11 August 1674 and resulted in a draw.The armies were under the command of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and the Dutch-German-Spanish army under William III of Orange....
in August 1674, and was buried at the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.
Of Vane's daughters, Margaret married Sir Thomas Pelham, bart., of Holland, Sussex; Frances married Sir Robert Honeywood, knight, of Pett in the county of Kent; Anne married Sir Thomas Liddell of Ravensworth
Ravensworth
Ravensworth is a small village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-west of Richmond and from Darlington. It is situated in the Holmedale valley and is in the ward of Gilling West...
, Durham; Elizabeth married Sir Francis Vincent of Stoke d'Abernon
Stoke d'Abernon
Stoke d'Abernon is a small village situated between Cobham and Leatherhead in the county of Surrey. The census area Oxshott and Stoke d'Abernon has a population of 6,100.-History:...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.