John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Life
He was the only son of Thomas Culpeper of Wigsell (1561-19 September 1613) and Anne Slaney (ca. 1575-before 26 Feb 1602), daughter of Sir Stephan Slaney, Lord Mayor of London. The Colepepers (the name is thought to derive from the plant) resided in Sussex for many years, and as early as the reign of King Edward III were serving in administrative capacities in Kent and Sussex.John Colepeper began his career in military service abroad, and came first into public notice at home through his knowledge of country affairs, being summoned often before the council board to give evidence on such matters. He was knighted, and was elected member for Kent
Kent (UK Parliament constituency)
Kent was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Kent in southeast England. It returned two "knights of the shire" to the House of Commons by the bloc vote system from the year 1290...
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...
, when he took the popular side, speaking against monopolies on 9 November 1640, being entrusted with the impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
of Sir Robert Berkeley
Robert Berkeley
Captain Robert George Wilmot Berkeley DL was High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1933, and Deputy Lieutenant of the county in 1952;he also appeared four times in first-class cricket for Worcestershire County Cricket Club...
on 12 February 1641, supporting Thomas Wentworth, 1st 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...
's attainder, and being appointed to the committee of defence on 12 August 1641.
He separated, however, from the popular party on the Church question, owing to political rather than religious objections, fearing the effect of the revolutionary changes which were now contemplated. He opposed the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
petition for the abolition of episcopacy, the project of religious union with the Scots
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and the Root and Branch Bill, and on the 1st of September he moved a resolution in defence of the prayer-book. In the following session he opposed the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
bill and the Grand Remonstrance
Grand Remonstrance
The Grand Remonstrance was a list of grievances presented to King Charles I of England by the English Parliament on 1 December 1641, but passed by the House of Commons on the 22nd of November 1641, during the Long Parliament; it was one of the chief events which were to precipitate the English...
, and finally on 2 January 1642 he joined the party of King 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...
, taking office as chancellor of the exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
.
He highly disapproved of the king's attempt to arrest 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 :...
and four other members of 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...
, which was made without his knowledge, but advised the enterprise against Hull
Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull
Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull was an English nobleman-Family:He was the second son of Sir Henry Pierrepont of Holme Pierrepont, Nottinghamshire, and Frances Cavendish, daughter of the Rt. Hon. Sir William Cavendish and Elizabeth Hardwick...
. On 25 August 1642 he appeared at the bar of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
to deliver the king's final proposals for peace, and was afterwards present at the Battle of Edgehill
Battle of Edgehill
The Battle of Edgehill was the first pitched battle of the First English Civil War. It was fought near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern Warwickshire on Sunday, 23 October 1642....
, where he took part in Prince Rupert
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...
's charge and opposed the retreat of the king's forces from the battlefield.
In December he was made by Charles 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...
. He was a leading member of the Oxford Parliament
Oxford Parliament (1644)
The Oxford Parliament was the Parliament assembled by King Charles I for the first time 22 January 1644 and adjourned for the last time on 10 March 1645, with the purpose of instrumenting the Royalist war campaign.Charles was advised by Edward Hyde and others not to dissolve the Long Parliament as...
, and was said, in opposition to the general opinion, to have counselled considerable concessions to secure peace. His influence in military affairs caused him to be much disliked by Prince Rupert and the army, and the general animosity against him was increased by his advancement to the peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
on 21 October 1644 by the title of Baron Colepeper
Baron Colepeper
Baron Colepeper is an extinct title in the Peerage of England. Colepeper is sometimes rendered Culpeper, Baron Colepeper of Thoresway, or Baron Thoresway...
of Thoresway
Thoresway
Thoresway is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.Its name is recorded in Domesday Book as Toreswe, when it was listed as having 62 households and two mills. In 1187 it was listed as Toresweie...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
.
He was despatched with Hyde
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:...
in charge of the Prince of Wales
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...
to the West in March 1645, and on 2 March 1646, after Charles's final defeat, embarked with the prince for Scilly, and thence to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He strongly advocated gaining the support of the Scots by religious concessions, a policy supported by the queen and Mazarin, but opposed by Hyde and other leading royalists, and constantly urged this course upon the king, at the same time deprecating any yielding on the subject of the militia. He promoted the mission of Sir John Berkeley in 1647 to secure an understanding between Charles and the army.
In 1648 he accompanied the prince in his unsuccessful naval expedition, and returned with him to 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...
, where violent altercations broke out among the royalist leaders, Colepeper going so far, on one occasion in the council, as to challenge Prince Rupert, and being himself severely assaulted in the streets by Sir Robert Walsh. He continued after the execution of Charles I to press the acceptance on 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...
of the Scottish proposals. He was sent to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1650, where he obtained a loan of 20,000 rubles
Russian ruble
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
from the tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
, and, soon after his return, to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, to procure military assistance. By the treaty, agreed to between Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and Mazarin, of August 1654, Colepeper was obliged to leave France, and he appears henceforth to have resided in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. He accompanied Charles II to the south of France in September 1659, at the time of the Treaty of the Pyrenees
Treaty of the Pyrenees
The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
. At the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
he returned to England, but only survived a few weeks, dying on 11 June 1660.
Several contemporary writers agree in testifying to Colepeper's great debating powers and to his resources as an adviser, but complain of his want of stability and of his uncertain temper. The Earl of Clarendon
Earl of Clarendon
Earl of Clarendon is a title that has been created twice in British history, in 1661 and 1776. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1661 for the statesman Edward Hyde, 1st Baron Hyde...
, with whom he was often on ill terms, speaks generally in his praise, and repels the charge of corruption levelled against him. That he was gifted with considerable political foresight is shown by a remarkable letter written on 20 September 1658 on the death of Cromwell, in which he foretells with uncommon sagacity the future developments in the political situation, advises the royalists to remain inactive till the right moment and profit by the division of their opponents, and distinguishes George Monck as the one person willing and capable of effecting the Restoration (Clarendon State Papers, iii. 412).
Family
Colepeper was twice married: first to Philippa, daughter of Sir John Snelling, by whom he had one son, who died young, and a daughter; and second to Judith, sister of Cheney CulpeperCheney Culpeper
Sir Cheney Culpeper was an English landowner, a supporter of Samuel Hartlib, and a largely non-political figure of his troubled times, interested in technological progress and reform. His sister Judith was the second wife of John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper.-Landowner:After a legal training, he...
, by whom he had seven children. Of these, Thomas
Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper
Thomas Colpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway was the colonial governor of Virginia from 1677 to 1683.-Biography:...
(d. 1719; Crown Governor of Virginia 1680–1683) was the successor in the title, which became extinct on the death of his younger brother Cheney, in 1725. His daughter by Judith, Elizabeth, married James Hamilton. The two were parents to James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn
James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn
James Hamilton, 6th Earl of Abercorn, PC was a Scottish and Irish nobleman, the son of Colonel James Hamilton and Elizabeth Colepeper....
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